Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: February 25, 2022

Judy Reeves once said, “Probably the most important thing I’ve learned is that if I don’t make the time to do the writing, the writing won’t get done.” Are you making time for your writing? If not, what is holding you back?

Many of the common issues writers face – it’s hard, how do you finish, copy editing, self publishing considerations, open access, and marketing and reviews – are all covered in this week’s collection of articles from around the web.

This week, make time for your writing and get it done. Happy writing!

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What makes for a quality peer review? TAA members’ perspectives

In preparation for this week’s Peer Review Week theme of “Quality in Peer Review”, I decided to reach out to several members of our TAA community for insight into the peer review process from either the author’s perspective, reviewer’s perspective, or both.

Regardless of the perspective, I asked for the answer to a single question, “What makes for a quality peer review process?” The insights of eight TAA members are shared below.

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Writing in tribute: Don’t wait for the eulogy!

Recently I received some professional praise and recognition. One was in public,  the TAA Mike Keedy Award and the other was in private, a few sentences in an other-wise business-as-usual email. At first, I felt simply flattered. How nice! But as I reflected on the comments, I realized they were more than just sweet talk. The remarks confirmed that I am making progress toward accomplishing what I have set out to do at this point in my career. They helped me confirm priorities and set steps for continued improvement. In the digital age, we can write, post, and give webinars. We can read site analytics, but we can’t read the audience. Are they paying attention or are eyelids drooping? Are they reading or just scrolling? In absence of visual cues, it helped me to hear that my messages are getting through.

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The most useful textbook & academic posts of the week: January 19, 2018

This week’s collection of textbook and academic posts from around the web begins with predictions and strategies for the coming year. It provides resources for jumpstarting book reviews, improving your writing, understanding research ethics, and protecting and expanding the public domain. Finally, it explores the impact of new initiatives like RA21: Resource Access for the 21st Century, a new open access megajournal from UCL Press, Digital Science’s new citation database – Dimensions, and the Open Access Journal Finder (OAJF) from Enago.

With so many changes in sight, it’s anyones guess where 2018 will take us, but as we explore the potential ahead, keep in mind the words of M. Kirin. “Writing is an adventure. There is no way to know where it will take you, and what you will find. You could find success. You could find fans. Or, best of all, you could find yourself.” Wishing you many great discoveries in the week ahead. Happy writing!

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The nuts & bolts of writing a book review

As a scholar and a writer, I am surrounded by books. I buy books at conferences. I buy books online.  A stack of books grows on my desk, and even finds its way onto any horizontal surface in my living room.  I identify them from reading the reference list of journal articles. I get recommendations from peers.

One of the services I can provide my peers is to write a book review on one of my most recently purchased books. A review serves to help my colleagues decide whether or not they wish to read the book.

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