2009 TAA Conference Sponsors
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Sponsor the 2009
TAA Conference for only $200!
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TAA member benefit: Books for Purchase
TAA members may list and promote works on-line if they hold the rights. These works can be out-of-print or self-published.
Works will be posted on the TAA site, permitting adopters and individual buyers to buy directly from the author.
Authors set the price.
Authors provide the means of delivery, either electronic or print format.
To list your work in the Books for Purchase section, fill out this application. Email an image of the book cover to kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
To view the works for sale visit http://www.taaonline.net/books/index.html
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TAA Membership Renewal Coupon Expires December 31, 2008
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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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TAA Fall Teleconference Series
TAA's free members-only Fall Teleconference Series.
Learn more about these teleconferences at http://www.taaonline.net/TAATeleconferences/schedule.html
Don't have your member username and password? Email Kim Pawlak
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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!
Registration is now open for the 2009 TAA Conference on Text and Academic Authoring, which will be held in San Antonio, TX, June 25-27 at the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel.
Conference registration is $225.TAA is offering a special rate for first-time TAA Conference attendees. TAA members attending for the first time pay only $180. TAA non-members attending their first TAA Conference pay only $195. The early registration deadline is April 15, 2009. After that date, registration will go up $50. It will go up an additional $50 after May 15, 2009.
Conference attendees can reserve a room at the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel for $114 per night by calling (866) 293-1842 or emailing reservations@eltropicanohotel.com and saying they are attending the 2009 TAA Conference.
TAA's 2009 Conference features four workshops, including Textbook Writing 101, a six-hour workshop by Michael D. Spiegler, a professor of psychology at Providence College and the author of several leading psychology textbooks; "Cut the Crap! How to Develop the Art of Academic Writing" and "How to Get Published by Scholarly Journals: Confessions of an Editor", a two-part workshop, each two hours, by Dr. Robert Ginsberg, professor emeritus of Philosophy and Comparative Literature at Pennsylvania State University; and "How to Write When You're Not a Natural Writer", a six-hour interactive workshop by Dr. William Waters, an assistant professor of English at the University of Houston-Downtown.
The conference will also feature more than 20 sessions, 10 Roundtable Discussions, free mentoring by authoring attorneys, literary agents, publishers, and veteran authors, and lots of networking opportunities. View the Preliminary Conference Schedule.
I hope you will join us!
Sincerely,
Kim Pawlak
Associate Executive Director
kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
(608) 687-3106
(507) 459-1363 cell
www.TAAonline.net
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Google Settlement Agreement less relevant to in-print textbook authors
By Kim Pawlak
The Google Settlement Agreement is an important settlement for book authors generally and may have some advantages for academic book authors, but for the most part, authors of in-print textbooks will most likely not choose to participate in Google Book Search under the terms of the settlement, said Richard Hull, TAA's executive director.
"The new business models made possible by this settlement agreement may prove to be largely irrelevant to authors of in-print textbooks," said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "Licensing textbooks through a massive database of various kinds of books is probably a poor way to make money on those textbooks." The license fee from subscriptions to educational institutions is unlikely to offset the loss of revenue from displaced textbook sales, he said.
"The Google Book Search database is probably best suited for books that are individually used rather infrequently but which, in aggregate, would be used a lot," said Aiken. "Publishers would seem unlikely to market many textbooks through this channel."
In-print books, by default, will be excluded from all display uses, including display of snippets, previews and institutional and other licensing. If one edition of a book is in-print, than all prior editions, whether in print or not, will by default be excluded from display uses.
"Many textbooks are works for hire, or the author has otherwise assigned the copyright to the publisher," said Aiken. "This settlement does not change the copyright status of books, so textbook authors who haven't retained rights won't gain them under this agreement."
Aiken nevertheless encourages textbook authors and all authors with copyright interests in books to register, regardless of whether those books are in print or not. "The settlement gives copyright holders substantial rights, including the right to exclude their works from databases and share in revenue. The best way to protect your rights is to register a claim."
Read the entire article
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TAA developing textbook authoring workshops
TAA is in the process of developing a series of textbook authoring workshops to complement its Academic Authoring Workshop series.
Workshops now being offered include "Textbook Writing 101", a one-day workshop presented by Michael Spiegler, and "Developing a Textbook Proposal", a one-day workshop presented by Mary Ellen Lepionka, a higher education developmental editor and founder of Atlantic Path Publishing.
"Textbook Writing 101" is designed for both those who want to learn how to write their first textbook and those who have written a textbook and want to learn how to write their next textbook or revision more efficiently and effectively. It will provide participants with the nuts-and-bolts of how to write a prospectus and sample chapters, how to contact publishers, and how to negotiate a favorable contract. They'll learn the basics of the writing, revising, and production phases and get advice on how to deal with publishers, alternatives to traditional publishing, and survival skills for authors. This workshop is a based on a three-day Chautauqua Short-Course for college faculty and graduate students that Spiegler teaches in a different location each year.
Spiegler is a professor of psychology at Providence College. He has been a successful textbook and academic author for 40 years with several leading psychology textbooks, including Contemporary Behavior Therapy (5th ed.) and Personality: Strategies and Issues (8th ed.). He has presented numerous workshops on textbook writing at universities, professional conventions, and at the annual TAA conference. Spiegler regularly reviews manuscripts for textbook publishers and serves as a consultant/mentor to college textbook authors in diverse disciplines. He is currently writing a comprehensive Handbook for College Textbook Writing. To schedule this workshop, contact Michael Spiegler, (401) 865-2618 or spiegler@providence.edu
"Developing a Textbook Proposal" incorporates lecture, discussion, application, and tutorial. It begins with an appreciation of the prerequisites: what is involved in stating your textbook idea, discovering the market for your textbook idea, and finding the right publishers for the kind of textbook you want to do? What kind of a track record and author profile do you need? Hands-on activities include completing a market analysis and competition grid. The workshop goes on to explore in greater depth what should be in a textbook proposal. Working on a prospectus template, participants will have opportunities to develop descriptions of their content, organization, apparatus, pedagogy, and presentation. Hands-on activities include completing a pedagogy plan and supplements plan. Participants also will have opportunities to develop plans for supporting materials, including the table of contents, sample chapters, and cover letter. The workshop concludes with advice on making contact with editors, observing publishing calendars and submission guidelines, and interpreting outcomes. Participants receive a free copy of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook, Second Edition.
Lepionka is a developmental editor in higher education and has worked with many major textbook publishers, such as Allyn & Bacon, Prentice Hall, McGraw-Hill, Wiley, Houghton Mifflin, Sage, and others. She is also the founder of Atlantic Path Publishing in Gloucester, MA, and author of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook, second edition (2008) and Writing and Developing College Textbook Supplements (2005). To schedule this workshop, contact Mary Ellen Lepionka at (978) 283-1531 or me.lepionka@verizon.net
These Textbook Authoring Workshops are sponsored by TAA. TAA covers the cost of the presenters' domestic travel expenses (including air, ground transportation, lodging, food, etc.), and the host institution pays the speaker's fee. Learn more about TAA's Textbook Authoring Workshops: click here
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Already have a writing group or are considering forming one? Make it a TAA Chapter and get a $500 start-up grant, a TAA Chapter website and Listserv, and 20 percent of your chapter's dues returned each year!
Recruit at least 30 members and you'll receive one complimentary TAA Workshop!
Contact Kim Pawlak for more information.
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Online texbooks deliver timely, real-world content
by Kim Seidel
John Gallaugher
Faced with the challenge of keeping up with the rapidly changing field of information systems (IS), author and teacher John Gallaugher opted to write an open source textbook with a new online company, Flat World Knowledge (FWK).
"The content in traditional IS textbooks is very weak," said Gallaugher, an associate professor in the Carroll School of Management, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass. "The cycle time is also quite long, so the content is often out-of-date. Consider how old content in Facebook or Google is with each traditional publication cycle. It's ludicrous to expect a student to spend $175 for this kind of product."
With those realities, he supplemented his courses with online sources for many years. "I then found it easy to wrap durable course concepts around contemporary cases," Gallaugher said. "I decided to move to the online venue when Flat World Knowledge approached me."
Gallaugher's open source textbook, Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology, has an expected publication date of summer 2009. Yet, he is publishing chapters and case drafts online as they're ready for release. About 40 percent of the book was online by September, and the material was already being used by faculty worldwide. The content is being added to the FWK platform as reviewers and other adopters provide feedback.
For teachers and students, open source textbooks provide fresh, current and engaging content, he said. The FWK format brings free, online content accessible from anywhere.
Read entire article
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AUTHORS ASKING
Q: "I have been writing a textbook but so far have beem unable to interest a major publisher. I may publish it with a small publisher without a sales force. That leaves me to market the textbook. Can you share some advice for what I should do in this situation?"
A: Robert Christopherson, professor emeritus of geography at American River College and author of the leading physical geography textbooks in the U.S. and Canada:
"Here are some ideas:
1. Examine similar textbooks in the field you are writing in over the past 10 years. Record publisher names, editors listed on the copyright page, and begin a list of any reviewers listed in the Preface. This process will give you an idea of publishers active in the discipline and some you might want to contact with your proposal. The reviewers master list will add to names you already may know who can act as reviewers for your manuscript. You will have to invest some upfront money in paying reviewers. Sometimes the reviewer list will give you an idea where large course offerings exist in your subject area. You will want to select some of your reviewers from these departments. Make a spreadsheet with these names and schools so its searchable.
2. Check your professional association or group and find out the cost of ads in newsletters and journals. Find out the cost of ads in the program guide or abstracts book for the annual conventions. Maybe find out what a booth space costs. A great book cover, harvested quotes from reviewers, etc., will all help with this.
3. All your upfront costs are tax deductible---this is a business. I know investing in a work "on spec" is always a risk but the capital outlay may insure more success down the road.
4. Establish a website and domain for your book if possible. Update as the book develops. Google the topic and yourself to get the subject and discipline linked to your website.
5. Check the TAA archives for self-publishing and promotion materials. Also, check the Poynter Institute www.poynter.org/ He presented a workshop at one of our TAA meetings that was terrific.
6. Contact a literary lawyer to make sure you retain ownership and have 'offramps' in the contract with the initial small publisher so that when your book hits and you want to shift to a bigger house, you will be free to do so."
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Pearson exec blogs on educational publishing
An educational publishing executive at Pearson Education, Alison M. Pendergast, blogs on education, technology, publishing, digital content and marketing at her blog, http://www.alisonpendergast.com. Recent posts have been on open source and e-textbooks.
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Take grammar lessons from a news copywriter
Read broadcast writing coach and author Mervin Block's latest article, "Are You Ready For the Big Time, Say '60 Minutes'?", which contains some great lessons on how to tighten your writing and improve your grammar: Visit Block's web site
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Top 10 grammar errors
Becky Burckmyer, author of Awesome Grammar (Career Press, 2008, shares the "top 10" grammar errors she has seen in her 20-year career as a copywriter, writing coach and seminar leader:
1. Incorrect placement of quotation marks. Note that quotation marks go OUTside periods and commas, whether the little marks are part of the quoted material or not:
Archie has written a song, "Green Christmas," which I think you should hear.
All other punctuation goes inside or outside depending on whether it's part of the quotation. If this rule seems odd or unfamiliar, you may have been reading material published in England, where periods and commas, like all other punctuation, American or British, are in if they're part of the quoted material, out if they aren't.
2. Insertion of too much material between subjects and verbs. Your subject and verb should be placed close together if possible. Doing so cuts down on errors of various kinds:
The design of the spacious kitchen with its brushed steel appliances and island of granite counters the notion that functional can't be beautiful.
Because the subject, "design," and the verb, "counters," are so far apart, it's easy to misread and think the writer is discussing granite counters.
3. Misuse of the words "like" and "as." "Like" precedes a noun, "as" precedes a verb.
In her Halloween costume, she really does look like a princess.
As you predicted, everybody wants red wine.
"Like I said" is substandard English.
Read the entire article
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Council of Fellows nomination deadline Nov. 30
The deadline for applying for membership in TAA's Council of Fellows is Nov. 30. The association's Council of Fellows members are distinguished authors who have a long record of successful and diverse publication as a textbook author, an academic author, or both. Candidates should be authors whose textbooks or academic articles or books have established their presence in their field.
Council of Fellows members are chosen
by a TAA Selection Committee based on a set of criteria which includes their level of participation in TAA activities; teaching excellence; quality and quantity of textbooks (if textbook authors); and quality and quantity of professional journal articles, monographs and edited books (if academic authors). A full set of criteria is enclosed.
New Council of Fellows members are inducted at the association's annual conference, at which time they receive a special engraved medallion and lifetime membership in TAA.
Applications must include documentation in support of the Council of Fellows criteria. Send your application and documentation to TAA, P.O. Box 76477, St. Petersburg, FL 33734-6477. Questions? Contact TAA headquarters at TextandAcademicAuthors@taaonline.net
The deadline for application to the TAA Council of Fellows is November 30, 2008. New members will be inducted at the 2009 TAA Conference in San Antonio, Texas, June 25-27.
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