"Make Your Book Better and Your Sales Bigger with Online Feedback Tools"
Thursday, September 25th, 12-1 p.m. central time

Presented by David Brake, CEO and Founder, Content Connections.

If you haven't been asked to take an online survey recently, maybe you've been living in the Peruvian Jungle without Internet access. The fact is it's never been easier to create and launch an online survey. Same goes for other "feedback applications" that help you get inside the heads of your market. The evolving world of social media enables new kinds of relationships with your market. But the tools don't matter if you can't use them strategically and skillfully.

In this session David Brake, CEO and founder of Content Connections, a company that specializes in market research, audience analysis, and feedback loops for publishers and authors shows you how to create simple but effective "author-driven" surveys that can be created, managed and launched online. If you would like to learn how to tap into the collective wisdom of your market and establish relationships with potential buyers and adopters, you won't want to miss this session.

What You'll 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.
• How to enlist the support of your publisher.

David Brake is a 22-year veteran of the book publishing industry where he has held sales, marketing, and editorial positions with McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, Time Warner and Times Mirror. As an editor and publisher, he has published several best-selling books in the areas of Science, Business, and Information Technology. Founded in 2002, Content Connections is an independent consumer research and consulting company for the book publishing industry. The company specializes in helping authors and publishers identify, augment, and involve a book’s ideal audience prior to publication. Visit the Content Connections website at www.contentconnections.com

Sign up for this teleconference

"How to Craft a Winning Textbook Proposal"
Thursday, October 9th, 12-1 p.m. central time

Presented by Mary Ellen Lepionka, Higher Education Developmental Editor, and Founder of Atlantic Path Publishing.

Most publishing houses have similar proprietary forms for prospective authors to use in drafting a book proposal. Those forms do not explain, however, the underlying needs and expectations of the publishers or editorial boards that will review your prospectus and decide whether to offer you a textbook contract. This teleconference is designed to explain those needs and expectations and to answer your questions about getting a publisher.

First, how can you be sure you are ready to write your proposal? What steps can you take to be ready? What should you include—and not include--in your prospectus? How can you best showcase your credibility, market savvy, competitive edge, content organization, and authorial voice and style? What are some hallmarks of winning proposals? When and to whom should you send your package? How can you be sure you are sending it to the right places? What is the likelihood that your proposal will be accepted?

Mary Ellen 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). Mary Ellen is a proud member and sponsor of the Text and Academic Authors Association.

Sign up for this teleconference

"Scholarly Publishing: Finding Support Through Peer Mentoring"
Thursday, November 13th, 1-2 p.m. central time

Presented by Linda Searby, an assistant professor of education in the School of Education at the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Three non-tenured assistant professors in the School of Education at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham 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., 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.

Linda Searby, the project's principal investigator, 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 how you can develop a similar group
on your campus.

Learn more about S.N.A.P.: Click here

About the Presenter

Dr. Linda Searby has been in the field of education for over 25 years. She
established and directed two successful private preschools early in her
career. She was an elementary school teacher for seven years and served as a
public elementary school principal for 10 years. Her passion as an
administrator was leading her schools in staff development and systemic
change. Dr. Searby joined the faculty in Educational Leadership at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham in August, 2005. At the UAB, Dr. Searby
teaches courses in Leadership and Administration, Curriculum and
Supervision, Politics of Education, Mentoring, and School-Based Problem
Solving. 

Dr. Searby is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (B.A.), Eastern
Illinois University (M.S.), and Illinois State University (Ph.D.). She has
presented extensively to principals and teachers on topics such as The Power
of Reflection, Characteristics of Stuck and Moving Schools, Engaging Women
in Mentoring Relationships, and Effective Leadership. Dr. Searby has
presented nationally at the AASA Women and Emerging Leaders Conference, ASCD
Annual Conference, National Staff Development Council Conference, Research
on Women in Education, Mid-South Educational Research Association, and has
served as a consultant for the Academic Development Institute in developing
Alliance for Achievement, a school reform model. She served as President of
Illinois Women Administrators from 2003 ‹ 2005. Dr. Searby's research
interests include women and leadership, mentoring, and reflective practice.

Sign up for this teleconference