Can I help you in any way? Courses and workshops

“Hello, thank you for visiting. Can I help you in any way?” If you’ve browsed our TAA website, you’ve likely seen those words in the chat box that appears on the screen. We’re often asked by visitors if we’re “real”. Then those who realize that we are, and that we are there to help, ask questions that you may have as well.

In this series of “Can I help you in any way?” posts, we’ll highlight some of the questions people have asked through the TAA Live Chat feature of our site and the responses we have for those questions. In this post, we’re focused on a question about textbook writing courses or workshops.

Recently one of our visitors came onto the chat “looking for textbook writing courses or workshops that could help [them] to develop [their] textbook” and asked, “Could you suggest any place where to look for those kind of workshops?”

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The most useful textbook & academic posts of the week: April 13, 2018

This week we begin with tips for academic book authors, insight into publishing an open access book, discussions on indexes, and the humbling experience of reviewing a copyeditor’s work on your manuscript. We then found insight into developing the narrative of a tenure dossier, social media concerns for academics and writers, issues of authorship abuse, the impact of article recommendation features, and the value of a master’s degree in Publishing. Finally, there were several industry news articles of note including a student’s perspective on Cengage’s efforts to promote Cengage Unlimited to professors, a win for publishers in a textbook counterfeiting suit, a new collaboration between VitalSource and McGraw-Hill, and changes in Top Hat’s OER Marketplace.

Bindu Adai said, “If writing is your passion, write and don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise. You don’t need to quit your day job to do it. Create a realistic schedule and stick with it.” As you head into a new week of writing, be encouraged by the other authors in and around TAA who share your passion for writing so that you may find greater success.

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The most useful textbook & academic posts of the week: December 8, 2017

This week our collection of articles from around the web contains innovative practices and changes in the publishing industry, suggestions for Open Education, ways to repurpose your finished research into a journal article, academic friendships, social media impacts on author and publisher success, and actions to reduce predatory publishing practices.

As we come to the end of the first week of December, a month where many of our writing projects are faced with increased struggle as academic terms come to an end, remember the words of Nona Mae King, “Writing is more than a gift. It is a struggle that blesses those who see it through to the end.”

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The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: October 20, 2017

H. P. Oliver shared that “Writing is more than a craft; it is a way of life. Everything you see or do becomes part of what you write.” While you have been busy writing this week, we’ve kept record of some noteworthy articles you may not have seen. Below you will find articles from the past week on understanding research metrics, when to write a press release, the future of Open Access publishing, considerations when writing a conference paper, barriers to research collaboration, peer review systems, and the ongoing discussion of traditional vs digital textbook materials. As you enter the week ahead, I hope you find ways to improve your writing, and therefore, your way of life.

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