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Executive
Director's Message
May
2008
Member feedback, participation welcomed
Starting
in February, we began publishing The Academic Author monthly,
rather than quarterly. I hope that you are enjoying the more frequent
issues of your member newsletter, and that it has helped
you stay more connected to TAA and your authoring. We welcome
your comments about the newsletter, and would appreciate any suggestions
for content. You can also submit articles for publication. We
are accepting submissions of how-to articles, Writer's Block essays
(essays on the writing life), columns (on textbook and academic
authoring issues such as used books, open access, comp copies,
etc.), and member news (you published a book, journal article,
or other educational work; received a promotion or an award; etc.).
For more information, or for writer's guidelines, contact me at
kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
You may have
noticed that we have begun sending TAA News Alerts, our bi-monthly
e-newsletters, via a Constant Contact html-based service rather
than through the TAA Listserv. This decision was based on the
feedback we received from members, who said they wanted to receive
the News Alerts, but didn't want to receive messages from the
Listserv, and they couldn't get one without the other. We also
wanted to send TAA News Alerts in a more attractive, easy-to-read
format. We hope you like the new News Alert format, and welcome
your feedback.
TAA began
holding bi-monthly teleconferences on March 6. They have
so far received high ratings. A participant of the first teleconference,
"Publish & Flourish: Become A Prolific Scholar", moderated
by Tara Gray, said: "It was great!!! Thanks Tara Gray and TAA!"
"I was surprised -- agreeably so -- by the small number of participants
so that there could be individual attention and participation,
and feel I've already received full benefit from membership and
am recommending this to others. I'm glad I found you! Thank you."
A participant of the second teleconference, "Royalty Q&A"
moderated by Paul Rosenzweig said: "Thank you TAA for hosting
the Royalty Q&A teleconference. I learned some useful information
about royalty issues, especially how authors should negotiate
clauses in contracts that permit the authors to review the books
to ensure royalty statements are accurate. I look forward to future
TAA teleconferences." A participant of the third teleconference,
"A Coach's Perspective on Finishing Your Dissertation," moderated
by Dave Harris, said: "Dave Harris offers a valuable perspective
that doctoral students working on their dissertation need
to hear. He provides important insights to help students get the
most out of this learning experience and his insights ring
true. He clearly breaks down the dissertation process into
its component parts and provides practical advice for every
student working on a dissertation. What most resonated for
me were his comments to stop researching and start writing, and
his statement that there are many voices and opinions out there,
so in putting your ideas on paper, there will be others who
disagree. And that is okay. I think doctoral students
at any stage of their dissertation process will benefit from
Dave Harris' teleconference."
(The last
two teleconferences, "Don't Settle for A Publisher's Standard
Contract: Terms You Can & Should Negotiate," moderated by
Stephen Gillen, and "Tips and Tricks for the Do-It-Yourself Indexer,"
moderated by Seth Maislin, were held after press time.)
You can listen
to recordings of all of the teleconferences here on the TAA website:
Click here. More
teleconferences are being planned for fall. If you would like
to moderate a teleconference, or have a suggestion for a topic,
please email me at kim.pawlak@taaonline.net
or call me at (608) 687-3106.
We recently
sent out a Member Survey via email. I would like to thank those
of you who have already responded. I encourage the rest of you
to take a few moments and fill out the survey. A print copy of
the survey has been included in this issue. This information
will help us shape future member benefits and services, and restructure
current member benefits and services to better serve you. This
is your association and we want you to be part of its growth and
development. I look forward to hearing from you.
Kim Pawlak,
TAA
Associate Executive Director
Current
TAA Notes
Past
Messages from the President
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