Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: May 27, 2022

Do you start your day writing? Ernest Hemingway once said, “I wake up in the morning and my mind starts making sentences, and I have to get rid of them fast — talk them or write them down.”

Writing, especially academic writing, requires capturing new ideas, doing so at the right time for creative development, and then formatting those ideas into content worthy of publication. As our articles from around the web highlight this week, that can seem simple, but be a lot of work.

As you go forward into the week ahead, look for ways to ensure that you get your ideas down. Happy writing!

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: May 13, 2022

Write. Revise. Repeat. A cycle of productivity for all academic authors, but when does it end? When is the project complete? And, what happens next?

In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we find advice about making decisions about your writing, what to do after the draft, and how much revising is required. We also have resources on mid-career scholarship and collaboration efforts. Finally, we have some industry news on Creative Commons licensing and the book supply chain.

There’s also the philosophy of Saul Bellow who said, “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” So, I suppose that’s one way to increase productivity and avoid the need to revise. Happy writing!

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Working on K-12 curriculum and instructional materials? A new copyright licensing solution enables use of high-quality published content

Teachers, schools, and districts are increasingly demanding higher quality curriculum and instructional materials to meet the needs of their students and remain compliant with state and local standards.

High-quality published content that is current, personalized, local, diverse, equitable, and inclusive is vital for creating these materials. Unfortunately, securing copyright permissions for such content brings licensing challenges, especially when attempting to secure these permissions on an individual basis at scale.

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Pearson files copyright infringement lawsuit against Chegg, Inc.

On September 13, in what will have a potentially serious impact on the academic publishing industry, specifically as it relates to online supplemental materials and study guides, Pearson Education filed a lawsuit against Chegg, Inc. for copyright infringement [Pearson sues former partner Chegg for copyright infringement (insidehighered.com)]. This suit [complaint.pdf (oandzlaw.com)] stems from the use of end of chapter and other materials from Pearson Education (one of the big three textbook publishers) textbooks as part of the Chegg Study website.

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 4, 2021

As textbook and academic authors, we often know where we want to go, perhaps have some idea of how to get there, but are often caught with feelings of ill-preparedness, lack of knowledge or resources, and a general sense of self-reliance to produce our results. From the outside looking in, we may appear to be working hard with nothing to show for the effort.

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: October 23, 2020

Writing takes work. Whether starting a PhD or working on another published book or manuscript, academic authoring is work and should be treated as a professional endeavor. Margaret Laurence once said, “When I say work I only mean writing. Everything else is just odd jobs.” Our writing must receive focus and time for us to be successful.

In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we have advice on early career authoring, building an impact and brand, and current trends in publishing. As you embark on the week ahead, give your writing the focus it deserves. After all, everything else is just odd jobs. Happy writing!

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