Leveraging collaboration among authors and editors

When I started writing anatomy and physiology textbooks in the 1980s, I never gave much thought to this last part of my adventure: my exit. And here I am, getting ready to step back and hand it all over to others in a few short years.

I’m finding out that some of my friends in TAA who have exited or are on the “offramp” are valuable counselors who freely give advice from their experience. Most recently, four colleagues presented their experiences at the 2022 TAA Conference in a panel called Time to Slow Down: Finding an Offramp from the Authoring Freeway. Even with all this help, my offramp has been a bit bumpy.

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3 Types of academic editors

There are three types of academic editors: developmental, copy, and substantive. Developmental editors work with authors to improve the overall quality of their work, including organization, clarity, grammar, and style. Copy editors focus on grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax. Substantive editors check for accuracy in terms of facts and sources.

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: March 4, 2022

Are you in the mood to write? Perhaps you’re waiting for something. Perhaps you’re waiting for the right time, the right environment, the right words. But waiting isn’t writing. Pearl S. Buck said, “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.”

To help you get down to work, consider the articles in this week’s collection to help you move your project forward. Now is the time. Don’t wait. Happy writing!

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Why thank the editor?

Craving publication, we may view journal editors as the enemy, obstructing our fame, fortune, and at least one publication. And when the acceptance finally arrives (and with relentless perseverance, it will), we rejoice, send out email blasts to everyone we know, and reply to world-renowned conference directors with gracious replies. Before all this, though, we should do one thing that’s both considerate and diplomatic: thank the editor.

This action makes sense for several sound reasons:

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4 Paths to writing productivity and publication success

In his 2019 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference presentation, “Organizing for Writing Productivity and Publication Success”, history author Kenneth Campbell shared organizational advice and tips based on his personal writing experience.  

Specifically, Campbell offered strategies and techniques for research and writing, time management, working with editors and publishers, and responding to peer review criticisms throughout the writing process. In conclusion, he encouraged participants to “focus on the contribution you are making to educating and enriching the lives of others” if the goal is success.

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: April 19, 2019

Yes or no? The simplest of questions, with the simplest of answers, yet often applied to the most difficult of concepts and discussions. This week’s collection of articles explores several questions you may be asking: Is Sci-Hub good for scholarly communication? Is this the best method for planning? Should we invest more in understanding the researcher experience? Should I hire a proofreader or editor? Should I pre-publish my research? Should I publish in open access journals?

Yes or no? No longer the simplest of answers. The truth is that as we explore these and other questions of value, the answer is rarely as simple as yes or no. It’s more often “whatever is right for you” or, in other words, maybe. But those decisions are what move us forward.

So are you ready to move forward with your writing this week? Yes or no? Happy writing!

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