And the winner is… Nominations for TAA’s 2016 Textbook Awards now open

Gain recognition with your fellow authors and within the textbook publishing industry by nominating your textbook for a 2016 TAA Textbook Award. We are excited to open nominations for the Textbook Excellence Award (“Texty”), McGuffey Longevity Award (“McGuffey”) and Most Promising New Textbook Award now through December 1, 2015.

The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: August 21, 2015

I received “official notice” that summer is coming to end by one of the many random emails I (somehow) subscribe to. As if there weren’t enough signs for me already—raining for days straight, temperatures taking a significant dive, and (possibly the most dreaded) back to school commercials. Growing up in a household in which both parents worked in schools (one a middle school teacher and the other a speech therapist), we were trained to avert our eyes when school supplies were moved to the front of the store, overflowing in anticipation of the school year to come.

The rise of textbook prices: Authors give their perspective

It’s that time of year; students are heading back to class and hitting the campus bookstore to purchase their needed textbooks for the semester. However, recent surveys, like that by the National Association of College Stores, reveal that students are finding cheaper, alternative methods for purchasing their textbooks or not even purchasing them at all. This may not be too surprising given the latest review of the Bureau of Labor Statistics by NBC, which indicated textbook prices have increased 1,041 percent since January 1977. Often the media covers what publishers, students, and professors have to say regarding this data, but rarely do we hear from textbook authors. With that in mind, I asked our textbook author members, via the TAA Listserv, to write a response to the NBC article that gives their perspective on this issue.

Textbook contract negotiations: Do your homework

When it comes to contract negotiations, you have to do your homework, says Steve Gillen, partner at Wood, Herron & Evans, where he concentrates his practice on publishing, media, and copyright matters. “Negotiations are ultimately influenced by which side knows the most about the other side’s positions. The editor starts this contest with an advantage gained from experience in the market, experience doing other similar deals (undoubtedly many more than you have done), and the benefits of your perspective as reflected in your proposal. The way to get on an even footing with the editor/publisher is to learn more about the publisher’s plans for, and expectations of, your work — information that will help you evaluate your leverage and the editor’s weaknesses.

Develop a master publisher and writing contacts list for your textbook

Since 1987, when Robert Christopherson signed the contract for the first edition of his now best-selling textbook, Geosystems, his textbooks have gone through five different owners, and he has had 14 different editors and hundreds of editorial assistants. “Such dynamics in the publishing landscape is quite typical of the industry,” said Christopherson, who textbooks are now published with Pearson.