Academic Writing for Social Good – TAA Webinar 12/4

Academic writers want to disseminate their research for many reasons. Many are motivated by university requirements for certain kinds of publications. Others want to contribute to their fields by communicating with other researchers. Some of us want to communicate with professionals or practitioners, entrepreneurs or activists, makers or inventors who work outside the ivory tower. We hope our findings can be applied to make a difference. How can we use our research and insights in ways that contribute to the social good?

Join us Monday, December 4 from 3-4 p.m. ET for “Academic Writing for Social Good”, where textbook writer Janet Salmons and environmental non-profit leader Lynn Wilson will  share examples and suggestions for socially beneficial ways to think about our publication strategies.

The most useful textbook & academic posts of the week: November 10, 2017

This week, November 6-11, 2017, was not only the first full week of Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo) 2017, but it also marked the sixth annual #UPWeek event in celebration of University Press Week. Throughout the week, there were a lot of great resources being shared throughout the academic community, no doubt inspired by these events. Our collection this week has something for everyone beginning with some humor illustrating the life of a grad student and tips about academic writing; exploring the scholarly process involving university presses, scholars, and reviewers; taking new perspectives on the publishing process, idea development, and resulting impact; increasing accessibility of scholarly resources; and sharing ideas with a broader audience. As stated by Oliver Markus, “The secret to good writing is to use small words for big ideas, not to use big words for small ideas.” Now go, write, and share your big ideas!

2017 Fall Webinars – Improve your skills

TAA fall webinar seriesWhether you are interested in learning how to publish in scholarly journals, develop a website, use podcasting to promote your scholarship, managing your writing projects, or how to use your research and insights in ways that contribute to the social good, TAA’s fall webinar series for textbook and academic authors has you covered. Join us as various industry experts share their expertise on academic and textbook writing topics. Sign-up early to reserve your spot! Not a TAA member? Learn more about member benefits and join today.

Call for Proposals: Textbook and academic authoring conference

TAA’s 31st Annual Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference will be held at La Fonda on the Plaza, Santa Fe, NM, June 15-16, 2018. The conference is attended by authors and aspiring authors of textbooks, journal articles, and other academic works, as well as by industry professionals from across the country.

TAA invites the submission of presentations relevant to authoring and publishing textbooks and academic works (journal articles, books, and monographs).

4 Higher education publishers team up to fight counterfeit textbooks

In an effort to fight counterfeit textbooks, four higher education publishers, Cengage, Elsevier, McGraw-Hill Education and Pearson, have teamed up to create a website called Stop Counterfeit Textbooks.

The site includes information on how to avoid counterfeit textbooks, how to identify a counterfeit textbook, and what to do if your textbook is counterfeit. The website states: “Counterfeit textbooks are a substantial problem in the educational marketplace, burdening students with inferior products; exposing distributors to legal liability and unsaleable inventory; and depriving authors and publishers of the funds necessary to reinvest in new educational content.”