Are you interested in presenting at the 2025 TAA Virtual Conference? Submit your proposal by October 13, 2024, for the chance to share your expertise. Attendees are textbook, academic and aspiring authors, as well as graduate students and industry professionals, all of which are eager to learn and grow in this industry.
The 2025 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference will be held online June 6-7. We invite presenters, first-time to veteran-level, to submit a proposal.
By Kimine Mayuzumi
Some time ago, I created an audio for guided meditation before writing, and it touched the lives of many, helping them set the right intention for their writing sessions.
Recently, it was a reader’s comment on that guided meditation that inspired me to take a step further. The reader, like many of us, longed for a way to wrap up their writing sessions, to savor what they had achieved, and to quell the constant self-doubt that they hadn’t done enough. They yearned for a moment of closure, a brief yet powerful ritual to honor their efforts and embrace a sense of fulfillment.
By Dave Harris, PhD
The August 2024 TAA Conversation Circle on productivity reminded me of how much productivity depends on confidence. This insight can guide us: confidence can be built through practice. I offer some suggestions on building confidence, and thus productivity, through practice.
Speaking generally, emotions shape our behavior: the optimist behaves as if things will work out, while the pessimist behaves as if things will not. Metaphorically speaking, the optimist will buy a lottery ticket, and the pessimist will not. The optimist submits a draft for publication, where the pessimist does not.
Self-confidence varies for each person, and, generally, the optimal degree of self-confidence lies between the extremes: too little self-confidence leads to paralysis; too much leads to arrogance and an inability to learn. Ideally, a scholar has enough self-confidence to move forward with their projects and to present their work to others while also remaining open to correction when errors arise.
By Kimine Mayuzumi
Do you have difficulty in writing lately? What gets in the way? Procrastination, distraction, lack of motivation or imposter feelings? A productive and sustainable writing experience often requires a good state of mind and physical wellness.
As my partner Riyad A. Shahjahan, a professor at Michigan State University and former certified coach for National Center for Faculty and Diversity Development (NCFDD), suggests, we as writers need “a mind that is decluttered so that we can give our full attention to the task at hand.” For that, we need a ritual. Why?
Triple your productivity. Write prose that is clearer, better organized, and more compelling. Publish in better journals and get more grants. Ninety scholars who followed the steps were studied, and 95% reported that their writing improved. They also increased then number of manuscripts submitted from a rate of two per year to nearly six. You can too, with Tara Gray’s, Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar.
By Angelica Ribeiro, Ph.D.
Being aware of our professional purpose can play an important role in leading us to a happier life at work. That’s because our purpose can reveal elements of our identity that encourage us to live up to our values and create meaningful habits. Let me explain.
My professional purpose is to contribute to (a) language learners’ education by teaching, researching, and sharing knowledge with educators and (b) other people’s happiness by writing books and sharing positivity. After identifying my professional purpose, I realized that it revealed three main elements of my identity: a professor, a researcher, and a writer.
