Many college textbook authors are experiencing declining print unit sales and diminishing royalty checks. Regular price increases previously helped college textbook publishers offset shrinking print sales, but that strategy is no longer effective. Consequently, some publishers are cutting budgets to offset revenue shortfalls. They’re also diverting remaining investment resources into new digital products and services that offer a measure of protection against the depredations of used, rental, and pirate competition. As a result, those publishers are rebranding themselves as software or learning science companies and setting very public goals to eliminate or scale back their print publishing programs in favor of fully digital product models. What are the key forces driving college publishers’ online publishing strategies? What are some steps higher education textbook authors can take in response?
Nominate your book for a 2017 TAA Textbook Award
Gain recognition with your fellow authors and within the textbook publishing industry by nominating your textbook for a 2017 TAA Textbook Award now through November 1, 2016.
The Textbook Excellence Award recognizes excellence in current textbooks and learning materials. The McGuffey Longevity Award recognizes textbooks and learning materials whose excellence has been demonstrated over time. The Most Promising New Textbook Award recognizes excellence in 1st edition textbooks and learning materials.
2017 TAA Textbook Award nominations open Sept. 1
Nominations for the 2017 Textbook Excellence Award (“Texty”), McGuffey Longevity Award (“McGuffey”) and Most Promising New Textbook Award will open September 1, 2016.
For more than 20 years, TAA has supported textbook and academic authors through these highly-recognized awards, given annually to emerging and veteran published authors in eight subject categories.
2016 TAA Textbook Awards presented at a ceremony in San Antonio, TX, June 24
Seventeen textbooks have been awarded 2016 TAA Textbook Awards. Eight textbooks received Most Promising New Textbook Awards. Six received Textbook Excellence Awards, and three received William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Awards. The awards were presented at the 2016 TAA Conference in San Antonio on June 24. Nominations for the 2017 TAA Textbook Awards open September 1.
‘Guide to Textbook Publishing Contracts’ featured in ‘Wisconsin Bookwatch’
The following review of Guide to Textbook Publishing Contracts was published in the June 2016 issue of Wisconsin Bookwatch, published by Midwest Book Review. It is being posted here with permission.
How educators and textbook authors can make learning mobile
“Next stop, mobile apps!”—that was the title of a webinar I attended last week, presented by one of the major textbook publishers. Like most educators, I’m skeptical about technology-driven claims made about mobile apps or other tools. Technology should serve learning, not drive it. Students and instructors should be supported in using the most appropriate and accessible tools and technologies for a given situation. Newer is not necessarily better.