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.

Academic Journal Articles: Decoding Academic Writing

This eBook contains helpful information tailored to the needs of scholarly journal article authors, from learning how to write for academic journals and organizing article content, to finding the right home for your journal. 

What you'll get:

• Find Your Article Writing MATE in the "Most Awesome Tool Ever"
• Using IMRaD to Organize Article Content
• Manuscript Matchmaking: Finding a Home for Your Journal Article
• Understanding the Decision from Your Journal Publisher
• What to Do After Your Journal Article is Published

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.

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

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?

NonMembers: Join

Tips & Strategies for Successful Grant Writing

• 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

NonMembers: Join