Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: May 8, 2020

Why? The simplest and, at the same time, most complex question we can ask of ourselves in any situation. Simon Sinek said, “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.”

Our collection of articles this week includes a number of applications of the “why” in our work. From designing and publishing research to prioritizing and progressing on projects, in determining career paths after the PhD or looking at the future of publishing models, and finally, in how we conference and collaborate with others in our academic circles.

As you examine your writing projects this week, ask yourself why they’re important to you. The answer is what will drive them forward to completion. Happy writing!

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: April 10, 2020

Whether you just started an academic writing career or you have been publishing journal articles and textbooks for years, the sudden changes in recent weeks can have us all feeling like beginners.

This week’s collection of articles discusses topics of researching in a digital world, changes in the academic library, considerations related to PhD pursuits during COVID-19, and do’s and don’ts for using visuals during virtual meetings. We close the collection with articles about getting by and getting on and publishing models in an open age.

Muhammad Ali once said, “Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don’t be afraid to take that first step.” Whether your first step or your next first step – Happy writing!

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: February 28, 2020

Are you determined to succeed? At the end of the day, are you satisfied with your results? George Lorimer once said, “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” So what are you determined to do with your textbook and academic writing?

This week’s collection of articles from around the web includes discussion on the future of scholarly communication, how to get published, and an approach to teaching writing that works. It also includes ideas for experimenting and playing with data, looking at different aspects of the same problem, and funding research and innovation through open science efforts.

What all of these ideas, innovations, and results have in common is the determination of one or more individuals to bring an idea to fruition and share it with others. As you approach your writing projects this week, start each day with determination and end them with satisfaction. Happy writing!

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: January 17, 2020

Ralph Waldo Emerson once noted, “that which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased.” In our collection of articles from around the web this week, we see several suggestions on how to make our lives as academic writers easier by increasing our ability to do.

Suggestions include writing for the public for more impact, forming a brain trust, expanding our knowledge set with new literatures, collaborating around Big Data, and providing choice on how to pay for peer review and publication. This week, we encourage you to explore these and other ways to make your tasks as an author easier and to increase your ability to do. Happy Writing!

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Publishing in 2019: Charting new waters

During her 2019 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference presentation, “Publishing in 2019: Charting new waters”, intellectual property attorney, Brenda Ulrich identified some of the legal aspects facing authors who are publishing in 2019 and beyond.  

Whether working with a traditional publisher, self-publishing, or exploring open access options, contracts and copyright laws are still important. And as Ulrich notes, in many cases, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. Below are some of the aspects for consideration as you continue your publishing journey.

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