TAA member Mike Kennamer authored the 2nd edition of Intravenous Therapy for Prehospital Providers (Jones and Bartlett Publishing Company, 2013). “The previous…
TAA VP Steven Barkan publishes new textbook
TAA Vice President Steven Barkan has published a new version of his textbook, Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World,…
Bringing in a co-author requires ‘reconstitution’ of book project
Finding a co-author for your textbook should involve more than finding someone to share the workload, said Mary Ellen Lepionka,…
Contract considerations when switching from contributing textbook author to lead author
Q: If an author is transitioning from a contributing author role to the role of a lead author, do they have to accept the same contract conditions/stipulations that were negotiated by the original authors?
A: Michael Lennie, Attorney and Literary Agent, Lennie Literary Agency & Author’s Attorney:
“I see at least a couple of meanings to your use of the term ‘a contributing author’, each of which results in a different answer. If you have been ‘contributing’ only to certain elements (e.g., chapter summaries, or a particular supplement to the main text), but not to the overall book, you may have entered into what is designated a “work-made-for-hire” (‘WMFH’) agreement with your publisher. A WMFH agreement requires the agreement be in writing clearly stating that it is in fact a ‘work-made-for-hire’ agreement. A WMFH agreement is quite different from an author/publisher agreement (ah, but that’s another tale).
Featured Member Michael Spiegler – Textbook Writing 101
Michael Spiegler is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Providence College. A successful textbook and academic author for…
How to negotiate royalties for a textbook test bank
Q: “I am in the process of negotiating my second contract to write a test bank. The first contract was for a flat fee. I wrote a total of 490 multiple choice, true/false and fill in questions for a 14 chapter criminal justice book. The book was going into its 3rd edition and I think it is a big seller.