FEATURED SPONSOR
of the 2009 TAA Conference Roundtable Discussions Luncheon
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FEATURED SPONSOR
of the 2009 TAA Conference Networking Hospitality Hour
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2009 TAA CONFERENCE SPONSORS
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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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I am resending this issue of the TAA News Alert because there were some links not working in the previous version.
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Greetings!
TAA is launching a direct mail campaign this fall to attract more textbook authors to the association and we need your help to build our list.
Help TAA grow by sending us the names and mailing addresses of your friends, co-authors, and colleagues who are either current textbook authors, or who are considering writing a textbook.
The first 40 of you who send at least 20 names and mailing addresses will receive a copy of either
Self-Publishing Textbooks and Instructional Materials, by Franklin H. Silverman (donated by Atlantic Path Publishing)or
Successful Textbook Publishing: The Author's Guide by Thomas Brock
To qualify for the free book, all names and mailing addresses must be sent via email to me at Kim.Pawlak@TAAonline.net by October 1, 2009. Those of you who send 1-19 names will receive a coupon for $5 off your membership renewal rate.
As TAA's textbook membership grows, so does the network of support it can offer you.
Why are we only seeking to attract textbook authors? Because we already reach out to academic authors thorough the sponsorship of academic authoring workshops held on campuses across the country. Although we attract many new textbook authors each year through TAA gift memberships given by current members, through textbook authors who visit the TAA website, and through textbook authors who attend the TAA annual conference, we need to develop a proactive effort to reach out to even more of them.
I also encourage you to renew your TAA membership if you have not already done so. The best way to keep TAA strong is maintain your membership. If you are unsure of your renewal date and haven't received a renewal notice, please contact me at Kim.Pawlak@TAAonline.net or (608) 687-3106.
Sincerely,
Kim Pawlak
Associate Executive Director
kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
(608) 687-3106
(507) 459-1363 cell
www.TAAonline.net
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TAA FALL TELECONFERENCES
TAA members can sign up now for several new TAA Teleconferences being offered this fall. Participation is free for members.
You will be asked to enter your member username and password to access the sign-up page. If you do not have them, email Kim Pawlak.
Topics being offered this fall include:
Generating & Refining Research Ideas, Part One
Monday, October 5th, 10 -11 a.m. CT (8-9 a.m. Pacific; 9-10 a.m. Mountain; 11-12 p.m. Eastern)
Textbook Supplements: The Big Three, Part One
Monday, October 5th, 12 - 1 p.m. CT (10-11 a.m. Pacific; 11-12 p.m. Mountain; 1-2 p.m. Eastern)
How Authors Can Navigate Successfully Through Copyright-Related Issues
Thursday, October 8th, 12 - 1 p.m. CT (10-11 a.m. Pacific; 11-12 p.m. Mountain; 1-2 p.m. Eastern)
Generating & Refining Research Ideas, Part Two
Monday, October 12th, 10 -11 a.m. CT (8-9 a.m. Pacific; 9-10 a.m. Mountain; 11-12 p.m. Eastern)
Textbook Supplements: Electronic Products, Part Two
Monday, October 12th, 12 - 1 p.m. CT (10-11 p.m. Pacific; 11-12 p.m. Mountain; 1-2 p.m. Eastern)
Making the Most of the Author-Editor Relationship: Insights From An Author & Editor Monday, October 19th, 10 - 11 a.m. CT (8-9 a.m. Pacific; 9-10 a.m. Mountain; 11-12 p.m. Eastern)
Members also have free access to recordings of past TAA Teleconferences.
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SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING WEBINAR ON COPYRIGHT--FREE FOR MEMBERS!
Copyright for Today's Dynamic Writing and Publishing Environment
Tuesday, November 3rd, 1 - 2 p.m. CT (11-12 p.m. Pacific; 12-1 p.m. Mountain; 2-3 p.m. Eastern)
Presented by Dru Zuretti, Copyright Education Manager, and Christopher Kenneally, Director, Business Development, Copyright Clearance Center
This webinar will focus on the basics of U.S. copyright law, including a copyright holder's privileges and obligations, and when permission may be required and how to get it. Participants will also have the opportunity to take part in an interactive question and answer session for clarification on some of the nuances of copyright they may encounter in their everyday work.
Dru Zuretti, copyright education manager, has been with CCC since December of 1997. She travels throughout the United States presenting on a variety of copyright issues. Chris Kenneally is director, business development, and has reported on education, business, travel, culture and technology for a number of leading publications, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and The Independent of London.
This one-hour webinar will be hosted by the Copyright Clearance Center.
Register here
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Textbook authoring in the digital age
by Mary Ellen Lepionka
On August 19, 2009, I finally saw in print a statement echoing my long-held belief that the business of textbook publishing is truly in a state of radical (some would say, catastrophic) change. The statement was in a Courthouse News Service summary of a suit brought by a group of stockholders against their company, Barnes & Noble.
B&N had just bought BN College, its own spin-off private company, for nearly $600 million. BN College is a chain of more than 600 campus bookstores serving nearly 4 million college students and a quarter of a million faculty members. The stores provide textbooks, ancillary materials, trade books, and other goods through exclusive supply chains, especially Barnes & Noble.
The suit claimed that this acquisition lacks transparency (it enriches B&N's CEO, who has a controlling interest in BN College), wastes corporate assets, and increases shareholders' exposure to risk (potentially reducing their earnings), because, QUOTE: With used textbooks available on the Internet and rental textbooks available at 40 percent to 70 percent off sale price, the college textbook business has entered 'permanent decline' END QUOTE
There it is: permanent decline (and note that lawyers, not the publishing industry, first uttered these words in print.)
Read more
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Former TAA President L. Kathy Heilenman dies
TAA Past President L. Kathy Heilenman died July 31, 2009 after a lengthy struggle with breast cancer. She was 64.
Heilenman was an associate professor of French and Italian at the University of Iowa, and taught courses in Second Language Acquisition, Foreign Language Education, and French language. She was also a founding co-director of Foreign Language Acquisition Research and Education (FLARE) and its doctoral program in Second Language Acquisition. She was the lead author of Voilą, a first-year college French textbook, now in its fourth edition. Her work also appears in numerous scholarly journals and edited volumes.
Read more
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Google Settlement agreement opt-out deadline Sept. 4
The deadline for opting out or objecting to the Google Book Search Settlement Agreement is this Friday, September 4, 2009. Authors of both in-print and out-of print books can opt-out from the entire settlement, and retain their rights to sue Google for infringement. Authors of in-print books will have their books included only if they opt-in, and authors of out-of print books will have their books excluded only if they opt-out. They can also ask Google to remove any previously scanned books. Read more
AAP spokesman talks about benefits of Book Rights Registry
On July 15, The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) interviewed Allan Adler, vice president for Legal and Governmental Affairs in the Washington, DC office of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), about the benefits the Google Settlement and the creation of the Book Rights Registry could potentially provide to authors and publishers. Listen to a podcast of the discussion on the CCC Copyright Education page: Click here
Publisher provides collaborative, entrepreneurial environment for authors
A new company, Wohl Publishing, Inc., is offering college textbook authors a fresh publishing model that fills the gap between large, traditional publishers and the difficult route of self-publishing.
Wohl Publishing, Inc.'s Founder and CEO Rich Wohl, who has worked at traditional college textbook publishers Allyn & Bacon, Prentice Hall, Addison Wesley Longman, and Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, said his company strives to provide greater attention, collaboration and resources to authors.
Read more
McGraw-Hill Education, Chegg.com partner to rent textbooks
K-12 school textbook publisher McGraw-Hill Education and online textbook rental company Chegg.com, are launching pilot shared-revenue program in which McGraw-Hill will provide new print textbooks directly to Chegg for its online rental business. This first-of-its-kind collaboration will provide McGraw-Hill with a new revenue stream and allow Chegg to expand the supply of textbooks that students can rent from its service. Read more
Cengage to rent textbooks
Textbook publisher Cengage Learning is the first textbook publisher to offer textbook rentals directly to students through a new site called CengageBrain.com. The new site will launch in December 2009 with an initial offering of several hundred titles for rent, followed by a more comprehensive roll-out of titles available for rent in July 2010.
Read more
Ten free high school math, science digital textbooks meet CA content standards
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has released the first report of California's free digital textbook initiative - which outlines how high school math and science textbooks submitted under the first phase of the initiative measure up against the state's rigorous academic content standards.
Of the 16 free digital textbooks for high school math and science reviewed, ten meet at least 90 percent of California's standards. Four meet 100 percent of standards, including the CK-12 Foundation's CK-12 Single Variable Calculus, CK-12 Trigonometry, CK-12 Chemistry and Dr. H. Jerome Keisler's Elementary Calculus: An Infinitesimal Approach.
Read more
38,000 students to use Flat World Knowledge open source texts this fall
This Fall, 38,000 college students at 350 colleges will use Flat World Knowledge's (FWK) open source college textbooks. That number is up dramatically from the only 1,000 FWK open source texts used by college students at 30 colleges in Spring 2009. Read more
Begin early to gather feedback about your book
Beginning early to gather feedback about your intentions for a new book can provide authors with valuable insights on whether or not an idea will gain traction, says Social Media Bible co-author David Brake.
Listen to a CCC Beyond the Book podcast, "Your Readers are Your Authors," here
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TAA NOTES
Nominate your textbook for a 2010 TAA Texty, McGuffey Award
Nominations are now being accepted for 2010 TAA Textbook Excellence Awards ("Textys") and McGuffey Longevity Awards ("McGuffeys"). Deadline for nominations is October 15, 2009.
For the first time this year, textbooks can be nominated by both authors and publishers. Textys recognize excellence in current textbooks and learning materials. McGuffeys recognize textbooks and learning materials whose excellence has been demonstrated over time (15 years or more). Read more
Listen to podcast on time management
Listen to a podcast of the 2009 TAA Conference session on time management by psychologist and author Susan Robison, "What To Do When You Don't Have Time," on the Copyright Clearance Center's Beyond the Book site: click here
and then scroll down to Robison's podcast.
Former TAA Council Secretary Mary Kay Switzer and Walter Cronkite
Above is a photo of Former TAA Council Secretary Mary Kay Switzer (far left) taken in 1999 at a PBS sponsored event that paid tribute to broadcasters who have made an impact on broadcasting---namely Walter Cronkite. Switzer was invited to head up a panel with Kronkite (second from left), Grace Fredricks (second from right) and Roone Arledge (far right) since she had done a number of reference works on broadcasting--including articles and books. Switzer was also one of the first women to anchor a newscast in the U.S. with a national sponsor.
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Tech Bit: Mail merge emails
If you use Outlook, did you know you can use Word to do mail merge to create custom emails to a group of people? If not you should check out this Microsoft web page:
MAPILabs (http://www.mapilab.com/) can take that great feature and make it even more powerful. They have an inexpensive ($24) Word/Outlook add-on that "fixes" two huge Word merge to email limitations.
Word merge to email won't let you have attachments. In the past my way around this was to put Outlook into "work offline" mode, do the merge, open all the messages in my outbox and manually (or using a macro) attach the file or files, and then switch back to online mode to send the messages.
With Mail Merge Toolkit, I can now select to merge to the toolkit which lets me attach the files right at the time of merging.
The other limitation Mail Merge Toolkit "fixes" is I can now do merge substitutions in the subject line of the email, letting me personalize an email more. Either of these two limitations make Mail Merge Toolkit worth every penny, of course it has other features too.
Another related MAPILabs add-on that is inexpensive (also $24) is Send Personally.
If you want to send the same email to a bunch of people, you can stick all their email addresses in the TO field. That really makes some people made since it discloses their email addresses to other recipients (want to see how mad, just do that to a large group of journalists, you'll get flamed in public as they reply all to tell you how stupid you are).
The alternative is to send that email to yourself and use the BCC for the list. But many spam filters assume that BCC sent emails are spam, so some of your recipients won't get that party invitation.
Send Personally adds a button to your Outlook next to the send button. If you click the Send Personally button, it takes the long list of emails in the TO field and sends the email to each one as if you had done it individually. You can even do some limited data merging without resorting to doing a full scale Word merge.
Gregg Marshall, CPMR, CSP, is a speaker, author and consultant. He can be reached by e-mail at
gmarshall (AT) repconnection.com, or visit his website at http://www.repconnection.com
Disclaimer: TAA has not tested and neither endorses nor opposes any product or procedure recommended in this article or ones referenced in any TAA publications, teleconferences, or workshops. |
Listen to recordings of 2009 TAA Teleconferences
TAA members can now listen to the following 2009 TAA Teleconference recordings:
- Taxes and Authors - What You Should Know
- Royalties: Are You Unknowingly Losing Money?
- Writing and Editing Effectively Using 'Fast Writing' and 'Slow Editing'
- Negotiation of Author-Publisher Contracts for the Experienced Author, Part One & Two
- Grants Gamesmanship
- Is Textbook Writing for You?
- You Want to Write a Textbook? Here's How to Do It!
- How to Apply Mainstream Book Publicity Strategies to Academia
Listen to the recordings here
You will need your member username and password to access the recordings. Please email kim.pawlak@taaonline.net if you don't have a username and password.
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TAA Gift Memberships
You can give a TAA Gift Membership for only $15.
Providing a gift membership to a family member, friend, student or colleague is a great way to assist them with their writing and show your support for TAA's mission.
Learn more
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TAA 2008 Teleconference Series
TAA members can now listen to recordings from TAA's 2008 Teleconference Series. The playback options have been enhanced to enable members to rewind, fast-forward and pause the recordings in addition to stop and play. The recordings can also now be downloaded and listened to on a computer or Mp3 player.
These recordings are for members-only. Only TAA members have permission to download TAA Teleconference recordings. Recordings may not be copied, shared with, or distributed to non-members.
Listen to or download the recordings:
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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DISCLAIMER: TAA has not tested and neither endorses nor opposes any product or procedure recommended in this article or ones referenced in any TAA publications, teleconferences, or workshops.
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