Member Testimonials

Betty Azar, author of the bestselling Azar Grammar Series

"I am a member of TAA because I think there is a need for an organization that provides information and services for academic authors. I want to do what I can to help support other authors. Plus TAA is a source I can go to when I need insight into certain business aspects of contracts and publishing. I believe that the more authors share information about contract negotiations, the stronger authors become as a group. The publishers do try to hold all the cards when it comes to contracts. I also like getting bits of information about the publishing industry -- and ideas about where publishing might be going in the next twenty years. TAA, in these things and many others, provides a real service for authors."
— Betty Azar, author of the bestselling Azar Grammar Series

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"Attending Dr. Gray's [Tara Gray's "Publish & Flourish: Become A Prolific Scholar"] workshop earlier this year was a great experience, and her suggestions have helped not only my work but the work of my students. Just this semester in my nonfiction writing class, a student shared her angst over not finding time for what she really wants to do: write! The class rallied with suggestions, and I was able to relate how faculty members experience similar dilemmas with time management. It was a great moment to introduce the tips and scholarship of Tara Gray, Robert Boice, and others. I shared how the 15-30-minute writing approach has worked well for me in my own creative nonfiction work and new forays into screenwriting. That approach also kept the momentum going during a multimedia grant project I worked on over the summer.

The information TAA provides about authors' rights is important and needed, as a colleague of mine and I experienced when we proposed multimedia work to a publisher earlier this year. Through my TAA membership, I definitely hope to gain even more insight into this area."
— Jill Heney, a faculty member in the English Department at Boise State University

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"The information and knowledge that my writing partner and myself have gained from joining TAA has been great. When we went to the conference this past summer, we had only sent out our prospectus to four different publishers for our first textbook. That is as far as we had moved. Now, we are talking to 3 different publishers, have had one set of reviews come in, and we feel so much more in control of this , overwelming "horizon". I truly appreciate the online conversations that I receive. Some days I get a lot of conversation, other days nothing. This is fine for me. We are learning so much and value all the information. Sometimes we have no idea what people are talking about because we have not moved that far. That is ok, we store the information away. We also know that we have a wide range of colleagues to bounce ideas off. Thanks so much."
— Andreana M. Grimaldo

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"I joined the TAA after attending Tara Gray's informative workshop 'Publish and Flourish' last June. Since then, I have published three articles in peer-reviewed journals. I just wanted to acknowledge that I wouldn't have accomplished that without her help."
— Victoria A. Malko, Ed.D., California State University, Fresno

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Andrew P. Johnson

"Thanks so much for the advice. This is an incredible organization. In my four days as a member, I have gotten lots of help/insight."

— Andrew P. Johnson, Ph.D., Professor, Holistic Education, Department of Educational Studies: Special Populations, Minnesota State University, Mankato

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"Actually I'm just thankful TAA was there when I needed it! I had been searching in vain for years for a decent text for my graduate level risk management course, when my department chair suggested I should just write a book myself. So I responded to a request for book proposals, received a contract from a major publisher, and hadn't a clue as to whether it was a decent contract or I was being played as a neophyte (my risk management genes showing through).

Jan Lyons

Fortunately at that point I discovered TAA and between the contract advice on the website and the advice from a labor law friend, I was able to make an informed decision regarding the contract I was sent (no, I didn't sign it, and the publisher was most uncooperative regarding negotiating the offending clauses). I hope to self-publish through TAA, after all, my main reason for going through all this was to provide better resources for my students. But I also hope to gain inspiration through TAA to publish my research, just can't quite seem to get around to finishing those journal articles since it's not an employment requirement.

Thanks for being there!"

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"After years of working in the field of photojournalism, and then obtaining a graduate degree to teach on the college level, I became accutely aware of the need for an organization that would allow me to learn first-hand about the rigors of authorship and publication. TAA met that requirement, and has always afforded me the best information on our unique field of endeavour. The opportunity the organization offers to its membership is that of a personal mentor. Throughout the process of learning about text and academic authorship TAA has always been there for me. The membership is the best in the field, they are extremely open to new members, and in sharing their information life-long relationships are formed. Being afforded the opportunity of serving on the council and now in its executive leadership is the crowning achievement iof my academic career. If I hadn't had so much fun as a photojournalist, I could only wish I had gotten into academia and the Text and Academic Authors Association earlier."
— Chris Harris, photojournalism professor and active TAA member

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"I joined TAA as soon as it came into existence because of the respect I have for Mike Keedy, the founder of TAA. I knew he would put together a great organization, and he did. I have served on the board of TAA and also on the TAA Foundation Board. I have used the TAA model contract to improve my own contracts, and have been very impressed with the legal referrals I have had from TAA. I always recommend TAA to anyone interested in writing a textbook."
— Charles P. "Pat" McKeague, a full time writer and a part time instructor at Cuesta College, he has published over 16 textbooks in mathematics, from basic mathematics through trigonometry. Also a TAAF Board Member

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Long-time TAA member Paul A. Krieger credits TAA with the successful publishing of his first textbook, A Visual Guide to Human Anatomy. In a letter to TAA he writes:
"...none of this may have been possible without the mentoring I received from other TAA members. I am deeply grateful for all the tips, encouragement, and advice that I received over the years."

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Long-time TAA member LuAnn Nissen:
"TAA has been the single most informative association I've been involved in. I had no idea that authors from all over the country met regularly and shared information about experiences with their publisher, contracts, and royalties. So the first time I attended a TAA conference in 1992 I was literally blown away. I was amazed that all of these resources, all of these knowledgeable people are out there so you don't have to struggle with it by yourself."

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Jane Birch, Ph. D., Brigham Young University:
"The recent TAA newsletter (Dec. 2006) [The Academic Author] is the best issue I've seen. Thanks for the increased attention to academic authors. It is wonderful to belong to an organization that cares about helping academic authors."

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Ricardo D. Fierro, Ph.D., Department of Mathematics, California State University San Marcos:
"I find the ongoing discussions [on the TAA Listserv] regarding royalty rates thought-proving and interesting. Thanks so much, it makes the TAA more effective and keeps the members in touch."

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