Last week, Tara Gray, author of Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar, shared insight on scholarly productivity and publishing in a series of articles on our blog. Gray also shared her experience and wisdom in a two-part TAA webinar series in March where she outlined a 10-step approach to drafting and revising scholarly manuscripts – quickly and well. [Read more…]
10 Steps to becoming a prolific scholar
May 26, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Writing with open ears
April 16, 2020 By Leave a Comment
It’s time for a new edition of Doing Qualitative Research Online! I previously wrote how I began the process of updating and enhancing this book. Every time I write or update a book, I promise myself that I will do better next time and not end up with chaotic versions or incorrectly-labeled figures. I was approaching this project in a systematic fashion, reading through the 2016 edition with fresh eyes, making minor changes, and taking notes about steps to take for more significant additions to content.
I was confidently moving along, and then…boom! The world changed! Whether we’re grappling with school closures, isolation, illness or spending our time cancelling all the travel we had planned, it is hard to escape this pervasive pandemic. And for researchers, the impact is nothing short of profound. [Read more…]
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: January 3, 2020
January 3, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Welcome to 2020! This week I want you to consider what your vision for the new year and new decade is. What does that vision look like for your individual writing goals on textbook and academic projects? What does that look like for the publishing industry at large? How can you plan now to accomplish those goals in the coming days, months, and years?
This week’s collection of articles begins with a look back on 2019, looks at the difference between free and OER when discussing textbooks, offers suggestion on how to select the right planning and project management tools, and considers the abolition of academic prizes. As we begin this new year of textbook and academic writing, I encourage you to remember the words of Peter Drucker, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Happy Writing! [Read more…]
Can I help you in any way? Revisions and editing
May 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
“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 academic principles for revisions. [Read more…]
Self-editing: Making your work its best possible self
May 9, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The thought of editing your work evokes many responses. While some people do enjoy refining their writing, some people view it as a chore. Others feel insecure about their ability to edit anything, let alone their own work.
Here are some self-editing best practices to smooth the tasks ahead: [Read more…]
Choosing an editor: Making sure you are on the same page
April 11, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Academic authors often feel confident in their subject matter expertise when writing a book or journal article. Many authors, however, feel less secure about their writing and editing skills. In my twenty-five plus years of experience, this assessment is usually off base. Most academic authors actually have solid skills needed to express themselves and their complex material.
Nonetheless, authors many times want editorial support prior to their submission or while they are writing their work. I have previously written about whether to “Go it alone or with a Guide.” If you have decided to utilize an editor, this post will focus on how you go about choosing one. [Read more…]
4 Principles of academic revisions
September 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment
A recent visitor to the TAA website communicating with us over chat said: “I would like to know some academic principles we can use for revisions.”
As authors, revisions can be one of the most challenging parts of the writing process. Most writers create easily but find it difficult to critique and edit their own work. Regardless, the revision process is essential for producing polished and effective manuscripts.
Short of hiring a professional editor to review your work and offer guidance on needed revisions, here are four principles you can use when revising your academic work. [Read more…]
The most useful textbook & academic posts of the week: August 31, 2018
August 31, 2018 By Leave a Comment
“Half of my life is an act of revision.” Wise words from John Irving for all writers and ones that thread through our collection of posts this week.
We begin with discussions of how to manage multiple writing projects, interpret data visualizations, and use diary methods in qualitative research. We then share practical advice on successful publishing in journals, informed consent, fellowships, and balancing a PhD with a family. Closing out our list is the prediction that textbooks are here to stay, along with new resources including scholarly podcasts, open and interoperable annotation, YouTube videos, and open science tools.
Whether you are revising a manuscript or your writing craft this week, we hope that you will find value in some of the resources below. Happy writing! [Read more…]
Subconscious productivity: Accessing your inner self
January 20, 2014 By Leave a Comment
As a 
writer, I battle with procrastination, always have. At times I also find it strangely hard to revise my work. But in graduate school I hit upon a way of using my procrastination to produce nearly final copy the first time. The “method” was suggested to me by reading the Autobiography of Bertrand Russell. [Read more…]
Turn bad editing into good writing
August 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Whether soliciting advice from friends, family, or colleagues, on the receiving end of letters and track changes from journal editors, all authors have received bad editing. Bad editing is part of the writing game. Not everyone who is an editor is an excellent writer, in fact many are not. Although we’d like to think that our manuscripts are read by people with an interest or specialization in the material our articles or books cover, that’s not always the case. Readers can have bad days. Professors can be bogged down by exams; student editors may be more concerned with tests.
I’ve received bad editing from peer reviewed and non peer reviewed journals alike. No journal has a monopoly on good editing nor does any journal have a monopoly on bad editing. As author’s we’re often inclined to dismiss criticism in frustration and then after a little reflection labels ourselves as obviously defensive. I argue that is not necessarily a constructive way to engage the editing process. Sometimes the writer will be correct and the editor will be wrong. But, it is still the author’s job to learn from whatever criticism one receives. [Read more…]
