We asked several veteran TAA textbook author members to respond to a fellow member’s inquiry on how to compensate a new coauthor, and we’re sharing those responses with all members who may find it helpful as they also grapple with this issue (responses are anonymous).

This was the question posed: A TAA author with a long-running, high-earning solo textbook is transitioning to retirement and is about to engage a junior coauthor. They plan to coauthor about two more editions before the senior author retires entirely. The senior author is seeking information or recommendations on the initial division of royalties—what percentage of the royalties to offer the new coming author for their first edition together, to be fair, incentivizing, and within professional norms.

Responses:

For title one, (currently in 2026 evergreen edition—first edition 1968—more than 30 editions under different titles), I had two authors until the 2000 edition with a 60/40 split. The second author took a reduced role, and we took on a new author after having him do the ancillaries on a contract basis. He did well so we added him at 15% of our total royalty—10% from one co-author and 5% from the other coauthor for a 55/30/15 royalty split.

In 2002, one original coauthor reduced her contribution. We took on another author to do some of her chapters at a 55/20/15/10 royalty split. The original coauthor took a reduced royalty.

In 2004, the same original coauthor as above could no longer contribute, so the coauthors did her work for one edition. She died in 2005. We paid her estate the full royalty for the edition and then she dropped from the book.

In 2005, we added a new co-author for limited work on deceased coauthor’s former chapters. The royalty split was 55/25/15/5. The two newest coauthors got increased shares.

In 2022, the second original coauthor initiated an agreement to gradually reduce his contribution with a guarantee of share of royalties for lifetime and a reduced rate to his estate for two additional editions. The agreement included information about who gets what so that there would be no disputes among authors.

For our high school and middle school series, we had similar agreements to the college book first published in 1979: Try authors as contract authors for ancillaries before taking them on as co-authors. Started with 5-15% shares and increased when one original coauthor no longer contributed.

This series had the same agreement for reduced contributions (initiated by one of the original coauthors to make sure of continuity and prevention of author conflict).

With each of these editions, the book was also renamed with the living remaining original coauthor’s name: “[Last name’s] title of book”.

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The answer to this question involves so many different factors, such as the experience of the new coauthor, the amount of work they’re expected to do (50/50, 70/30, etc.), their name value (will their name bring in new adoptions), the competitive position of the book, the publisher’s confidence in the longevity of the project, and whether the incoming author is being brought in primarily for continuity, marketability, specialized expertise, or workload support.

In addition, publishers often look at the existing sales history of the book, the expected future trajectory of the market, digital components, revision responsibilities, ancillary development, AI-related contributions, speaking/promotion expectations, and even succession planning for the franchise. In some situations, a new coauthor may initially receive a smaller percentage that increases over time as they assume more responsibility for the project and establish their value to the franchise.

Because of all these variables, I’ve never seen anything close to a consistent “standard” arrangement across publishing contracts. Two deals that appear similar on the surface can end up being structured very differently behind the scenes.

As you noted, my situation is somewhat different because my coauthor and I have worked together for 40 years, so I don’t have direct personal experience entering an established solo project as a new coauthor. However, based on conversations over the years with many authors and editors, the arrangements seem to vary enormously depending on leverage, timing, publisher strategy, and the long-term goals for the book.

There are many factors to consider, so I didn’t find it easy to decide how to share author royalties—and I question whether I really did make the best decisions. I had asked around what others were doing to compensate coauthors during a retirement transition, and there was a surprisingly wide range of amounts. I suspect that’s mainly due to differences in the scope and complexity of anticipated revisions.

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When I first invited coauthors to join me as I began the “off-ramp” to retiring from my textbooks, I offered them a “work for hire” agreement under which their compensation was paid from my author royalties. The amount was just a bit more than 10% of the total royalties I expected to receive (per the publisher’s projection for that edition). However, I referred to them as “coauthors” rather than “contributors,” and their names appeared on the cover alongside mine.

After these coauthors helped revise an edition of each of several different titles, they were offered participation in the royalty contract and received a percentage of the author share of each title’s revenue. The percentage was approximately what they’d have received if I’d already retired and my succession clause had kicked in. My negotiated succession clause—or “sunset clause”— spells out how much residual income I’d receive (in decremental amounts) for each of the next few editions after stopping as an active author. The coauthors are revising their first title without my active participation and will share the royalties as specified in the succession clause.

There are so many factors involved that I don’t think royalty sharing can ever be obvious or precisely equitable. We just weigh it all and use our best judgment. Something that is easy to forget is that considerable time, effort, and talent were used to build the body of work being handed over to coauthors—and that’s worth something. It’s also important to realize that the entire transition period will require extensive, very active mentoring by the retiring author. When you take it seriously, that’s harder and more energy-consuming than it sounds. Even if a coauthor has some experience as a reviewer or contributor, there’s a lot to learn about how to do textbook revising as an author. And because every textbook has its own history and its own vision and practice, all of that has to be learned, too. Writing it all down and handing it over doesn’t work well. Active, vigilant coaching during several complete revision cycles is required, in my opinion. Likewise, there’s a lot of intense effort by the coauthors to get up to speed and rapidly learn new skills “on the job” and under deadline pressure.

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The transition from sole author to coauthoring is delicate and can be daunting. You have only asked about one aspect: What compensation is reasonable when bringing on a coauthor for one edition and then giving full responsibility for future editions to him/her?

Part of the answer will depend on the experience of the person. Is there a history with the potential co-author that involved the textbook? Has he/she used the text? Over multiple editions? Has he/she been involved as a reviewer of previous revisions? Have you worked well with this individual in a professional capacity? Another factor to consider depends on how much you expect in royalties for this revision and how much you will contribute to the revision. The compensation could be as low as 10% of expected royalties but should not exceed 40%. As a guide, see what % you would need to obtain compensation that ranges from $40,000 and $50,000 in the first year.

There are other aspects of your decision to take on a coauthor and retire. For example, royalty splits going forward need to be determined. My suggestions follow:

• Joint Edition: To be determined.
• Next Edition: Coauthor is sole author. 50% coauthor; 50% you.
• Next edition (if any): 75% coauthor; 25% you.
• Any further editions: 90% coauthor; 10% you (in perpetuity)

All the above needs to be cleared with your publisher. Further, it would be wise to consult with an intellectual property attorney to draw up the necessary documents and review contract changes.