View video testimonials from 2008 TAA Conference
2008 TAA Conference attendees tell what they gained from the conference and encourage others to attend.
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View video of 2008 TAA Conference
New video of 2008 TAA Conference shows conference highlights, encourages authors to attend 2009 TAA Conference in San Antonio June 25-27.
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2008 TAA Conference
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TAA thanks Sustaining Members
Eugene Lemay and Susan Stempleski
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Please take a minute to fill out the 2008 TAA Member Survey
Your answers will help us shape future member benefits!
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Subscribe to TAA Listservs
Subscribe to one or both of TAA's Listservs, one on textbook authoring and one on academic authoring.
Subscribe to the Textbook Authoring Listserv by sending an email to TAATextbookAuthoring-on@mail-list.com
Subscribe to the Academic Authoring Listserv by sending an email to TAAAcademicAuthoring-on@mail-list.com
You can switch to the Digest version of the Textbook Authoring Listserv, in which you receive only one email message per week with all that week's posts contained within it, by sending an email to TAATextbookAuthoring-switch@mail-list.com
once you have been subscribed.
To switch to the Digest version of the Academic Authoring Listserv, send an email to TAAAcademicAuthoring-switch@mail-list.com once you have been subscribed.
After you are subscribed to the Textbook Authoring Listserv, send messages to TAATextbookAuthoring@mail-list.com
After you are subscribed to the Academic Authoring Listserv, send messages to TAAAcademicAuthoring@mail-list.com
Read the archives for both Listservs here
If you have any questions, please email Kim Pawlak
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Greetings!
TAA is accepting session proposals for its 2009 Conference on Text and Academic Authoring, which will be held in San Antonio, TX, June 25-27 at the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel.
TAA is seeking proposals for 30-minute or 60-minute sessions that would appeal to textbook and other instructional materials authors, academic authors (authors of journal articles, dissertations, grants, scholarly books, etc), or both groups. Deadline for proposals is November 15, 2008.
Possible topics related to textbook authoring: The future of textbooks; preparing the next edition; how authors can proactively market their work; new and emerging technology for authors; online publishing; the business of authoring; e-books; the writing process; how to write a crossover book; working with co-authors.
Possible topics related to academic authoring: Open access; insights from a scholarly book editor; insights from a scholarly journal editor; orientation to the book publishing/journal publishing industry; how to create an edited book.
Possible topics that would appeal to both groups: Time management; the business of authoring; how to make your work more visual; developing collaborative relationships with other writers; the writing process.
Click here to view specific session topics we are seeking proposals for.
Fill out a session proposal form: click here
Learn more about the 2009 TAA Conference: click here
Sincerely,
Kim Pawlak
Associate Executive Director
Text and Academic Authors Association
Send me an email
(608) 687-3106
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TAA seeks 2009 Texty, McGuffey Award nominees
Ask your publisher to nominate your textbook or other learning materials for a 2009 Textbook Excellence Award or McGuffey Longevity Award.
Textbook Excellence Awards (or "Textys") recognize current textbooks and learning materials that demonstrate excellence based on four criteria: interesting and informative; well organized and well prepared; up to date and appealing; and teachability. McGuffey Longevity Awards (or "McGuffeys") recognize textbooks and learning materials whose excellence has been demonstrated over time.
Texty and McGuffey entries must be officially nominated by publishers, but authors can ask publishers to nominate their book. Authors do not need to be members of TAA. The nomination fee for each book is $300.
Download Nomination PDF forms for 2009 Texty and McGuffey Awards: click here
The deadline for sending nomination forms and fees for the 2009 Texty and McGuffey Awards is October 15, 2008. The deadline to receive the books for judging purposes is November 15, 2008. These deadlines are flexible according to publication dates. Contact TAA headquarters if you need more time: (727) 563-0020 or e-mail.
Read about TAA's 2008 Texty and McGuffey Award winners: Click here
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TAA seeking judges for 2009 Texty, McGuffey Awards
TAA is seeking judges for its 2009 Texty and McGuffey Awards. Judges must be published authors in one of the eight award categories: math, stats; communication/education/ performing arts/visual arts; language/literature; computer science/engineering; physical sciences; life sciences; humanities/social sciences; and accounting/business/economic/management.
Entries are judged by no fewer than three but usually five judges. Judges who have a directly competing work are asked to sit out. Judges are asked to rank entries on a 1-5 scale in these criteria: interesting and informative; well organized and well prepared; up to date and appealing; teachability. In addition, judges are asked to describe strengths and special features that contribute to each work. Judges also are asked to describe weaknesses. In event of a tie on the rankings, these open-ended comments can assist the chief judge for each category in making a decision. The open-ended comments are made available to nominated authors, without judges being identified.
Download Judge Application Form (PDF): click here
For more information about serving as a judge for the 2009 Texty and McGuffey Awards, contact Janet Tucker, TAA's Managing Director, at (727) 563-0020 or e-mail.
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'Textbook piracy' not the solution to rising textbook costs
Students' latest reaction to the increasing costs of textbooks, referred to as 'textbook piracy', the unauthorized scanning of textbooks made available for free download on file sharing websites, will most likely only result in another rise in textbook costs, said TAA Executive Director Richard Hull.
"I don't think students realize that using pirated textbooks will not solve the problem of high textbook costs any more than purchasing used books has," he said. "In both cases, publishers and authors receive no income from the use or sale of these books, causing publishers to have to increase the prices of new textbooks to recoup those losses."
Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the AAP, said that it is his impression that those engaged in print piracy are purely out for profit: "While many online pirates consider their efforts to be a cause to fight for free information and to 'stick it' to the publishers, some sell ads on their sites."
The AAP is combating textbook piracy by locating and thwarting infringements. For printed textbooks, the AAP has a division headed by attorney Patricia Judd, who works with the U.S. State Department and travels the world working with foreign governments, overseas printers, publishers, distributors and police to shut down pirate printers. For digital piracy, they have another attorney, Ed McCoyd, who is their director of digital policy. McCoyd works with AAP members and retains a law firm to track down websites that distribute pirated works and demand that the infringements be taken down.
TAA is working with the AAP to come up with solutions that will discourage students from resorting to theft and that will encourage them to respect the enormous amount of time and effort that authors and publishers have invested in writing and publishing textbooks.
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TAA launches Fall Teleconference Series
TAA has launched its members-only Fall Teleconference Series. The first teleconference, "Make Your Book Better and Your Sales Bigger with Online Feedback Tools" will be held Thursday, September 25 from 12-1 p.m. central time.
View the Fall Teleconference Schedule
Sign up for one or more Fall teleconferences
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TAA to hold teleconference on online feedback tools for authors
David Brake, CEO and founder of Content Connections, a company that specializes in market research, audience analysis, and feedback loops for publishers and authors, will present a TAA Teleconference Thursday, September 25 from 12-1 p.m. central time entitled "Make Your Book Better and Your Sales Bigger with Online Feedback Tools".
In this one-hour, members-only teleconference, Brake, a 22-year veteran of the book publishing industry, will show you how to create simple but effective "author-driven" surveys that can be created, managed and launched online. Participants will learn the do's and don'ts of author-driven surveys; how to craft effective questions that yield actionable results; how to choose an online survey tool that works for you; other online feedback tools for your toolbox; how to manage your contact list and turn them into relationships; and how to enlist the support of your publisher.
TAA members can sign up for this free teleconference by clicking here or by sending an email with their name, email address and the title of the teleconference to kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
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TAA to hold teleconference on how to craft a winning textbook proposal
Mary Ellen Lepionka, a higher education developmental editor and founder of Atlantic Path Publishing, will present a TAA teleconference on "How to Craft a Winning Textbook Proposal" on Thursday, October 9 from 12-1 p.m. central time.
"I will explain the underlying needs and expectations of the publisher or editorial board that will review your prospectus and decide whether to offer you a contract," she said.
Lepionka will also answer authors' questions about finding a publisher, including how can you be sure you are ready to write your proposal? What steps can you take to be ready? and What should you include - and not include - in your prospectus?
TAA members can sign up for this teleconference by clicking here or by sending an email with their name, email address and the title of the teleconference to kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
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TAA to hold teleconference on how to form a scholarly writing group
Linda Searby, an assistant professor of education in the School of Education at the University of Alabama Birmingham, will present a TAA Teleconference on Thursday, November 13 from 1-2 p.m. central time entitled "Scholarly Publishing: inding Support Through Peer Mentoring."
Searby was one of three assistant professors in the School of Education at UAB who formed a professional learning community called S.N.A.P., Support Network for Assistant Professors, in 2007 as a way to offer structured support for the School of Education's non-tenured faculty who wish to become more prolific scholarly writers.
Twelve of the School's assistant professors joined the group and began meeting monthly for peer mentoring, writing workshops, informative presentations by senior faculty, and the development of supportive, collegial professional relationships with one another. The objective of S.N.A.P. was for faculty peers to give each other 'a leg up' to 'go up' for tenure and promotion.
At the end of the first year of S.N.A.P., the group's leaders conducted a survey to determine the effectiveness of the group. More than 80 percent of the group's members said that participation in S.N.A.P. motivated them in writing more or publishing more. Eighty-two percent of the group's members said they had had articles accepted for publication.
Seventy-five percent of the group's members said that they met the goals they set for themselves at the first S.N.A.P. session, and all said they would participate in the group the next year.
Searby, who wrote a scholarly paper on the project, will share how she created the support group, describe the success that they have had, and tell faculty how they can develop a similar group on their campus.
Learn more about S.N.A.P.: Click here
Members can sign up for this free teleconference by clicking here or by sending an email with their name, email address and the title of the teleconference to kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
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Writing workshops provide support for academic authors
By Kim Seidel
Holding writing workshops is an effective way to support, celebrate and teach writing. That's what Andrew P. Johnson, Ph.D., director of the Center for Literacy and Inclusion at Minnesota State University, Mankato, discovered when he ran a Writer's Workshop (WW) on campus aimed at professors.
"I've looked at a lot of research that demonstrates the best way to teach writing is the process approach. WW is a familiar concept used by many elementary and middle school teachers," Johnson said. "Many professors who wanted to write had no idea about the process of writing a journal article or book prospectus."
The workshop achieved the goal of teaching professors the process of putting together a scholarly article or book prospectus. The group met every two weeks for 60 to 90 minutes. At the beginning of each session, participants checked in to report on their progress and to set goals for the next workshop. "This process was very helpful in getting people published," Johnson said. "Two books that I know of and several articles came out of this workshop."
On the downside, Johnson discovered that more people like the concept of writing than the actual writing. "They like to talk, but not do," he said. "Writing is a matter of putting your butt in the chair every day. Those that really wanted to write were very successful."
Along with reporting progress and setting goals, another important part of WW was the writing circles, where the members met in groups of four. Each participant was given seven minutes to read a paper and write comments or feedback. At the sound of a bell, members passed the paper to their right and did the same with the next paper.
"After the papers had made their way around the circle, the author would get his or her paper back with a lot of different perspectives and comments," Johnson said. "The small groups would then talk about the papers, give feedback and ask questions."
For your WW to be successful, keep the group simple, Johnson said. "Stay out of the way. You won't help people write by speaking at them," he said. "They learn to write by getting feedback on their manuscripts, such as through the writing circles."
Johnson ran the WW for two years. "I provided a service to those who wanted it," he said. "It did take time and energy, both of which are very precious commodities to a writer/professor. I stopped because I wanted to focus more on my own writing."
Kim Seidel is a freelance writer based in Onalaska, Wis.
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Students offer top five reasons for switching to digital books
More than one third of the most popular college textbook titles (those expected to sell at least 200 copies nationwide this Fall) are now available in eTextbook versions from CourseSmart, according to data compiled by industry analysts at R.R. Bowker's PubTrack Business Intelligence Division. CourseSmart LLC (www.coursesmart.com) was founded by five higher education textbook publishers including Pearson, Cengage Learning, McGraw-Hill Education, John Wiley & Sons Inc., and the Bedford, Freeman, Worth Publishing Group.
"Our goal is to offer as many textbooks on CourseSmart as possible so that every student has the opportunity to purchase their assigned textbook as an eTextbook," said CourseSmart CEO Sean Devine. "eTextbooks are a great way to learn and save money and we think all students will benefit from this new choice."
Since its launch in August 2007, students at more than 1,000 colleges and universities have purchased eTextbooks from CourseSmart. Eighty percent of existing customers said they will continue to purchase their assigned textbooks as CourseSmart eTextbooks.
Read the entire article
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University System of Ohio to reward faculty for creating affordable learning materials
The University System of Ohio has launched a competitive grant and faculty award program that recognizes and rewards its faculty efforts to make learning materials more affordable.
A new Textbook Affordability Grant program offers a $250,000 grant to faculty teams who develop, build, and package collections of course materials offered free to students. The University System of Ohio will fund as many as five projects at $50,000 per course offering.
The University System of Ohio is also rewarding faculty members who find innovative ways of creating digital content (video, simulations, e-texts and journals, visualizations, etc.) that lower the out-of-pocket costs to students with a $1,000 cash award. Ten winners will be chosen each year from nominations by students, administrators and other faculty members. Nominations will be reviewed by a panel of state and national reviewers.
"These programs will reduce student expenses and reward faculty who apply their substantial intellectual property into reusable course materials that can be delivered without the costly overhead of traditional publishing," said University of Ohio System Chancellor Eric Fingerhut.
For more information, click here
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