The Text and Academic Authors Association is pleased to announce a call for proposals for its 28th Annual Textbook &…
Why you should write a private and public purpose statement for your book
By taking some time to really think through the purpose and scope of your book project and why you are really…
The three biggest mistakes academic writers make
I grew up in an academic family. When we would gather around the table at holidays, everyone but my bipolar aunt had a Ph.D. My ex-husband once told me he felt I needed to get a Ph.D. to be considered a grown-up by my family. So I know the culture. I am fluent in tenure and promotion, refereed articles and revise-and-resubmit, and the heaven and hell of the sabbatical and adjunct worlds.
As a creative writer and scholar who specializes in teaching mindfulness and writing as ways of dealing with chronic stress and healing from trauma, I bring my expertise in stress-reduction together with my personal experience of what it means to “be an academic.” I want to share with you some insights about the three biggest mistakes I see academic writers making.
How to navigate the peer review publishing process
When an author submits a manuscript to a scholarly journal, the manuscript will face one of three basic responses: accept, reject, or revise and resubmit. Samantha Elliott, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education (JMBE), and Jeffrey Arnett, editor of the Journal of Adolescent Research, offer the following information to guide you through the different responses you may receive from editors.
Accept/Accept with Minor Modifications
Manuscripts that fall into this category are exceptionally strong papers that received glowing peer reviews, and the only modifications needed might include clarification on certain points, or formatting issues specific to the journal. While this is every academic writer’s dream response, it is a very rare occurrence. If this happens to you, Elliott recommends that you celebrate, and then take a good look at the feedback you received to find out what impressed your reviewers. You can use this feedback to help shape future manuscripts.
Featured Member Joanne Cooper – Mapping your way to publishing success
Joanne Cooper is a Professor Emeritus of Educational Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is the recipient of numerous teaching and research awards, including the University of Hawaii Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award and the Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate Education. Cooper is a certified Courage & Renewal facilitator and founder of the Hawaii Courage to Teach Program.
4 Steps to promoting your textbook
Recently a member posted a question in the Textbook Writing & Publishing Circle in TAA’s online member community requesting input on how other authors promote their work. In response to this question, veteran textbook author Robert Christopherson, author of Geosystems, the leading physical geography texts in the US and Canada, offered a four-step approach that encourages authors to define their market niche and take a proactive role with the publisher’s marketing team.