Should You Index Your Own Textbook?

By Ken Saladin

Most authors may not want to index their own textbooks. Indexing has to be done quickly when paginated proofs become available, yet it comes at a time when we’re very busy proofreading the final pages, writing front matter, and getting the book to press. It also must look, to most, like a tedious chore. It may seem better left to a professional indexer, even if the cost is borne by the author.

Even aside from the cost, there are good reasons to leave it to the pros. Indexing is a complex skill that requires understanding of not just the book’s subject matter, but its audience, the publisher’s practices, and the stylistic mechanics of good versus amateurish and dysfunctional indexes.

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Submit Your Proposal for the 2025 TAA Virtual Conference Now!

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.

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Your Textbook Deserves Recognition: Nominate it for a TAA Textbook Award

You’ve put so much time and passion into your textbook. Now is the time for that work to be recognized by nominating it for one of TAA’s industry-respected awards:

  • Most Promising New Textbook Award: this award recognizes promising textbooks and learning materials in their first edition.
  • Textbook Excellence Award: this award recognizes excellence in current textbooks and learning materials.
  • McGuffey Longevity Award: this award recognizes long-standing textbooks and learning materials that have been in print for at least 15 years.

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Engaging Our Inner Critics

By Michelle Rivera-Clonch, PhD

We often hear about the hazards of an Unskilled Inner Critic and, like most things, there’s more to the story. Our Skilled Inner Critic, when called upon, promotes a writing flow that encourages us to be calm, cool, connected and creative. We have access to both Critics—it’s about the intensity and frequency that we rely upon each one to help us complete the writing project.

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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.

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2025 TAA Virtual Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring Call for Proposals Now Open

The TAA Conference Committee invites proposals for its 2025 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference, which will be held online June 6-7. Presenting at TAA’s 2025 Conference provides an opportunity to share your knowledge, experiences, and ideas with other textbook authors, academic authors, and industry professionals. The theme is “The Future is Now.” We welcome proposals from first-time and veteran presenters! The deadline for submitting a proposal is October 13, 2024.

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