Given all the seismic changes in higher education publishing, authors need TAA now more than ever. About 20 years ago, I began my authoring career with a small publisher called Morton Publishing when printed books were the norm. Most of those small publishers don’t exist anymore because they have been acquired by larger publishers.

Consider all the changes in educational publishing over the past two decades. As textbook prices soared, lower cost alternatives emerged. We evolved from printed books to eBooks to Open Educational Resources (OER). Now the major higher education publishers offer various subscription models with lower fees by the month or by the semester. Printed books are quickly being phased out to transition to the new standard of digital and interactive books. Lastly, Generative AI is now a common tool being used by publishers, students, and authors alike.
We are all struggling to figure out where we go from here. After leaving our very successful annual conference in Nashville this past June, I returned home grateful to have TAA to assist, educate, and nurture academic authors. At the conference, we had many excellent presentations on timely, practical topics such a Generative AI, marketing tips, and contract negotiation. We hope you will join us for the 2025 TAA Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring, which will be online June 6-7.. Registration will open January 6, 2025.

Have you logged on to the TAA website recently? It is packed with useful resources such as great webinars, free eBooks, and our blog, just to name a few. To get inspired, we offer our Month of Motivation, TAA Writing Gym, and Online Textbook Development Course. From supporting court cases that protect copyright to conducting contract and royalty surveys, TAA supports authors in so many effective ways. Please do take advantage of all these great resources to make the most of your TAA membership.

Sincerely,
Paul Krieger