REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
Full member registration is $200.
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Please thank your 2010 TAA Conference Sponsors
sponsor of the Roundtable Discussions Luncheon
donated 30 copies of Frank Silverman's Self-Publishing Textbooks and Instructional Materials
donated 30 copies of Writing Your Way to Success: Finding Your Own Voice in Academic Publishing, by Susan M. Drake and Glen A. Jones
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Update your contact information
If your mailing address, email address, or phone number has changed recently, please fill out a Member Update Form online or contact TAA headquarters at 727-563-0020 or TextandAcademicAuthors@taaonline.net
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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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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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Greetings!
This season's teleconference series kicked off Feb. 4 with Kathleen King's Faculty Success: Tenure, Promotion & Merit Demystified.
The second teleconference of this season, BrandStoria: The Power of Your Unique Brand Story, presented by Sharlene Sones, was held on Feb. 9.
If you weren't able to participate in these teleconferences, you can download the recordings and listen to them at your convenience.
If you called in late or had to sign off early, I encourage you to listen to the full teleconferences.
You will need your username and password to download the recording. If you don't have them, please email me and I would be happy to send them to you.
Sincerely,
Kim
Kim Pawlak
Associate Executive Director
kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
(608) 687-3106
(507) 459-1363 cell
www.TAAonline.net
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Call for nominations to the TAA Council
Two officer positions and two Council positions will be opening up on the TAA Council on July 1, 2010.
Any member of TAA is eligible to serve on the TAA Council. The open officer positions are Vice President/President-Elect and Treasurer. Both are two-year terms. The Council terms are three years.
TAA Council members are required to attend two meetings per year, one in January in St. Petersburg, Florida, and one the day prior to the association's annual conference (held traditionally in late June or early July). Travel and lodging expenses related to attending these meetings is reimbursed. Officers also attend monthly teleconferences.
Nominees must send a photo, a 100-150 word bio, and a 100-150 word position statement with their nominations, describing why they would be a good candidate for the TAA Council. Deadline for completed nominations is March 1, 2010. Ballots are mailed to the membership March 15, 2010. The deadline for the receipt of ballots from members is April 15, 2010. Terms begin July 1, 2010.
To nominate yourself or a colleague for the TAA Council, email your nominations to TextandAcademicAuthors@taaonline.net or mail to TAA, P.O. Box 56359, St. Petersburg, FL 33732-6359. Contact TAA if you have any questions: (727) 563-0020.
For more information or to view detailed job descriptions for each position, visit the TAA Elections page: here
View the current TAA Council here
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African America Studies scholar named to TAA Council of Fellows
African American Studies scholar Molefi Kete 
 Asante was named to the TAA Council of Fellows, a program that honors
distinguished authors who have a long record of successful publishing. He will
be formally inducted during an Awards Ceremony at the 2010 TAA Conference in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 26.
Said Asante: "It is an immense honor, one
that I will cherish because it is recognition from my peers for my hard work. I
am deeply devoted to the fine textbook and academic writing tradition of
TAA."
Asante is a professor in the Department of
African American Studies at Temple University. Considered by his peers to be
one of the most distinguished contemporary scholars, Asante has authored 70
books, among the most recent Maulana Karenga: An Intellectual Portrait, An
Afrocentric Manifesto, Encyclopedia of African Religion, co-edited with Ama
Mazama, The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony, Cheikh
Anta Diop: An Intellectual Portrait, Handbook of Black Studies, co-edited
with Maulana Karenga, Encyclopedia of Black Studies, co-edited
with Ama Mazama, Race, Rhetoric, and Identity: The Architecton of Soul,
Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation, Ancient Egyptian
Philosophers, Scattered to the Wind, Custom and Culture of Egypt, and 100
Greatest African Americans.
The second edition of his high school textbook, African
American History: Journey of Liberation, 2nd Edition, is used in more
than 400 schools throughout North America. The comprehensive Encyclopedia
of African Religion, co-edited with Ama Mazama, was published by Sage
Publications in December 2008.
"The Council of Fellows is an elite group of
authors recognized for prolific, sustained and high quality writing, and
extraordinary and equally sustained service to the Text and Academic Authors
Association," said TAA Council President Paul Siegel. "Professor
Asante qualifies on both counts, and we are thrilled that he has accepted our
invitation to be inducted into the rank of Fellows."
TAA initiated its Council of Fellows program in
June 1998 to honor distinguished authors who have a long record of successful
publishing. Authors whose textbooks or other instructional materials have
established their presence in the marketplace over time and who have been
innovative in the presentation of material are qualified for nomination into
the TAA Council of Fellows. Induction into the Council of Fellows is the
premier honor bestowed by TAA.
TAA Council of Fellows members receive an
engraved leather journal and a lifetime membership in TAA.
Other Council of Fellows members include: Michael Sullivan, 1999; Lee Mountain, 1999; Everette E. Dennis,
1999; Mike Keedy, 1999; Franklin H. Silverman, 1999; Karl J. Smith, 1999;Thomas L. Wheelen, 2000; William R. Pasewark, 2000; Karen Hess, 2001; D. Stanley Eitzen,
2001; J. David Hunger, 2001;
Charles D. Holland, 2002; Patrick G. McKeown, 2003; Karen C. Timberlake, 2005; Marilyn T. "Winkie" Fordney, 2005;
Robert Christopherson, 2009; Fred Kleiner 2009.
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Published TAA members: Please fill out an Authors Coalition Survey
Survey, please take a moment to do so: If you have published a scholarly book, journal article, or textbook and did not fill out an Authors Coalition Survey when you joined or renewed your membership, or if you have published since joining or renewing and need to update your Authors Coalition. Download a PDF Authors Coalition Survey
Mail to TAA, Attn: Sharon Pevzner, Authors Coalition Survey, P.O. Box 56359, St. Petersburg, FL 33732-6359.
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TAA NOTES
Wakefield appointed to at-large position on TAA Council
TAA Past President John Wakefield was appointed an at-large member of the Council effective July 1, 2010. At-large positions are one-year terms.
Attorney appointed at-large member of TAA Council
Outgoing TAA Council member Stephen Gillen, an attorney with Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, has been appointed to an at-large position on the Council effective July, 1, 2010. At-large positions are one-year terms.
Sanchez, Davis appointed to TAA Foundation board
The TAA Council appointed Claudia Sanchez and Dannielle Joy Davis to the TAA Foundation Board. Their three-years terms will start April 1, 2010.
Sustaining Member: Susan Fawcett
TAA thanks Sustaining Member Susan Fawcett.
Register with Authors Registry to receive reprographic payments
TAA recently partnered with the Authors Registry (www.authorsregistry.org) to help facilitate the distribution of title-specific reprographic payments to its author-members. Click for more
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Author wins award for Best Educational Use of a Social Networking Service
Jim Burke, author of McDougall Littell Literature, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, won the 2009 Edublog Award for Best Educational Use of a Social Networking Service. Click for more
Maney Publishing launches open access model
Maney Publishing (UK), which publishes scholarly journals in materials science, humanities, and health science, launched a new open access (OA) business model called MORE OpenChoice. The new program currently includes 23 materials science and engineering journals and 15 health science journals. The company plans to expand the program to include humanities journals in the future. Click for more
SOTA Writing Retreat April 15-18
Sisters of the Academy Institute (SOTA) will be holding a Writing Retreat, "Building a Scholarly Writing Community
for Black Women," April 15-18, in Columbiana, Alabama. The deadline for registration is January 25. The number of registrations is limited to 25. Click for more
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TECH BIT:
Free calls with Skype
by Gregg Marshall
One implementation of VoIP (Voice Over IP) everyone should be looking at is Skype. The biggest reason is it is free. The software to use Skype is free. Skype to Skype calls anywhere in the world are free. All you need is a headset for your computer, which you can get for $5 to $10 if you don't already have it (experience has proven that using the speaker and microphone built into most notebooks produces very bad quality phone calls). Calls to regular phones in most the rest of the world are only 2 cents per minute. If most of your calling is within the US and Canada, Skype has a plan for $29.95 a year that gives you unlimited calling to the US and Canada.
If you want, you can get a phone like handset that plugs into your computer. Or get a phone that uses your WIFI wireless network without a computer at all.
You can also get a regular telephone number (SkypeIn) that lets people with regular phones call you for $10 per month including voice mail. (I use Skype only for outbound calls)
The only possible negative to Skype is that you need to have your computer on to make or receive phone calls (unless you are using one of the special phones above). Another potential negative, and I say potential because it is becoming more uncommon, is you need a high speed internet link.
Even if you decide on another VoIP phone solution, I would suggest installing Skype on your notebook computer. Then while traveling, if you get high speed internet in your hotel room (or at a local Starbucks), you can make all the calls you want at no extra charge. Since most hotels charge up to $1.50 for a local call, and cell phone minutes can be precious, Skype is a great option I use a lot when traveling-especially when you are overseas, where my cell service is $1.99 per minute.. I've even made a Skype call home from 34,000 feet mid-Atlantic on a SAS flight.
Another area Skype excels is its video conferencing. If your computer has a webcam (you can add one for $25-50) and the person you are talking to on Skype has a webcam you get a button to make a video call. It is absolutely simple and a great way to do video. I've even attended a conference in Denver where a keynote speaker spoke from Warsaw Poland via Skype and remote access with both computers projected on dual screens. I also saw an attendee at another conference holding a computer with the webcam toward the speaker to share that session with someone at the office. Think of the possibilities in your business.
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 athttp://www.repconnection.com
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Five successful writing strategies
By Dr. Kathleen King
Many people cannot get started writing because  they do not know where to start. In this column, I share insight from years of teaching students and professionals of all ages how to prepare professional work.
Which one of the following applies to your struggle with writing? - Beginning to write;
- Finding a unique angle for your next writing project or
- Discovering a path through the writing process?
The great news is that guidance for all of these concerns are included in this one brief article. Strategy 1: Research.
Regardless if one is writing fiction or nonfiction, the author must do sufficient research to provide substantial background for the work ahead. This research can take many forms, depending on the type of writing, but it is absolutely necessary to have deep, broad information to provide full detail and accuracy in the account.
Strategy 2: Determine Your Angle.
Once you, the author, have the information, it is critical to determine your unique perspective or angle to approach the topic. How will you introduce your reader to this portrayal in unique way which will sustain his attention through a compelling account? Developing such an approach is a vital starting point.
Strategy 3. Discovering Your Concept Maps.
In order to determine your unique approach, it may be helpful to write key points of information on paper or digital note cards. Examine the information and look for trends, patterns, and groupings of themes or topics. See if you can envision ways the information can be arranged to present it clearly and fully to the readers. In this manner, you may discover your unique angle, and certainly a good start on Strategy 4.
Strategy 4. Organize Your Work; Outline is not a nasty word!
Our fourth grade teachers taught us to use outlines for our writing, but we all try to find a shortcut. After about 5 books and over 100 published articles and papers, I finally gave in and realized my teachers were right. Before I start writing in earnest, I now create a tentative outline that will morph with my work. It provides indispensable guidance and framing of my many hours of work. Colleagues I have worked with have found this approach equally as beneficial, and I expect you will as well.
Strategy 5. Cyclical Writing.
The strategy of cyclical writing is a surprise to many professionals and students. Many people believe they must write documents from beginning to end in their entirety. Instead, I have found it very successful and rewarding to work through the outline in a cyclical manner. The first time through, I do a few sentences for each outline point; then maybe the next time through, I write a paragraph on each point. Finally, I begin settling down to write in different areas. By approaching the writing process in his manner, it keeps me focused on the big picture, the entire flow of the piece. Otherwise, the sections might become disjointed if 2 months are spent on one chapter before finally moving to the next. By working through all of the chapters and points repeatedly (iteratively) authors can weave together the style, voice, and flow of the content, details, and the plot or message.
Dr. Kathleen P. King (EdD), Certified Coach, Author, Keynote Speaker, Professor of Education (http://www.facultyspeaker.com) is an award-winning author of 17 books (3 more in process at this time) and a dynamic, interactive keynoter, and author who invigorates audiences on a variety of professional topics. |
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DISCLAIMER: TAA has not tested and neither endorses nor opposes any product or procedure recommended or referenced in any TAA publications, teleconferences, or workshops.
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