Why is writing so terrifying? Dr. Michelle R. Boyd’s Becoming the Writer You Already Are explains why being afraid of writing is neither strange nor shameful. And introduces the Writing Metaphor, a tool that illuminates what you already know about overcoming writing challenges. Becoming shows you how to consult, trust, and follow that process. So you can live a pleasurable, productive, satisfying writing life.
A Copyeditor’s Suggestions for Tightening Up Your Prose
By Laura Poole
I’ve been copyediting scholarly nonfiction for many years now, and I have some gentle suggestions to academic writers who would like to tighten up their prose.
These are all suggestions at the phrase level, not the sentence level, to reduce wordiness, impose active voice, and improve flow. There are NOT hard-and-fast rules and should not be done as a knee-jerk reflex. There are times when these suggested edits won’t work or will change the meaning of the phrase; in these cases, don’t do them!
The Importance of Textbooks
By Charles Corbin
Any of us who have served in academia, especially those who are at research intensive universities, are aware of the many anti-text arguments. Numerous hours are spent in tenure, promotion, and salary (merit raise) meetings debating what “counts” as scholarship and what doesn’t. Often textbooks are discounted. In a journal article published in Kinesiology Review in 2022, The Importance of Textbooks in Kinesiology, my coauthors, Hyeonho Yu, Diane L. Gill, and I, offer a historical perspective on the role of textbooks in physical education and kinesiology. The historical perspective provides a base for the discussion of topics related to the value of textbooks in our field and more broadly in all fields.
Busy TAA People: Wendi Zimmer Authoring New Book
TAA member Dr. Wendi Zimmer, PhD, a mindset expert, writing consultant, and Clinical Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University. is writing a book titled, The Force Continuum: How to Shift Your Mindset to Transform Your Life, which will contain simple strategies to be who you were made to be and develop your force.
“The Force Continuum is a series of four pillars (mindset, identity, energy, and habits) that when strengthened, allow us to apply the information we already know to believe in ourselves and take control of our lives,” said Zimmer. The book’s release date is January 10, 2025. Congratulations, Wendi!
Routledge Sells Out Authors to AI
by Janet Salmons, PhD
An unassuming post on LinkedIn asked “Have you ever published with Taylor & Francis, Routledge, CRC Press, F1000 or Dove Medical Press? If so the rights for AI to harvest your work have been sold to Microsoft which it will use to power MS Co-Pilot.”
Really. Funny thing, I never heard a peep about this from Routledge, even though I have three books published with them. I wrote to ask what the heck is going on, and received this response from a Taylor & Francis/Routledge Editor:
Princeton University Press Offering Grants to Historically Excluded and Underrepresented Scholars
Princeton University Press is offering grants for authors who represent groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields who are interested in developing a nonfiction book proposal. Applications are open August 12 to October 11, with selected candidates notified in December. Coaches participating in the grant program include TAA member Michelle Boyd, PhD, Inkwell Writing Retreats; and Margy Thomas, PhD, ScholarShape.
Selected grantees will be paired with a writing coach to collaborate on the development of a proposal for general interest books, scholarly monographs, or textbooks in physics and astronomy, earth science, biology, natural history, neuroscience, computer science, and the mathematical sciences. The opportunity is open to first-time and previously published authors who are writing in English from anywhere in the world.