Authoring College Textbooks

1. Authoring College Textbooks Denny Burzynski CSN Mathematics Ext 7566

2. Thoughts from a publisher about publishing • First, do what you tell your students to do: do your homework! Look at all the other books each publisher has available for the course where you are interested in publishing. How many do they have? How does yours differ from what they already publish? • Be brutally honest with yourself: is it a good difference or just a quirky difference? • Would your colleagues at your school or other schools want to use your approach? • Remember, your colleagues have a lot to do and changing textbooks is probably not at the top of their list of fun things to do. Usually they do not want to change books if they are pretty happy with their current book (unless the publisher of that book does something to piss them off – see reputation of publishers, below). So your book needs to give them a really good reason to change. • Regarding publishers and how to choose them, there are a lot of things to think about. How is the sales rep for your school? Do you see the rep very often? (If not, there might be a good reason, like if you have a small or out-of-the-way school – or a bad reason, like your rep is a slacker.) • Does the publisher have a good reputation otherwise? Do you feel like you are treated fairly and ethically by them? What does your bookstore think about each publisher? What about things like ancillaries and technology supplements? • When you start talking to publishers, you will have a lot of contact with the acquisitions editor for the discipline. You are going to gravitate towards the editor you bond with personally, someone who seems to get what you are trying to do and seems smart. This is only natural. However, something to keep in mind is that editors (especially younger ones) do tend to move around and get promoted, so also get to know the editor’s immediate manager and if possible, the manager’s manager. You might only meet those people once or twice, but ask how long they have been with the company and their background and familiarity with your discipline. If you feel that those managers also really get what you are trying to do, then you have a good safety net in case the editor moves on. • Also, if possible, get a feel for how your editor works with their assistant or project editor, since those people might end up doing most of the work on your book. There’s a saying about judging people by how they treat their subordinates….. • If your editor is slow getting back to you during the pre-signing stage, be very suspicious. The stage when they are investigating whether they want to sign a contract with you or not should be like a courtship stage. If you aren’t getting timely responses at that stage, you never will and things will likely get worse. • Money: money is important but not as important as the things outlined above, because if you choose poorly regarding the other aspects, you will pay for it with lots of frustration and heartbreak. You just need to feel that your contact is fair. Most publishers will be willing to give an advance on royalties, especially if you are taking some time off teaching or even a lighter teaching load to work on the book. They are not so happy about grants (upfront money that is not expected to be paid back out of royalties) unless they have a good reason, such as it is going towards something that they would have paid for any way, like accuracy checking. Remember, you want your publisher to understand and support the educational values and purpose of your book, but you do also want them to make good business decisions – and grants that are offered without a good reason are not good business decisions. • I tell people to send out just one chapter, with a letter of introduction, the preface, and a one-page document that tells how the book fits in the market. • For contracts, I always consult with other authors, and I use TAA because they have a model contract.  Before I sign anything I use one of the attorney's that are recommended by TAA.  I have them look over the contract and point out anything that they think could be a problem for me at some future date. • I like to get some advance money because I think it makes them more committed to the project. • And I am happy to speak with anyone that is thinking of writing a book, or is in the process of reviewing a contract.  You can give them my name and email address.

3. Process Overview • The Idea • Choosing a Publisher • Making a Proposal • The Contract • Working with an Editor • Writing the Book

4. The Idea Some reasons for writing a textbook • Share our ideas with our colleagues and students • Participate in our community • We are creative • Money • Promotion

5. The Idea I think I could write a textbook that is better than the current collection of textbooks.

6. The Idea What ideas do I have that current authors have neglected or have not done much with? • List and annotate them • You will need them for your proposal Why do I think that?

7. Choosing a Publisher • Do I know who publishes in my field?

8. Choosing a Publisher Most of these are now • Pearson • Cengage • F. A. Davis • Prentice Hall • Wiley • Addison/Wesley • Brooks/Cole • Houghton-Mifflin • McGraw-Hill • Worth • Wadsworth • Guiford

9. Choosing a Publisher • Do you know the sales rep? • Sales reps can provide you with insight as to how your text will be sold. • Does your rep follow through with his or her commitments to you? • Do you see the sales rep very often? • If not, why not? There may be a good reason. • Is CSN out-of-the-way, or is the rep a slacker? Which publisher is right for you?

10. Choosing a Publisher • Ask your sales rep if the publisher is looking for a new textbook. • What are they looking for in a text?

11. Choosing a Publisher • Does the publisher have a good reputation? • What does the bookstore think about each publisher?

12. Making a Proposal • Do your homework • Look at all the other books each publisher has available for the course in which you are interested in publishing • How many do they have? • Wadsworth --> West Brooks/Cole Then so many B/C did not even know they had my applied calculus book and didn’t put it on their marketing list

13. Making a Proposal • How will your book be different from the books they already have? • Be brutally honest with yourself: is your difference a good difference or just a quirky difference? • Would your colleagues in your department want to use your approach? • Would other faculty want to?

14. Making a Proposal • Keep in mind that, like yourself, faculty are busy and changing textbooks is not at the top of their list of fun things to do. Usually they will not change if they are fairly happy with their current text. • Does your book give them a good reason to change?

15. Making a Proposal • Your proposal should clearly state how your book is different from the current texts on the market. • Different (but really the same) • Identify all the ways your book will address unmet needs

16. Making a Proposal Example Calculus textbooks typically present example problems as • Solve this • Here is the solution • The End

17. Making a Proposal • My Idea for improvement • Include: Here is what a mathematician thinks when he or she sees this type of problem • End the example by offering my interpretation of the result

18. Making a Proposal

19. Making a Proposal • Interpretations by your colleagues and from faculty at colleges that might use your text – big adopters • Interviews with people well-known in the field • QuickTime videos of your colleagues or well-known people in our field offering their view of some topic.

20. Making a Proposal • Videos of you and your students solving problems

25. Making a Proposal • Write one sample chapter with a letter of introduction and a one-page document that describes how your book fits into the market • Include how your book is the same but different than those they already have

26. The Contract • Get someone to read it with you. • Alternate reading paragraphs, making notes as you go

27. The Contract • Ask for some advance money. It makes the publisher more committed to your project. • Publishers are not real fond of grants. They may be more open to them if the money is going toward something they would have paid for anyway. (Student proofreading, faculty interpretations, videos, accuracy checking.)

28. The Contract • Royalties • You many see a sliding scale • Example (sort of made up) up to 5000 units in first year: 10% 5000-7500: 12% 7500-10,000: 15% 10,000 and above: 18%

29. The Contract • Consider joining the Textbook Authors Association (TAA) • http://taaonline.net/ • Contract Help • Networking with established authors • Legal referrals

30. The Contract • Ask about typesetting and how they want you to submit your work • Can you use typesetting software? • This has advantages during the proofreading stage

31. Editors When you start talking with publishers, you will have a lot of contact with acquisitions editors. You will likely gravitate towards the editor you bond with personally, someone who seems to get what you are trying to do and seems smart.

32. Editors • Keep in mind the editors, especially the young ones, tend to move around and get promoted. • Get to know the editor’s immediate manager, and if possible, the manager’s manager. • If you feel they have a good sense of what you are trying to do, you have a good safety net if your editor moves on.

33. Editors • Try to get a sense of how your editor works with his or her assistant or project editor, since these people might end up doing most the work on your book. • If your editor is slow getting back to you during the pre-signing stage, be very suspicious. The pre-signing stage is the time they are investigating whether or not they want to sign a book with you. This should be like a courtship stage. If you are not getting timely responses at this stage, you probably never will and things will likely get worse.

34. Editors • Your book will go out for review • Potential adopters • Your editor will ask you to make some or all the changes the reviewers suggest • Make potential adopters happy • Add this section • Rearrange these chapters. • ARG!

35. Editors • Proofreading • They will have this done • You should do it too • Pay one or two students to do it • Pay a faculty friend to do it • ARG! There are errors in the book! How is it possible?

36. Editors • Try to have some influence on page layout • They do pretty well, but you may have ideas that can help students read and understand your writing

37. Editors • Try to have some influence on Cover Design • Think about a cover that grabs the attention of potential adopters and that conveys a sense of calm to students

38. Marketing • Get known • Consider giving talks at your discipline’s annual conferences • Your publisher will likely have a booth at the annual conference and your book will be displayed. Hang out at the booth. • Read the marketing material. Make sure it points out the outstanding features of your book.

39. Writing • Write using only your computer • Keep your work separate from school equipment • You probably do not want the college to claim ownership of some or all of your work

40. Writing • Can you use sophisticated writing instruments? • LaTex • http://www.latex-project.org/ • High-quality typesetting, document preparation system • Free

41. Writing • Your publisher likely knows of it • Your publisher will pay someone to create a book design (page layout) • May pay for a TexPert to create the LaTex macros that put your writing directly into the final form

44. Writing • My friend Doug Campbell, Mathematics Department West Valley College, Silicon Valley, CA On his student evaluation form, a student wrote Strength “He really knows what he is talking about!” Weakness “We don’t know what he is talking about!”

45. Writing • Anguish over every sentence • Concise, but accurate and readable • Anguish over every piece of art • Time commitment? • All

46. Thanks to • Pat McKeague • Author of 16+ mathematics textbooks • He says call him if you are thinking of writing a textbook • 805.541.4593 • Anne Scanlon-Rohrer • Editor for a long time • She says call her if you are thinking of writing a textbook • 650-342-2432