Welcome to the Cognella Corner! Once a month, we’re proud to share articles to help you through various stages of the academic publishing process, as well as the latest news from Cognella.
January 2022
Standing Out From the Crowd: How to Develop Your Hook and Attract Adoptions
The ultimate goal of any academic publisher is to secure long-term adoptions of your textbook. In order to make a compelling case to instructors and inspire them to use your book in their courses, it has to have a unique and appealing value proposition.
Before you begin outlining or writing your textbook, you must first determine what will set your book apart from others in the academic market. Ask yourself: how will my book stand out from the crowd?
Now Available – Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting Anti-Black Racism edited by Kevin Cokley, Ph.D.
Cognella is proud to announce the publication of Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting Anti-Black Racism edited by renowned scholar and psychologist Kevin Cokley, Ph.D. In support of the Black community and anti-racist scholarship and education, we invite all readers to download a free digital copy of the book directly from Cognella at: cognella.com/making-black-lives-matter
Class-Testing Your Textbook: Forging a Path for Long-Term Success
Because your textbook is intended to help students achieve their academic goals, class testing your book is an excellent way to support its long-term success. Asking students for feedback at the end of an academic term can help you better understand if your book’s content, pedagogical features, and approach resonate with students and enrich their learning experiences. These insights can help you plan for future revisions or editions of the text. Strategic updates help to ensure your content is accurate and relevant, which in turn, renders your book more competitive within the academic market.
What Should I Do With This? Incorporating Peer Review Feedback in Your Manuscript
Peer review can be a powerful tool to ensure your book will provide value to other instructors and the broader educational market. Through peer review, you can learn about your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses, receive feedback on the book’s structure and organization, test out your pedagogical features, and more.
After you’ve received feedback, here are some tips for incorporating peer review comments in your manuscript.
Cognella Author Spotlight: Leslie Adrienne Payne
What are your main areas of research or professional expertise?
My research falls into several categories, or “buckets.” My academic background centers on anthropology and social science, so I tend to gravitate towards problem areas in which sub-consciousness, or less than apparent psychosocial explanations, can be applied to what might appear to be technical problems. I’m always looking for how individual thought and behavior (often unbeknownst to us) shape our decisions—what we elect to do or not do.
A Lesson in Licensing: Citing Third-Party Materials in Your Manuscript
The vast majority of textbook authors will include some kind of information pulled from third-party sources in their manuscript, whether text excerpts, images, tables, or data. As you plan out your manuscript and begin drafting, it’s critical to keep a running log of all the materials you use and reference. You may even want to cite your sources directly within your manuscript as you go.
This ensures you are: 1) acknowledging academic sources properly; and 2) creating a record of third-party materials so you can secure the necessary permissions and copyright clearance for all sourced information.