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.

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.