Video: Watch it. Love it. Ignore it. Hate it. Dread it. Sick of it. Fear it. Resent it. You have your choice.

I have been speaking and advocating for video content for over ten years. For this blog and at annual conference I have advocated for video, so if you have heard this tune before, please give me a moment. So much is happening, I need space to update you on several topics.

• Video is becoming more AI-assisted, (like it or not) with tools that can help academic creators outline, draft, edit, and repurpose scripts faster while still needing human oversight for accuracy and ethics.
• Short-form and bite-sized clips are still on the rise, writers are increasingly using condensed video to explain one idea, one finding, or one method at a time.
• Platforms are rewarding videos that are built for multi-channel reuse, meaning one recording can be edited into a lecture clip, a social post, a teaser, and a full episode.
• Accessibility is now a core expectation, with captions, transcripts, and clearer on- screen text becoming standard for scholarly and educational video (Hooray).
• Academic video is moving toward stronger collaboration between subject experts, educators, and media creators, rather than treating video as a solo-author format.
• Video is increasingly used as a scholarly communication layer, not just promotion, which makes it useful for methods explanations, visual abstracts, and research summaries
•  There is growing attention to content authenticity, watermarking, and disclosure because AI-generated or heavily edited video can blur the line between original and altered material.
• Academic writers are expected to adapt video to different audiences, since the same content often needs a different tone for students, peers, general readers, and social platforms.
• Video is increasingly part of a broader author platform, so scholars use it alongside writing, social media, and digital identity work to build visibility and trust.

Before you dismiss these points, think about these statistics from the website, Demandsage:

“Around 82% of internet traffic will be video by 2026, with users spending an average of 100 minutes per day watching online video…Platforms like TikTok and Instagram now drive 70% higher engagement with short-form clips, while YouTube long-form videos contribute to 90% of online learning consumption.”

You are likely a deep video user for personal and work purposes. Perhaps it is time to change the format of some of your content creation. Video can be an easy fun space to play in. Give it a try.

John Bond is a publishing consultant at Riverwinds Consulting. He is the host of the YouTube channel “Publishing Defined.” His first novel has just been released, To the End of Reckoning, a speculative thriller. Check it out or contact him at jbond@riverwindsconsulting.com.

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On July 2, 2026, a class action lawsuit was filed against Meta and Mark Zuckerberg on behalf of textbook authors whose copyrighted textbooks were used without authorization or compensation to train its large language model (LLM), Llama. Lead plaintiffs in the case are mathematics textbook author Michael Sullivan, anatomy and physiology textbook author Kenneth Saladin, finance textbook authors Zvi Bodie and Alan J. Marcus, anatomy and physiology textbook author Kevin Patton, and business communication textbook author Dana Loewy. Sullivan is also TAA Board Treasurer, Patton is a Past TAA Board President, and Saladin and Loewy are long-time TAA members.

The suit, filed by Archstone Law Group, P.C, Slarskey LLC, and Gaw | Poe LLP, claims that in using plaintiffs’ and the class’s copyrighted textbooks to train Llama, it pirated them from “shadow library” sources, removed copyright-management information from them, and reproduced and distributed them to others while torrenting them.

The filing focuses on the distinctive nature of textbooks in that “Textbooks are reviewed and selected by instructors and through formal adoption processes, are typically updated, revised, and published in successive editions on a regular basis, and are commercialized in educational markets that fundamentally differ from the markets for trade books and scholarly works.”

According to the complaint, “The market for textbooks and the risk that AI models trained on textbooks will substitute for and dilute that market turns in part upon evidence of textbook adoption, revision economics, and customer purchasing decisions that are unique to textbook authors as compared to other categories of authors.”

In addition to asking the court to certify it as a class action, the suit is also asking for statutory or actual damages and defendants’ profits, and permanent injunction against any further infringement of plaintiffs’ and class members’ textbooks.

Read the full complaint

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Q: I’m at the point of choosing a dissertation topic—and panicked. How do I pick the right one?

—Top(ic)less

A: No need to panic, but it is a big decision. And with more implications than you might think.

I recall my client Dan. He sat in the library, dissertation materials spread out before him. On the table, his laptop was open, ready to go, and papers, open books, and note cards were strewn across the table. He had promised himself that today he’d actually start writing. But all he could do was to stare at the wall clock. Dan had made the mistake of choosing his topic without enough forethought or real passion.

It’s undeniable. The dissertation engenders a love-hate relationship, with huge helpings of exasperations, frustrations, teeth-clenching, and eye-rolling, and occasionally all the affection, elation, and fulfillment (eventually) of a primary human relationship. So your topic should be one that initially excites you, carries you throughout the inevitable peaks and gulleys, and eventually morphs into a satisfying career.

Topic Considerations

I’ve seen many doctoral students, in the heat of first passion, bite off a topic that would take 40 monks without tablets 60 years to complete. I’ve seen other candidates take on topics because their chairs suggested them. Or the students think the topic is “hot” and they’ll have a better chance of publishing. Or the cousin they look up to who’s now a full professor did her dissertation on that topic. None of these reasons are the right ones.

Right Topic Considerations

It’s almost axiomatic that many people choose concentrations and careers because of early personal experiences. A man becomes an oncologist because he couldn’t save his mother from Stage 4 cancer. A woman becomes a social worker specializing in cases of battered women because in childhood every night, terrified and from a crack in the closet door, she watched her father beat her mother. A man raised in poverty becomes a financial counselor to help merchants in neighborhoods like his own succeed in their businesses.

Such motivations generally promise sustained interest in a dissertation topic. Whether or not your motives stem from earlier suffering, you don’t want to be like Dan. From hearing stories like his and many graduate students’ choices, I offer you ten suggestions, including questions and examples, to help you identify the perfect topic you’ll be living with for a long time.

1. Sometimes you know early in your graduate work. In many universities, the courses and papers are geared to chapters that may eventually become your dissertation.

The wife of one of my clients, a serious academic herself, even at her bachelor’s in psychology knew what her topic would be. She followed through with the topic in her master’s thesis and is now on the way to enlarging it in her dissertation.

2. If this is not the case, a suggestion: revisit your childhood dreams. How did you see yourself? What “professions” were your play favorites?

Many kids like to play “doctor” (not that kind), and one of my clients, Karen, loved to play “nurse.” She showed me photographs of herself at age 5 with an impressive collection of play bandages, ointments, even casts, and a doll house she’d made into a “clinic.” She recognized early her fervor for helping people and today, with her doctorate, she’s director of a regional hospital.

3. Review your favorite undergraduate and graduate course papers. Which did you really like doing? Which did you get As on? Would you feel excited expanding your master’s thesis?

Lynn was an elementary school reading teacher who really cared about those struggling, stuttering readers. When she shuffled through her course papers and reviewed her master’s thesis, she saw that the comparisons of different reading programs were her best work. Her dissertation topic? A comprehensive comparison of two elementary school reading programs for their relative effectiveness. Now a Ph.D., Lyon is a professor teaching aspiring elementary reading and literacy teachers.

4. Think about troubling experiences you’ve had. Would you like to help with remedies?

If, like the social worker, your pull toward the topic originates from an early traumatic experience, accept it. Negatives can be powerful motivators toward positive actions and activities. And think of all the people you’ll help.

5. What topic has fascinated you for a long time? What are you passionate about? What do you want to jump into and explore?

Jill was in leadership and with many years experience at several corporations. As she told me when we started working together, she kept observing how older employees were discriminated against. Other than the obvious chronological reason (Jill was in her 40s), she burned to explore the assumptions and possible myths administrators held in hiring and making assignments to these people. Jill’s dissertation and the article she developed from it became valuable additions to the literature—and helped change policies at her company.

6. What especially meaningful experiences have you had that you want to explore and know will make a difference?

During surgery, Derrick had what he swore was a near-death (NDE) experience. He delved into the research, interviewed many people who had had similar experiences, and even scored an interview with a major author on the subject. Derrick explored NDE theories and testimonies in his dissertation. He is now revising it into a book and has a publisher interested.

7. What would you like to be known for?

In the examples above, the students’ fire for their choices drove their ambitions. What you’d like to be known for is likely inherent in your topic choice. Don’t be modest. Think about what you really know you can contribute.

8. If the topic has been “done, don’t be deterred or discouraged. Even if you discover that many scholarly articles have been published on your topic, your slant will be different because you bring your uniqueness. You can use those articles to show how your study is better, different, and worth not only the doctorate but publication.

Tim was discouraged at first because of all the articles on his topic of the influence of parental interest on children’s academic improvement. As we talked, he realized he could bring a fresh perspective to the subject by his experience comparing his own parents’ lack of interest and his cousin’s parents’ full engagement. His dissertation and two articles attested his experience and approach.

9. Dream: Imagine how the topic can be used in your dream job and how you look forward to devoting your professional life to your interest.

Sandra was a counselor in a geriatric care agency advising adults on the placement of their elderly parents in appropriate care facilities. She felt needed and fulfilled, knowing she was helping both generations to the best choices. Imagining her dissertation topic, Sandra saw how she could identify and discuss the many elements involved in placement. Exploration of this topic, she saw, would help her professionally to broaden her knowledge, enhance her abilities, and open her mind to new counseling techniques. After obtaining her degree, Sandra gave several presentations
and published her findings in an elder care journal.

10. If you’re not engaged in your dream job or career, paint mental pictures of the one you are aiming for. Observe and talk to others in this or a related career. What topic did they write on? How did it help their careers? What pointers can they give you about topic choice? Did they successfully transition from the dissertation results to real-world application? Do they seem happy and enthusiastic?

11. Finally (and maybe this should be first), listen inside yourself for the topic that’s right for you. If you meditate, in your sessions silently ask the question about the best topic. You may be “led” to certain people, articles, magazines, or movies that clarify or confirm your choices. If you don’t meditate, keep asking yourself the topic question and stay aware and open. Several possible topics may arise. Test them against the suggestions here and keep listening to your intuition.

Tiptoe to Your Topic

Every day or several times a week, choose one or two of the topics you’ve discovered and explore them. Don’t push but relax as you follow your internal guidance. Take your time. Remember how important the choice is and how it will influence and direct your career and life.

You deserve your perfect dissertation topic.

Dissertation coach, nurturer, bolsterer, handholder, and editor; scholarly and mainstream writing consultant; author of writing craft, spiritual, and academic articles; and spiritual and motivational counselor, Noelle Sterne has published many pieces in print and online venues, including Author Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Children’s Book Insider, Graduate Schools Magazine, GradShare, InnerSelf, Inspire Me Today, Transformation Magazine, Unity Magazine, Women in Higher Education, Women on Writing, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer. Noelle’s ninth story for Chicken Soup for the Soul appears in June 2025 in the volume Self-Care Isn’t Selfish. With a Ph.D. from Columbia University, Noelle has for 30 years helped doctoral candidates wrestle their dissertations to completion (finally). Based on her practice, her Challenges in Writing Your Dissertation: Coping with the Emotional, Interpersonal, and Spiritual Struggles (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2015) addresses students’ often overlooked or ignored but crucial nonacademic difficulties that can seriously prolong their agony. See the PowerPoint teaser here. In Noelle`s Trust Your Life: Forgive Yourself and Go After Your Dreams (Unity Books, 2011), she draws examples from her academic consulting and other aspects of life to help readers release regrets and reach lifelong yearnings. Following one of her own, she is currently working on her third novel. Visit Noelle at www.trustyourlifenow.com

The post Dear Dr. Noelle: A Serious Longterm Relationship: Your Dissertation Topic appeared first on Abstract.

Occupational Health and Safety: Measuring Safety Performance

Visit the 2026 TAA Institute Bookstore for more information and to purchase.

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What did you learn in the process of writing a textbook that you wish you had known before you started?

A: John Hall, co-author of Guyton & Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology (15e) and winner of the McGuffery Longevity Award (co-authored with Michael Hall):

“Three important things that I learned early in writing the book were the following: 

1) Start early – it takes more time that one might imagine to sift through the rapidly expanding medical literature and incorporate the most important new principles;
2) keep in mind that we are writing mainly for students; and
3) the text length must be limited so that the book can be used effectively in physiology courses for students and health care professionals.”

A: Tom Leslie, co-author of Design-Tech: Building Science for Architects (3e) and winner of the Textbook Excellence Award (co-authored with Rob Whitehead and Jason Alread):

“[Our textbook] has now been through three completely new editions, so we’ve added or rewritten virtually every chapter in the latest version. What’s really become clear over the 20 years we’ve been working on it is how quickly technology changes, and how quickly the profession has evolved. Information about energy consumption and carbon footprints in the first edition seemed slightly radical (for 2005). Now, those are two of the most important considerations architects face when making design decisions.”

A: Menzie Chinn, co-author of International Economics, International Trade, International Finance (1e) and winner of the Textbook Excellence Award (co-authored with Douglas Irwin):

“One has to ensure that all the essential fundamentals — definitions, terms, concepts, and history — are addressed directly somewhere in the text, so that the reader can understand without having to refer to other sources, but do so without making the text too encyclopedic.”

A: Charles Desnoyers and Peter von Sivers, co-authors of Patterns of World History (5e) and winners of the Textbook Excellence Award:

“How to shape our prose so that it would be easily comprehensible to freshmen, without losing any scholarly depth. As friends we also learned quite a bit about collaboration in service of a common goal. Finally, as academics used to writing research books and articles, all three of us were pleasantly surprised—and at times challenged—by the high degree of rigor demanded by the reviewers and editors—as many as 16 reviewers per chapter in some cases—on content, pedagogical issues, adaptability to student needs and circumstances, and marketability.”

The post Award-winning Textbook Authors Share How to Avoid Common Challenges | Part 4 appeared first on Abstract.

Education Dept. Eyes Changing College Merger, Civil Rights Enforcement Regs (July 8, 2026)

Appeals Court Rules Florida’s Stop WOKE Act Violates First Amendment (July 8, 2026)

Top Ph.D. Programs Shrink Amid Federal Funding Uncertainty (July 7, 2026)

Florida International Students Punished for Indoor Protest (July 6, 2026)

Florida Board Bans Undocumented Students From State Colleges (July 1, 2026)

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Becoming a School Counselor

Visit the 2026 TAA Institute Bookstore for more information and to purchase.

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The post TAA Members Author Third Edition of Nutrition Textbook appeared first on Abstract.

English for Dispute Resolution introduces non-native English speakers

Visit the 2026 TAA Institute Bookstore for more information and to purchase.

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We want these sessions to take full advantage of being together. They should be 30- or 60- minutes in length and designed for a live environment as well as being educational in nature, particularly in areas such as:

• Artificial intelligence
• Time and productivity
• Textbook development
• Contract negotiation … and many others!

This is the perfect opportunity to share successful writing tips and strategies to inspire other textbook and/or academic authors at any stage of their career. As well as providing hands-on learning experiences in addition to networking opportunities with colleagues and peers. Think Interactive Workshops, Live Q&As and Collaborative Problem Solving.

By submitting a proposal, you add to the body of knowledge that sustains our authoring community while demonstrating your commitment to professional excellence. To learn more, please click here. You will need to create a Cvent account or log in to an existing Cvent account to submit a proposal.

Thank you for your consideration in submitting a conference proposal.

Save the Date – 2027 TAA Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference

On June 11 & 12, 2027, we are stepping away from the screen and back onto the stage in Austin, Texas, the Live Music Capital of the World.

Note: To ensure an intimate and high-quality experience, registration will be limited to 100 attendees. We encourage you to mark your calendar early.

In between sets…explore Austin, TX for all it has to offer! Registration opens January 1, 2027.

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