Executive Director's Messages

• April 2008 - Free money! All you have to do is ask
• September 2004 - Message from Executive Director: Workshops a Priority with TAA

April 2008
Free money! All you have to do is ask

TAA Executive Director Richard T. Hull

Journals and academic book publishers have begun shifting the costs of publishing in the direction of authors. Last spring, a relatively brief article in the Journal of Neuroscience by one of our members and her postdoc was accepted contingent on payment of a fee of $750 to the journal in advance of the publication. (This charge was in addition to any additional charges for reprints.) I also recently had an article co-authored with a former student accepted by the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. We were offered the opportunity to make this article available through the open access option of the journal; the charge for that, however, would be $3,700.

Have you experienced this shifting of costs to you? TAA can help.

If you have been a TAA member for more than a year, you are qualified to apply for a TAA Publication Grant of up to $750. TAA began offering these grants in September 2007 as way to help academic authors cover the costs of publishing already accepted journal articles, or for preparation of artwork or other charts, diagrams or images to be included in accepted articles or academic books. The requirements to qualify for these grants are: evidence of acceptance; a copy of the accepted work;  a copy of the charge or estimate of costs; a letter from someone overseeing the applicant indicating that the institution has no funds to support the publication or creation of the artwork; and an affidavit from the applicant stating that there are no grant funds available to support the publication project.

TAA offers these grants as part of its mission to assist academic authors. The cost of providing these grants comes from funds that TAA receives through Authors Coalition distributions. TAA receives these funds based on the Authors Coalition Surveys its members fill out when they join or renew. 

To apply for a TAA Publication Grant, contact me at (850) 893-6539 or richard.hull@taaonline.net, or provide evidence of acceptance; a copy of the accepted work;  a copy of the charge or estimate of costs; a letter from someone overseeing you that indicates that the institution has no funds to support the publication or creation of the artwork; and an affidavit from you stating that there are no grant funds available to support the publication project. and mail it to TAA at PO Box 76477, St. Petersburg, FL 33734.

Not interested in a TAA Publication Grant? Here are some other ways that TAA assists its academic author members:

Teleconferences. Participate in one or more 60-minute open discussion or presenter-led teleconferences on various topics (click here). 

Mentor-A-Member Program. TAA's members-only online mentoring directory allows members to match themselves with veteran academic and textbook authors (click here).

Discounted Editing Services. TAA members receive discounts of up to 20 percent off editing services from select editors (click here).

TAA Listserv. Questions about authoring or publishing posted on TAA's members-only listserv typically generate several helpful responses within a few days. Post your messages to taa@mail-list.com.

Richard Hull,
TAA Executive Director

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September 2004
Workshops a priority with TAA

Former TAA Executive Director Ron Pynn

The most popular service offered by TAA is its workshops. Seven to 10 workshops are given each year that reach approximately 300 faculty throughout the country. As we begin the 2004-05 academic year, this is a good time to schedule a workshop on your campus. What a wonderful faculty development experience for faculty to have one or more TAA workshops on your campus.

TAA has eight workshops led by individuals with national reputations and great experience in presenting workshops to faculty. All of the workshops are suitable for junior faculty as well as experienced writers. Here is a brief overview of the eight TAA workshops.

1) Scholarship, Tenure, and Promotion. This workshop looks at common problems with the faculty rewards system and how faculty can better document their work, including teaching effectiveness. The workshop is led by Robert Diamond, former Research Professor and Director of the Institute for Change in Higher Education at Syracuse University.

2) Software Tools for Authors. This workshop helps authors save time with software tools that define the rhetorical context of a document. This workshop is lead by Joe Moxley, Professor of English at the University of South Florida and author of 11 books and more than 50 articles.

3) Publish and Flourish: Write Well and Revise Rapidly. This workshop shows participants simple, specific steps to take to write well and revise rapidly, writing as little as 15 to 30 minutes daily. This is TAA's most sought after workshop. It is provided by Tara Gray who heads the Teaching Academy at New Mexico State University. She has given this workshop to more than 1,000 faculty.

4) Successful Academic Journal Writing. An editor of an academic journal shares insights on academic publishing, what kind of articles get published and how the peer review process works. Either Gerald Stone or Jay Black lead this workshop. Both were faculty members, journal editors, and prolific academic authors.

5) Authoring a Text or Professional Book. Taking an idea through the entire publishing process, this workshop provides information on all aspects of authoring so people can make informed choices about undertaking a writing project. As the author of four texts, I lead this workshop.

6) Self Publishing. Advances in technology and software make self publishing easier than ever before. Learn what it takes to publish your own book and to make it respectable. This workshop is provided by John Wakefield, Assistant Vice President at University of North Alabama and a self publisher of source books on the American Civil War.

7) Writing a Book Proposal. This workshop helps authors match their book idea with the right publisher. The workshop includes a survey of what acquisition editors look for in book proposals. I also present this workshop.

8) Negotiating a Contract. A workshop outlining book contract clauses and what can and cannot be negotiated in the contract. Also provided is strategy and favorable language for authors in helping them negotiate a more favorable contract. This workshop is led by authoring attorneys Michael Lennie or Stephen Gillen, both of whom have considerable experienced in publishing law and in representing authors.

Click here for more detailed information on these workshops, including workshop outlines and presenter biographies. Why not ask your provost or faculty development officer to look over this website? Then you or a college representative can contact TAA to schedule a workshop.

The cost of these workshops to any school is kept low to make them attractive as faculty development experiences. All speaker fees and travel costs are paid for by TAA, so the only cost for a school is the registration fee for the workshop.

What a great way to support TAA as well as to assist faculty on your campus with their publishing endeavors. If you make the initial contact, TAA will do all the work thereafter. To host one or more TAA workshops, contact TAA by calling (727) 563-0020 or e-mail TAA at text@tampaby.rr.com.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Ron Pynn
TAA Executive Director

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