Fall 2019 Webinar Series

TAA webinars are one-hour live, interactive sessions that connect you to experts discussing a variety of topics designed especially for textbook and academic authors. Members can also access 250+ presentations on demand.

How to register for an upcoming webinar:

Members: You can participate in as many sessions as you'd like for free. To sign up, click the Register button below. Read Frequently Asked Questions About TAA Webinars

Non-Members: Join TAA today and receive access to all of TAA's live webinars and 250+ presentations on demand for one full year.

Writing Your First Book: Developing Your Dissertation Into a Manuscript

Date: Thursday, November 7, 10-11 am ET

Presenter: Margaret Puskar-Pasewicz, MargaretEdits

Publishing your first book is imperative for many early-career scholars, but turning your dissertation into a book can be a confusing and difficult process. Margaret Puskar-Pasewicz of MargaretEdits will discuss practical strategies and tips for bridging the gap between completing your dissertation and writing a compelling book manuscript. Along the way, she will discuss some of the most common mistakes that she’s encountered in her years as an academic editor and writing coach.  

Among other issues, she will focus on the importance of staking a claim that you can defend consistently throughout your book as well as developing your scholarly voice. She looks forward to having a wide-ranging and honest discussion about the challenges of academic writing for early-career researchers and how to overcome them. Learn more

Responding to Reviewers’ Comments

Date: Tuesday, November 19, 1-2 pm ET



Non-members: Join TAA

Presenter: Mark Pedretti, Assistant Professor of English, Providence College

Whether submitting journal articles or book manuscripts, academic authors can expect their work to be anonymously reviewed by expert peers. Sometimes helpful, sometimes infuriating, reviewers’ comments can make or break a publication; a negative review can bring your piece to a screeching halt. This webinar will discuss strategies for engaging with reviewer’s comments — both positive and negative. We will explore ways to figure out the importance placed upon comments in a given publishing context, the relationship between editor and reviewer, and whether comments are in fact “make or break.” We will talk about strategies for documenting responses to suggestions, and how to politely decline to make changes that are off base. Our goal will be to equip webinar participants with a set of tools for navigating the unspoken rules of the review process. Learn more

Practical Strategies for Collaborating With Peers

Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2-3 pm ET

Non-members: Join TAA

Presenter: Janet Salmons, Author of Learning to Collaborate, Collaborating to Learn

Sometimes collaboration comes naturally. We can communicate honestly to determine shared goals and complete a project. It can be exhilarating to see what can be accomplished when we pool ideas and expertise. Other times, collaboration seems time-consuming and frankly aggravating. Perhaps we thought we were on the same page with our partner(s), only to discover that their sense of time, criteria for quality, or willingness to address problems are not as we expected.

The issues can compound when the number of collaborative partners expands, and when we have less common ground to build upon. For example, when we collaborate with peers from our own institution or organization, we understand the lingo, norms, and work culture. When we collaborate with peers from our own discipline or professional, we understand theoretical frameworks and seminal literature that informs our field. We might share similar outlooks with peers from our region, country, or culture. When we expand the collaboration to include peers from outside these familiar groups, attention is needed to the ways we will work together.

Author and coach Janet Salmons will show how the approaches described in Learning to Collaborate, Collaborating to Learn apply to peer collaboration for writing, editing, or other projects.Join this webinar to learn practical strategies you can use when planning and participating in complex collaborations, including creating workable agreements, selecting technology tools, and dealing with setbacks. Learn more

2019 Fall Webinars - Watch On Demand

A Second Bite at the Apple: Getting Rights in Your Book Back

Presenter: Brenda Ulrich, Partner, Archstone Law Group PC

Most publishing contracts are for the life of the copyright, so how could an author ever get their rights back? Brenda shares the role of reversion clauses in a publishing contracts, which allow rights in a book to revert to their authors under certain circumstances. Questions covered:

• What is a rights reversion?
• In what circumstances could/should an author seek a reversion of rights?
• The reversion of rights clause - what is it, how to see if you have any rights per your contract
• What are the benefits to seeking a reversion of rights? What can you do once you have your rights back?
• How do you go about seeking a reversion of rights

Watch