“Next stop, mobile apps!”—that was the title of a webinar I attended last week, presented by one of the major textbook publishers. Like most educators, I’m skeptical about technology-driven claims made about mobile apps or other tools. Technology should serve learning, not drive it. Students and instructors should be supported in using the most appropriate and accessible tools and technologies for a given situation. Newer is not necessarily better.
Register your own copyright: When, why, and how?
As textbook and academic authors, your copyrights are your livelihood, and the value of your copyrights is often enhanced by registering them in the U.S. Copyright Office – something that you can easily do for yourself. Yet, as publishing and copyright attorneys, we find that many text and academic authors know less than they should about copyright registration. Here’s our sample Q&;A conversation with an author who wanted to know more about when, why, and how to register the author’s copyrights:
Textbook award-winning insight (part 3): Advice and lessons for other writers
A few weeks ago, I reached out to winners of the 2016 TAA Textbook Awards and asked them to answer some questions about their textbook writing. I had so many great responses I decided to create a three-part series to share them. The first installment focused on why they decided to write their textbook, how they got started, and what they do to boost their confidence as a writer. The second installment focused on how they fit writing time into their schedule, what software they use, what their favorite pedagogical elements are, and what involvement they have had in marketing their book. This last installment in the three-part series focuses on the advice they have to share with other authors and what they wish they had known before they started their writing journey.
5 Ways to tame your publishing lions
Forget kindergarten. All I really need to know about being a textbook author, I learned as a lion tamer.
I’m a textbook author and professor now, but in my youth I was an apprentice lion tamer. And it continues to surprise and delight me that many of the principles I learned during those adventures have helped me in my career.
TAA once again stands up for authors in Google Books case
More than a decade ago, in 2004, Google initiated a program, in concert with several university and large public libraries, to scan and digitize the entire contents of millions of books without regard to whether they were or were not still under copyright, ultimately making complete digital copies of more than 20 million books. Google’s goal was to expand its search business to include print works as well as online works. It spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this project, suggesting what Google believed to be its commercial potential.
TAA announces 2016 Textbook Award winners
Seventeen textbooks have been awarded 2016 Textbook Awards by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA). Three textbooks received 2016 William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Awards, six textbooks received 2016 Textbook Excellence Awards, and eight textbooks received 2016 Most Promising New Textbook Awards.