Join us 10/27 for the TAA Webinar ‘What is a Textbook Royalty Audit and How Do I Know If I Need One?’

A textbook royalty audit can provide answers to the many questions authors have about their royalty payments and the distribution of their books, including: “How are my royalties being calculated when my book is packaged and sold with other books or content?”, “How am I being paid when a custom book is printed with some of my chapter content along with other content?”, and “My book was ranked in the top 5 on Amazon.com! Why haven’t I seen an increase in my royalty payments?”

Join us Tuesday, October 27 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET  for the TAA webinar, “What is a Textbook Royalty Audit and How Do I Know If I Need One?”, where CPA Juli Saitz from FTI Consulting will share the steps involved in a textbook royalty audit and how to determine if you should conduct one to assert your contractual audit rights. Register today!

10 Self-publishing companies for your next textbook project

Self-publishing, not to be confused with vanity publishing, is now seen as a much more viable option when it comes to publishing a textbook. Self-publishing companies offer a wide range of services from manuscript editing to cover design and distribution. You, as the author, often have complete control over each stage of the design, publishing, and promotion process. Keeping all of this in mind, if you decide to self-publish instead of following the traditional route, these ten self-publishing companies are ones to explore and consider:

Join us 10/8 for the TAA Webinar, ‘Tips for Writing an Effective Textbook: Developing Your Manuscript with Your Publisher’

One of the first steps after signing with a publisher is to begin working with the publisher’s content developer. The content developer is your day-to-day contact and guides you through the writing process. Join us Thursday, October 8, from 4-5 p.m. ET for the TAA Webinar, “Tips for Writing an Effective Textbook: Developing Your Manuscript with Your Publisher”, where Ann Greenberger from Greenline Editorial Services will cover the steps in developing a textbook–from first draft to final revised manuscript–and tips for successfully creating a powerful product.

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 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.