How to protect yourself from lower textbook royalties from foreign sales

Textbook authors need to be alert for the possible impact on them of the practice among some U.S. textbook publishers of selling books in foreign countries using an “inter-company” transfer price.

U.S.-based publishers generally sell into overseas markets through relationships with foreign publishers based in the destination country. Books sold in this way are sold to the foreign publisher at a discounted price to compensate the foreign publisher for its role in the distribution process. In such a case, the author’s royalty is calculated on the lesser amount received by the U.S. publisher from that sale.

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‘Publication party’ great way to promote your new textbook

Writing a textbook not only has the potential to generate royalties, but is also a great way to advance your career. Karen Morris, author of Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Law, has used her textbook to do just that by hosting a “Publication Party” each time a new edition of her book is published.

A “Publication Party” is an event designed to celebrate the accomplishment of completing the book and to remind people that you are an author.

“If you don’t take advantage of this opportunity to promote yourself, in my mind, it is such as wasted opportunity,” said Morris, also distinguished professor at Monroe Community College. “It’s a way to gain publicity and notice, which is part of my goal in writing textbooks.”

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Textbooks-to-trade shift not always easy

The trade book market can be lucrative, so it’s no wonder some textbook authors have their hands dipped into both pots. But how can a textbook author “cross over” to trade? Most literary agents agree that being academically published gives trade book-author wannabes extra credibility, but the question is, does the textbook author have what it takes to write for the trade book market.

Sheryl Fullerton, a literary agent with Sheryl B. Fullerton Associates, said text and academic author experience is important in trade publications, especially if the author is writing on the same subject, but it doesn’t guarantee ready acceptance among publishers. “A trade book has to look like, smell like, and taste like a trade book; it can’t have the pedagogical trappings or the professional jargon that are common to text and academic titles,” she said. “For most academic authors, shifting to writing for a trade audience is challenging.”

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Information key to win-win textbook contract: Play 20 questions with your editor

When negotiating a contract with an acquisitions editor, gather as much information as you can about that person during the negotiation, said Steve Gillen, an attorney with Wood Herron & Evans.

“The more information you can gather about their interests, objectives, constraints, etc., the better armed you will be for the negotiation,” he said. “Ask the editor questions about herself to find out how close she is to reaching her new contract signings goal (and possibly earning a bonus). The higher the advance, the more attention the acquisition editor will pay to your book.”

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Q&A: What are the tax advantages and disadvantages of a textbook author setting up an incorporation rather than operating as a ‘sole proprietor’?

Q: “What are the tax advantages and disadvantages of a textbook author setting up an incorporation rather than operating as a ‘sole proprietor’?”

A: Stan Gibilisco, author of several textbooks including Geometry Demystified:

“I tried this when I lived in Hawaii and discovered, to my horror, that my royalty income was subject not only to their income tax, but to their ‘sales’ tax as well (they call it a general excise tax). I figured that if I formed a Nevada corporation and had all my income channeled into it, and then became an employee of that corporation, the royalty income would not be subject to that onerous tax. It was a beautiful theory, but, like so many theories, did not work. The legislators in Hawaii had thought of that before I did and the law was airtight. Love it or leave it. I left.

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6 Tips for marketing your textbook

Q: “I have been writing a textbook but so far have been unable to interest a major publisher. I may publish it with a small publisher without a sales force. That leaves me to market the textbook. Can you share some advice for what I should do in this situation?”

A: Robert Christopherson, professor emeritus of geography at American River College and author of the leading physical geography textbooks in the U.S. and Canada:

  1. Examine similar textbooks in the field you are writing in over the past 10 years. Record publisher names, editors listed on the copyright page, and begin a list of any reviewers listed in the Preface. This process will give you an idea of publishers active in the discipline and some you might want to contact with your proposal.
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