A recent survey conducted by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) found that nearly 30 percent of respondents agreed to allow their royalty rates to be changed. Nearly 40 percent of respondents have been asked by their publishers to sign new contracts, and two-thirds of those have complied.
Stephen Gillen, an attorney with Wood Herron & Evans (Cincinnati, OH), estimates most of those authors did not know they did not have to agree to that royalty rate change, and most of the new contracts were almost certainly more favorable to the publishers than the ones they were replacing. “My guess is that the respondents did not appreciate the differences and did not fully understand that they did not have to agree to the new contracts,” he says.
TAA’s goal with this survey is that the results, combined with tracking data from the 2015 and 2020 Textbook Contracts & Royalties Surveys, will help authors 1) negotiate better contracts; 2) negotiate higher royalty rates for print and digital products; 3) to seek professional advice when negotiating contracts and when they want to better understand their royalty statements.
“Out of my gratitude for all the guidance TAA has provided me throughout my authoring career, I want to give back to this terrific organization.” – Candidate Jessica Smartt Gullion, Associate Dean of Research for the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas Woman’s University
“TAA has been a vital resource in my scholarly journey, and I wish to give back to the organization that contributed to my own success and to the success of so many others.” – Laura Jacobi, Communication Studies professor and director of a peer-facilitated academic support program
“I want to hit the ground running when I enter the academic industry. This opportunity is wonderful to be associated with individuals with extensive experience and knowledge to pass the torch down to new scholars such as I.” – Tabitha H. Kinneer, third-year PhD student in Communication at the University of Kentucky