Between bouts of hating what we write, we may secretly admire our creations. And we’re entitled to. But there’s a difference between these feelings and excessive love of our own words. Such love blinds us to editorial blunders, judicious cutting, and revision, and reduces the possibilities of publication. [Read more…]
Three unmistakable signs you need to revise
October 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
3 “Not-so-obvious” tips for article submission and review
September 7, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Q: Speaking from your perspective as Associate Editor for Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior for the past five years, what three “not-so-obvious” tips can you offer academic authors regarding the journal article submission process?
Julie Reeder, Associate Editor, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior:
I will start with a few tips that might seem obvious at first, but based on my experience as an Editor, are often underappreciated by authors. First, an early visit to your target journal’s website is a must. Don’t wait until you are nearing submission to make your first review of its contents. [Read more…]
19 Reasons to start a journal
September 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment
A journal is a time-honored writer’s tool to record and develop ideas, work out projects and plots, and save meaningful aphorisms and perfect overheard phrases. We can use a journal for these, other issues, and any aspect of our writing. Whether you’ve kept a journal for decades, or have never started one, consider these tips not only to help you write more but also to make your writing more effective. [Read more…]
First TAA Writing Gym receives high marks, participation
September 5, 2018 By Leave a Comment
In a survey of this summer’s TAA Writing Gym, 45% of respondents said they used the gym 2-4 days a week. “The TAA Writing Gym helped me move from writing sporadically to writing every day,” said one respondent. “My writing approach has improved as well since I am now thinking about my projects regularly and I can work through ways to approach topics even when I am not actively writing.” [Read more…]
Purdue global nondisclosure agreement runs roughshod over faculty rights
September 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has released a copy of a four-page non-disclosure agreement that appears to be a condition of employment for Purdue Global employees, including instructional faculty, that states that any work product, including all course materials “or other intellectual property that arises in any part in the course of … employment at Purdue Global, is commissioned and owned by Purdue Global as a work-for-hire and may not be used, duplicated or distributed outside of Purdue Global.” [Read more…]
Tech tools for the professional writer
September 3, 2018 By Leave a Comment
In the winter edition of TAA’s newsletter, I shared with you the importance of having the right tools on hand for your career as a writer and provided a list of 32 tools in eight categories to get you started. If you missed that article, you can read it here.
In this article I highlight a few more tech tools with the goal of helping you find the tools that fit best in your belt! In these last weeks of summer, I encourage you to explore some of these tools that you may not have time to experiment with during the school year. You may just find that they can help you free up valuable time as the busy fall semester comes around again. [Read more…]
5 Rhetorical moves for writing abstracts
August 24, 2018 By Leave a Comment
An article abstract is often the first thing that readers and reviewers see. Setting the right tone up front can impact whether your readers continue reading, influence the way the rest of your text is received, and, in terms of reviewers, it may determine whether your article is accepted to be published. What makes for a strong article abstract? What goes in and what stays out?
According to Mark Pedretti, Director of the Center for Writing and Rhetoric at Claremont Graduate University, there is something very commonsensical about writing an abstract. In his webinar titled “How to Structure & Write an Article Abstract,” Pedretti recommends thinking of an abstract as a cognitive roadmap for your readers; it generates the expectations that are going to inform how the reader approaches the text. The abstract signals to the reader what to pay attention to and where to expect transition, organizing the reading experience before it ever takes place. [Read more…]
Time and friendship and writing
August 2, 2018 By Leave a Comment
As I’ve chosen to reduce socializing in favor of more writing time, I’ve also chosen to keep up or reconnect with a very few friends and realize an essential characteristic of friendship: time doesn’t matter. However long the moments, weeks, or years between contacts, real friendship knows no steel-banded boundaries of time, distance, erratic mobile phone connections, or sporadic emails.
I recall a friend of twenty years ago who lived nearby, and I still cherish our many calls and visits. When we both moved, our interests diverged, and contact ended. [Read more…]
How to smash an unexpected block: When the writing’s going well
June 7, 2018 By Leave a Comment
We’ve all probably read articles about writer’s block that stumps and paralyzes, but several writers I know have experienced another unexpected and surprising block. One described it: “My fingers play the computer keyboard like a concert pianist, my pages pile up like gold. ‘Wow, I think, I’m gonna go all night!’”
Then he confessed, “‘Faster than a form rejection, more powerful than an editor’s frown, able to freeze me in a single flash, a horrible thought darkens my brain: I can’t stand it anymore!’”
What? The writing was going just too well. [Read more…]
How to avoid the need to secure permission
May 8, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Maybe it was something you saw in a magazine or at a bookstore. Maybe it was something you saw online. Maybe it was something that caught your eye in a grant application or proposal…a good idea in poorly skilled hands seemingly not up to the task. In any event, wherever you first saw it, it inspired you to develop and publish your own article or book on the subject.
Anyone who has worked in an intellectual or creative endeavor knows that many new works build to one degree or another on the earlier work of others. But getting a head start by leveraging the intellectual work product of another is potentially problematic. When does inspiration cross over into infringement or a breach of scholarly integrity? The lawyer’s answer is: it depends. [Read more…]
