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2005
TAA Convention
Las Vegas, Nevada
June 24-25
Convention
Registration
Convention
Schedule
Convention
Photos - Members Only section
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Convention
News
as of August 8, 2005
Past
Convention News
February
7, 2005
February
21, 2005
March
8, 2005
March
21, 2005
April
4, 2005
April
18, 2005
May
2, 2005
June
1, 2005
June
6, 2005
TAA Convention
receives high marks
The majority
of those attending the 2005 TAA Convention in Las Vegas this June
gave the convention high marks. Most of the sessions were given
an excellent or good rating. One attendee called it "a very
good convention for newbies and veterans."
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Outgoing
Executive Director Entertains Convention Attendees
Outgoing
TAA executive director Ron Pynn depicts the typical woes of a
textbook author in his convention speech, a playful poem.
For Pynn's
speech: Click
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Prolific
grant writer shares his advice on landing grants
The key element
in grant writing is attitude, said Kenneth Henson, distinguished
professor at the Citadel's School of Education, and author of
a new book by Allyn & Bacon, Grant Writing in Higher Education:
A Step-by-Step Guide. "You have to believe that you can take
it as far as you want to as long as you're willing to work hard,"
said Henson, during his TAA Convention presentation, "Grant Writing
in Higher Education," in Las Vegas, June 22. "If you don't have
a belief in your ability to succeed, it's not going to happen."
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19 Tips
for first-time authors
Four authors,
three from TeachingPoint, a publisher of course specific materials
for el-hi and college instructors, shared their advice for first-time
authors during a TAA Convention panel on "Writing for the First
Time".
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Policies
and politics of textbook adoptions
Christopher
Stream, assistant professor of Public Administration at the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas, took attendees through the history, policies
and politics of textbook adoptions during his TAA Convention presentation,
"Beyond the Three R's: The Policies and Politics of Textbook
Adoptions."
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article and Stream's Power Point file used in presentation: Click
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Attorney
advises authors on e-rights
The items
in a publishing contract are like a bundle of asparagus, you can
sell all of them together, or negotiate the terms for them one
by one, said Michael Lennie, an authoring attorney and agent for
Lennie Literary & Author's Attorneys during a TAA Convention panel
presentation on text and academic materials development in the
digital age. "Electronic rights is just one of those spears of
asparagus," he said. "And on that one spear are many different
e-rights elements. The author is in the enviable position of owning
all of those spears."
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Eleven
participate in 1:1 sessions
Eleven TAA
Convention attendees took advantage of free one-on-one sessions
with authoring attorney and agent Michael Lennie of Lennie Literary
Agency & Authors' Attorneys, or authoring attorney Steve Gillen
of Greenbaum Doll & McDonald PLLC, held during the TAA Convention
in Las Vegas. Sessions ranged from 30 to 55 minutes.
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Talk Tips
With Texty, McGuffey winners
Six past
and present Texty and McGuffey winners shared their insights into
what it takes to create an award-winning textbook at an informal
roundtable lunch discussion held Saturday, June 25 during the
TAA Convention in Las Vegas. Two award winners shared tip sheets.
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What publishers
are looking for in authors
Most authors
today don't have the technical experience to create digital content,
said Ted Buchholz, senior vice president of Copyright Clearance
Center, during a TAA Convention panel on text and academic material
development in the digital age, but that will need to change in
the future if they want to attract a publisher. "Publishers have
done a good job of providing digital content services for authors,
but in the future, authors are going to be asked increasingly
to provide these services themselves," he says.
Buchholz
oversees CCC's marketing, publisher relations, author and creator
relations, research and development and business development areas.
His background includes positions at Harcourt College Publishers,
where he served as publisher and senior vice president and then
president and chief executive officer.
He shares
some additional insight into what publishers are looking for in
potential new authors:
- The ability
to differentiate their planned text from the "competitors".
- Whether
they have they written something. Not a dissertation, but a
trade (non academic) book that has had some success.
- A good
understanding of the market and the books he/she would compete
with.
- Organized
thinking
- A network
of colleagues at other colleges who may be interested in the
book.
- Conciseness/brevity
- A major
desire to write.
Buchholz
spoke at the TAA conference as part of a special "Beyond the Book"
panel discussion, together with CCC colleagues Dru Zuretti, client
relationship and education manager, and Christopher Kenneally,
director of Author & Creator Relations, as well as "author's
editor" Diane Feldman and authoring attorney and agent Michael
Lennie. Details about all "Beyond the Book" programs are online
at www.copyright.com/beyondthebook
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Hiring
an 'author's editor' has its benefits
Diane Feldman,
principal of AuthorCraft Editorial Services, an authorship consultancy
that offers developmental and substantive editing, copyediting,
formatting, reference checking, publications consulting and writing
workshops, said textbook authors could benefit from an editor
who is employed by the author, rather than the publisher. "An
author's editor's goal is to make sure that when the manuscript
goes to the publisher, it is in the best possible shape," said
Feldman during a TAA Convention panel presentation on text and
academic material development in the digital age.
An author's
editor can help authors produce a clear and well-written manuscript
that gets the author's message across, said Feldman: "A publisher's
author wouldn't rearrange a sentence; or tell the author that
he or she lost the flow of the article here; or that this point
would be better made there. An author's editor is also more objective
and sensitive than a colleague, who may not want to tell you what
he or she really thinks of the manuscript."
Feldman said
part of her job is to think ahead to ensure that mistakes aren't
made along the way, and to keep everyone on track. "When the author
loses track of what he or she didn't know when they started, they
also lose track of what the reader doesn't know about the topic,"
she said. "Authors can keep their own goals in mind -- the author's
editor can help the author keep the goals of the reader in mind."
The real
value of working with an author's editor is that he or she becomes
an author's publishing partner, she says: "He or she will work
with you regularly, get to know your style, your research and
your career goals. He or she will also help you target your publications
and enhance your career."
Feldman shares
some advice for working with publishers:
- Don't assume
that the publisher and editor know what is being done and when.
All parties need to spell this all out early on.
- Even when
working electronically, don't make the project a faceless one.
Nothing substitutes for a face-to-face conversation. Don't do
everything electronically.
- Follow
the publisher's guidelines to the letter. The publisher's guidelines
are like rules of etiquette: they smooth the process of getting
the manuscript published. If you haven't followed the guidelines
to the letter, the editor won't know where to look for what
they're looking for and if you have provided it, they won't
know in what context.
Learn more about
AuthorCraft at http://www.authorcraft.net
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Protect
your works: Know 'fair use' and copyright laws
 |
| Dru
Zuretti, client relationship and education manager for Copyright
Clearance Center, emphasized to authors the importance of
protecting the copyright to their works during a June 22 TAA
Convention panel presentation on text and academic material
development in the digital age. |
Intellectual
property has become the primary fuel of the American economy,
said Dru Zuretti, client relationship and education manager for
Copyright Clearance Center, during a TAA Convention panel presentation
on text and academic material development in the digital age.
"Intellectual
property accounts for $433 billion or 5.6 percent of the gross
national product," she said. "This has created an environment
where people are concerned about protecting intellectual property.
Intellectual property presents both a threat and opportunity right
now. Text and journal authors need to understand the protection
provided by copyright law, when they should be compensated for
the use of their work and when it can be used by others under
the fair use doctrine, because their work will be used by faculty
at other institutions."
For example,
fair use means that someone can make a copy of your work for their
own purposes for teaching in the classroom, said Zuretti, but
the use needs to be brief (you can't copy the entire work, only
a potion of it), spontaneous (not a planned use) and not have
a 'cumulative effect' (be used semester after semester), thus
effecting the value of the work in the marketplace.
"Once something
doesn't fit fair use standards, you need copyright permission,"
said Zuretti. "CCC can help authors license their individual works
so that they get compensated when their work is used."
Before you
use or let others use your work, however, make sure you own the
rights to it, she said. Review your contract to see what type
of uses you own and what type your publisher owns. Also, find
out what the policy is on your campus for work you created while
employed there. What belongs to you and what work belongs to the
institution? "The use of electronic material is a hot topic right
now," said Zuretti. "Google yourself to find out how your material
is being used electronically."
Zuretti spoke
at the TAA conference as part of a special "Beyond the Book" panel
discussion, together with CCC colleagues Ted Buchholz, senior
vice president, and Christopher Kenneally, director of Author
& Creator Relations, as well as "author's editor" Diane Feldman
and authoring attorney and agent Michael Lennie. Details about
all "Beyond the Book" programs are online at www.copyright.com/beyondthebook
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Harris
named 2006 TAA Convention chair
The TAA Council
announced that Chris Harris will serve as convention chair for
the 2006 TAA Convention in New Orleans during its annual meeting
in Las Vegas June 21. Harris is a New Orleans native. He is also
TAA vice president-president-elect.
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Christopherson
receives TAA President's Award
TAA Treasurer
Robert Christopherson received the 2005 President's Award from
TAA. The President's Award is presented by the current TAA president
to someone in his or her view has great potential for service
in TAA. "TAA means everything to me," said Christopherson,
a geology author. "Thank you." Last year's winner was
John Wakefield, who is now TAA President.
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Tucker
receives TAA's Norma Hood Award
TAA's Managing
Director Janet Tucker received the 2005 Norma Hood Award from
TAA. The Norma Hood Award is given in recognition of the efforts
of a member who, because they are away from the limelight, doesn't
often receive the recognition they deserve.
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Gillen
receives TAA's Mike Keedy Award
TAA Council
member Steve Gillen received the 2005 Mike Keedy Award from TAA.
The Mike Keedy Award is named after the founder of TAA and is
the highest award the organization can give a member for their
work on behalf of authors. Gillen is an authoring attorney with
Greenbaum, Doll & McDonald, PLLC.
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 Gray's
pre-convention workshop draws 17 attendees
Tara Gray's
pre-convention workshop, "Publish and Flourish: Become A
Prolific Scholar", held Thursday, June 22, drew 17 attendees,
bringing in $1,242 in income for TAA. The workshop raised a total
of $3,700. A third of that money went to expenses, a third went
to TAA, and a third went to New Mexico State University's Teaching
Academy, which co-sponsored the workshop.
The TAA Council
approved Gray's request to present her workshop the day before
the TAA convention in New Orleans in 2006. "The workshop
should gain momentum each year we hold it, attracting more attendees
each year," said Gray.
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