eBook Downloads
Browse this growing library of eBooks packed with tips and strategies to improve your textbook and academic writing.
Members receive access to all eBook downloads. Log in to access the members-only download page.
Not a member? Nonmembers can download our latest eBook for free (the first one below). Join TAA for access to our full eBook archive and many other member benefits, including live webinars, 250+ presentations on demand, publication and textbook contract review grants, a quarterly print newsletter, and discounts on the annual conference, professional services and publications.
Artificial Intelligence & Authoring: How Textbook & Academic Authors Are Navigating AI Tools Like ChatGPT
AI tools like ChatGPT are being used by textbook and academic authors to increase productivity, generate first drafts, organize research, and more. This eBook includes the results of two TAA surveys on AI and authoring and several articles showcasing how TAA members are utilizing AI tools.
Textbook Proposals: From Author Guidelines to Submission
What You'll Get:
- Forming a Publisher Relationship: 6 Strategies for Building Rapport
- Forming a Publisher Relationship: The Acquisitions Editor
- Forming a Publisher Relationship: 3 Steps for Submitting Your Project
- Textbook Proposal Submission Tips: How to Evaluate the Competition
- Playing the Field: Is it Okay to Submit a Single Book Proposal to Multiple Publishers?
Check out TAA's compilation of Textbook Publishers' Author Guidelines
Can My Textbook Publisher Really Do That?
This eBook includes common author questions and answers From Industry Insider Sean Wakely and Royalty Auditor Juli Saitz. First-time and novice textbook authors may ask themselves throughout the publishing process - "can my publisher really do that?" And the answer is "yes". And "no". And "it depends". Your answer will be determined by the initial negotiation of contract terms and your willingness to invest time in marketing the work after it's published. This eBook is full of advice on both.
Get answers to questions such as:
- Can the publisher stop publishing my book if I don't agree to reduced royalties because of "rising costs"?
- Can the publisher make all decisions regarding title, order of authors’ names, cover, interior design, supplemental materials, price, marketing program, etc.?
- Can the publisher cross-collect between multiple titles if I publish more than one book for outstanding advances or returned units?
- Can the publisher solely determine the timeline in which a new edition of the work is to be published?
- Can the publisher sell or license the rights to other parties to create derivative versions of my entire work without my consent? (including “affiliate” companies owned by the same company)
Writing Accountability: Productivity Through Partnership
This 17-page eBook contains helpful information for textbook and academic authors on how to be more productive through writing accountability, including:
- How a Personal Writing Team Can Increase Your Productivity Through Accountability
- How to Be an Effective Writing Accountability Partner
- Writing Groups: When, Why, How, and Best Practices
- Developing Healthy Collaborative Relationships: Why and How
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
Developing Trust in Peer Review: From Author to Audience
This eBook is the compilation of a four-part series published on the TAA Blog during Peer Review Week 2020: "Trust in Peer Review". The series explores how trust in peer review is established, maintained and delivered, and focuses on the role of authors, reviewers, publishers and readers in developing that trust.
What You'll Get:
Part 1: Trust Starts With the Author Part 2: Trust Develops Through the Reviewers Part 3: Trust is Demonstrated By the Publisher Part 4: Trust is Appreciated By the Reader
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
Revise & Resubmit: Strategies for Success
What You'll Get:
- Commit to Submit: 5 Steps to Journal Publishing Success
- Systematic Reviews: Avoiding the Common Pitfalls That Lead to Rejection
- What to Do When You Receive a Revise & Resubmit Decision
- Feedback: Ah, Just Right
- 3 Tips for Making Revision Decisions Based on Reviewer Comments
Textbook Award-Winning Insight: From Winners of the 2020 TAA Textbook Awards
2020 TAA Textbook Award winners answer questions about how they made the decision to write their textbook, what pedagogical elements they are most proud of, what advice they would give aspiring authors, their strategies for successful coauthoring relationships, and more.
Twenty-nine textbooks were awarded 2020 Textbook Awards. Seven received William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Awards, 14 received Textbook Excellence Awards, and eight received Most Promising New Textbook Awards.
The McGuffey Longevity Award recognizes textbooks and learning materials whose excellence has been demonstrated over time. The Textbook Excellence Award recognizes excellence in current textbooks and learning materials. The Most Promising New Textbook Award recognizes excellence in 1st edition textbooks and learning materials.
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
5 Distinguishing Features of Academic Writing
During Academic Writing Month 2019, TAA hosted a series of #AcWriChat TweetChat events focused on the distinguishing features of academic writing. Throughout the series we explored five academic writing features:
- Precision
- Complexity
- Formality
- Objectivity
- Accuracy
This eBook brings together the discussions and resources from those events.
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
2020 TAA Textbook Contracts & Royalties Survey Results
TAA’s online 2020 Textbook Contracts & Royalties Survey, conducted from Feb. 17 to Mar. 16, 2020, was aimed at published textbook authors with the goal of providing a look into the range of royalties and contract options offered for print and digital textbooks. This eBook contains the full results of the survey.
Members: Free. Log in to Download NonMembers: $2.99 Buy Now
Academic Writing Styles: Descriptive, Analytical, Persuasive, Critical
In a series of TAA #AcWriChat TweetChat events on Twitter, we explored four commonly accepted academic writing styles: descriptive, analytical, persuasive, critical. This eBook is a compilation of those discussions, divided into four parts:
- Descriptive Academic Writing
- Analytical Academic Writing
- Persuasive Academic Writing
- Critical Academic Writing
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
Open Access Opportunities: Deciding if OER Publishing is For You
In honor of Open Access Week, we compiled several OA resources to help you decide if open access is for you, including:
- The Top 9 Myths About OER Publishing
- My Writing is An Open Book
- Is Open Access Publishing Where You Want to See Your Work? Questions to Ask Yourself and Best Practices
- Safeguarding Your Scholarship in OA: What to Look For and What to Avoid
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
2019 Textbook Award-Winning Insight
Several winners of the 2019 TAA Textbook Awards shared insight into the writing and publishing of their award-winning textbooks, which we have compiled into this latest eBook. Topics include:
- Deciding to write and getting the interest of a publisher
- Boosting writing confidence, scheduling writing time, software
- Pedagogy and marketing involvement
- What they wish they had known before they started, writing advice
- Key to textbook longevity, preparing for the next edition
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
The 5 Ws of Academic Writing
During Academic Writing Month 2018, TAA hosted a series of #AcWriChat TweetChat events focused on the five W’s of academic writing. This 68-page eBook brings together the discussions and resources from those events, including:
- The What: Defining a Research Project
- The Where: Constructing an Effective Writing Environment
- The When: Setting Realistic Timeframes for Your Research
- The Who: Finding Key Sources in the Existing Literature
- The Why: Explaining the Significance of Your Research
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
Marketing Tips & Strategies for Textbook and Academic Authors
What You'll Get:
- Schedule Time to Market Your Work or Pay the Consequences
- How-to: Creating Author Pages on Facebook, Amazon and Goodreads
- How to Develop a Great Webinar to Promote Your Book
- How to Include Your Publications in Your LinkedIn Profle
- 32 Ways to Market Yourself With No Money + Some Time
- Go On the (Virtual) Road to Promote Your Book
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
Publishing in Academic Journals: Tips & Strategies
What You'll Get:
- 3 "Not-So-Obvious" Tips for Article Submission and Review
- 12-Step Checklist for Submitting Dissertation, Journal Article
- 4 Key Strategies for Choosing the Right Journal
- 6 Steps to Publishing in Scholarly Journals
- Common Errors Leading to Journal Article Rejection
- Pay to Play: Are Submission Fees Common for Publication in Journals?
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
Dissertation Writing Tips & Strategies
What You'll Get:
- 6 Ways to Overcome Challenges to Writing Your Dissertation
- 6 Do's & Don'ts of Editing Your Dissertation
- Make Sure You Define the Research Purpose and Question
- 10 Ways to Tease Out Your Perfect Dissertation Topic
- How I'm Using Milanote to Writing My PhD Thesis
- Should You Publish Your Dissertation as a Journal Article or an Academic Book?
Members: Log in to Download
NonMembers: Join
Tips & Strategies for Successful Grant Writing
What You'll Get:
- Show Me the Money: How Academics Can Secure Research Money
- 7 Strategies for Writing Successful Grants
- Academic Grant Writing Tips from a Pro (and Lessons
from a Rookie)
- Prolific Grant Writer Shares His Advice on Landing
Grants
Members: Log in to Download NonMembers: Join
Tips for Successful Coauthoring
What You'll Get:
- What to consider before coauthoring
- Before entering a coauthoring relationship, sign a collaboration agreement
- 5 Textbook authors share advice on coauthoring relationships
- How to determine author order when collaborating with multiple authors
- Bringing in a coauthor requires 'reconstitution' of book project
Writing & Publishing Academic Journal Articles
What You'll Get:
- How to write a sophisticated, dynamic scholarly argument
- 3 Steps to consider when crafting an article introduction
- The not-always-obvious 'infrastructure' of journal articles: Abstracts and textual linkages
- 4 Key strategies for choosing the right journal
- How to navigate the peer review process
Members: Free. Log in to Download NonMembers: $2.99 Buy Now
Social Media 101: Tips for Academic Writers
What You'll Get:
- How to use social media as an academic writer
- Types of Social Media
- 5 Strategies for using social media to promote your writing
- Why textbook & academic authors should make time for Twitter
- 7 Reasons academics should blog
- 21 Blog post ideas
Members: Log in to Download
NonMembers: Join
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