Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide (3e) | Media Kit

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Below you will find various resources for Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide 3e. For media, interviews, and book review requests, contact:

Kim Pawlak | Director of Publishing & Operations, TAA | (608) 687-3106 | [email protected]

Writing and Developing Your College TextbookProduct Details

Pages: 325 | Edition: 3rd | ISBN: 978-0-9975004-1-7
Paperback Pricing - $19.95 + $5 S&H
eBook Pricing - $14.95

Publisher: Textbook & Academic Authors Association

Download the press release
Download book cover image: Web | Print
Download author photos:
Mary Ellen Lepionka - Web | Print
Sean W. Wakely - Web | Print
Stephen E. Gillen - Web | Print

Table of Contents

About Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide (3e)

Long Blurb (483 words):

Writing and crafting a textbook and attending to authoring tasks is a time-consuming, complex—some would say monumental—project, even harrowing at times. This updated and expanded third edition of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide, published by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association, will empower authors to undertake textbook development by guiding them through the nuts and bolts of the development process, and providing essential background information on the changing higher education publishing industry, as well as how to choose a publisher, write a textbook proposal, negotiate a publishing contract, and establish good author-publisher relations.

Robert Christopherson, author of Geosystems (9e), said: “TAA and the authors have done a wonderful service to us all—textbook, academic, and even trade authors—with this seminal, blood-and-guts guide to the art, craft, and work of authoring. Even though I signed my first contract in 1987, I read every word of this valuable new book and took pages of notes to guide me forward!”

Laura Frost, author of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry (3e): "Wow! Lots of changes! I appreciate all the new graphics. The new organization is great! You won't have to read a whole chapter to find the important nuggets you are looking for. The co-authors that were brought in definitely add to the authority of this book for new authors. The case studies and author to author features add real-life examples and offer relatability."

Divided into three sections, each written by a veteran in the higher education publishing industry, chapters include:

    •    The Evolving Higher Education Textbook Publishing Industry
    •    How College Textbooks are Published
    •    How to Capture Publishers’ Interest
    •    Negotiate Your Contract
    •    Why Your Textbook Needs Development
    •    Write to Reach Your True Audience
    •    Establish an Effective Authorial Voice
    •    Why You Need Learning Objectives
    •    Why Heading Structure Matters
    •    View the Full Table of Contents at http://www.taaonline.net/writing-and-developing-your-college-textbook-table-of-contents

The book also includes 22 samples and templates, and a new feature called "Author to Author", which provides an inside look at how many of the concepts introduced in the book have been put into practice by successful textbook authors.

In this third edition, authors Sean W. Wakely, Vice President of Product and Editorial at FlatWorld, who wrote the first section on the higher education publishing industry, and Stephen E. Gillen, Partner at Wood Herron & Evans, who wrote the second section on contracts, joined Mary Ellen Lepionka, a retired publisher, author, editor, textbook developer, and college instructor, who wrote the first two editions and authored the third section of the book on writing and development.

For more information on Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide, visit http://www.taaonline.net/writing-and-developing-your-college-textbook.

Short blurb (121 words):

Writing and crafting a textbook and attending to authoring tasks is a time-consuming, complex—some would say monumental—project, even harrowing at times. This updated and expanded third edition of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide, published by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA), will empower you to undertake textbook development by guiding you through the nuts and bolts of the development process, and providing essential background information on the changing higher education publishing industry, as well as how to choose a publisher, write a textbook proposal, negotiate a publishing contract, and establish good author-publisher relations. Pages: 320; Edition: 3rd; ISBN: 978-0-9975004-1-7. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2b6lOFg

Author Bios

Mary Ellen Lepionka of Gloucester, MA is co-author of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide 3e. She is a retired publisher, author, editor, textbook developer, and college instructor with a Master’s in anthropology from Boston University and Ph.D. work at the University of British Columbia. In the 1990s she worked in higher education publishing as a developmental editor of college textbooks, principally for Houghton Mifflin and Pearson Education. Between 2002 and 2011 she established Atlantic Path Publishing as a retirement business and published two editions of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook and related titles. She presently is an independent scholar writing a history of Native Americans on Cape Ann. (112 words)

Sean W. Wakely is co-author of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide 3e. He is Vice President of Product & Editorial at FlatWorld. He began his career as a sales representative for Allyn & Bacon and was a top-performing acquisitions editor and editorial manager at Pearson Education and Houghton Mifflin's college division. In several senior executive roles at Thomson Learning and Cengage Learning, including president of Wadsworth Publishing and manager of National Geographic Learning, Sean successfully guided editorial, product, marketing, production, and digital media teams to achieve industry-leading growth. (111 words)

Stephen E. Gillen teaches Electronic Media Law at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He worked for nearly 20 years in publishing prior to entering private practice in the middle 1990’s. He is presently a partner at Wood Herron & Evans (a 145-year-old Cincinnati law firm focused on intellectual property) where he concentrates his practice on publishing, media, and copyright matters. He is a long-time member of the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) Council and a regular speaker at TAA conferences. (84 words)

Links: [ Guide to Textbook Publishing Contracts: http://bit.ly/textbookcontractsguide ] [ Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: http://bit.ly/2b6lOFg ] [ Academic Author Advisers: http://www.academicauthoradvisers.com ] [ Wood Herron & Evans: http://www.whe-law.com ]

Short versions:

Mary Ellen Lepionka is a retired publisher, author, editor, textbook developer, and college instructor with a Master’s in anthropology from Boston University and Ph.D. work at the University of British Columbia. In the 1990s she worked in higher education publishing as a developmental editor of college textbooks, principally for Houghton Mifflin and Pearson Education. (53 words)

Sean W. Wakely is Vice President of Product and Editorial at FlatWorld. He has worked as a sales rep for Allyn & Bacon, an acquisitions editor and editorial manager at Pearson Education and Houghton Mifflin, and has had several senior executive roles at Thomson Learning, Cengage Learning, Wadsworth Publishing, and National Geographic Learning. (59 words)

Stephen E. Gillen teaches Electronic Media Law at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and is a partner at Wood Herron & Evans where he concentrates his practice on publishing, media, and copyright matters. He is also author of Guide to Textbook Publishing Contracts. (46 words)

Links: [Guide to Textbook Publishing Contracts: http://bit.ly/textbookcontractsguide ] [Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: http://bit.ly/2b6lOFg ] [ Academic Author Advisers: http://www.academicauthoradvisers.com ] [Wood Herron & Evans: http://www.whe-law.com ]

Praise for Writing and Developing Your College Textbook:

"TAA and the authors have done a wonderful service to us all—textbook, academic, and even trade authors—with this seminal, blood-and-guts guide to the art, craft, and work of authoring. Even though I signed my first contract in 1987, I read every word of this valuable new book and took pages of notes to guide me forward!"
- Robert Christopherson, author of Geosystems

"This guide is an essential tool for anyone interested in writing textbooks, from beginner to seasoned veteran. It’s like having a group of trusted mentors sitting on the edge of my desk." - Kevin Patton, author of Anatomy & Physiology. Read the full review on his blog, TheTextbookAuthor.

"Wow! Lots of changes! I appreciate all the new graphics, the book is much more visually appealing for the reader than the 2nd edition. You won't have to read a whole chapter to find the important nuggets you are looking for. The new organization is great! The co-authors that were brought in definitely add to the authority of this book for new authors. The case studies and author to author features add real-life examples and offer relatability." - Laura Frost, author of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry

"I wish I could have read this book before I wrote my first textbook a quarter-century ago! Every chapter in this book covers essential information for aspiring textbook authors and even for veteran textbook authors. Written by experts on textbook writing and publishing, Writing and Developing Your College Textbook examines everything that textbook authors need to know from the time they begin to think about writing a textbook to the time they publish it and begin thinking about revising it. This book is an incredibly useful resource and must reading for anyone who is thinking of writing a textbook, who has written a textbook, or who works in the textbook industry." - Steven Barkan, author of Criminology: A Sociological Understanding

"Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide, 3rd edition, is a textbook author’s dream. It discusses the nuts and bolts of writing a textbook, from understanding the publishing industry and contract negotiation to designing illustrations and planning chapter features. I’ve authored two TAA-award winning texts, co-authored two more, and contributed to another dozen, but I still found plenty of tips and useful information that I will apply in my next project. My only wish is that I’d had this book 10 years ago. Every current and hopeful textbook author should read this book and every publisher should buy it for their authors." - Lorraine Papazian-Boyce, author of Pearson’s Comprehensive Medical Coding: A Path to Success

"I signed my first textbook contract in 1999, with no understanding of textbook contracts, the publishing industry, or my rights as an author. How I wish I would have had a resource like Writing and Developing Your College Textbook 3e to guide me through the process of writing a textbook proposal, negotiating a contract and developing a manuscript as I navigated the unfamiliar waters of the textbook publishing industry. Although I am now considered a veteran textbook author, this book has been an interesting and informative read, providing deeper insight into the rapidly changing textbook publishing industry. The authors are top experts in their fields and provide a clear narrative, along with pertinent examples for each of the major concepts presented. I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in writing a textbook and for those who are already published, but wish to delve deeper in their knowledge of the publishing industry. The reader of this book will be armed with the many years of collective experience provided by the authors, saving him/her from making the many mistakes I made when preparing to write my first book. It is entirely possible that one grain of knowledge learned from this book could make (or save) thousands of dollars in royalties over the lifetime of a textbook!" - Mike Kennamer, author of Math for Healthcare Professionals

Interview Resources

Twitter & Facebook Posts

Twitter:

Download a free 17-pg sample of 'Writing and Developing Your College #Textbook' http://bit.ly/2b6lOFg @textandacademic

You signed your #textbook contract. Now what? Get a step-by-step guide to textbook development http://bit.ly/2b6lOFg #WDYCT3e

Essential info for aspiring & veteran textbook authors: 'Writing and Developing Your College Textbook' http://bit.ly/2b6lOFg #WDYCT3e

Facebook:

Writing and crafting a textbook and attending to authoring tasks is a time-consuming, complex—some would say monumental—project, even harrowing at times. This updated and expanded third edition of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide, will empower you to undertake textbook development by guiding you through the nuts and bolts of the development process, providing you with essential background information on the changing higher education publishing industry, as well as how to negotiate a publishing contract. Download a 17-page sample http://bit.ly/2b6lOFg

Watch Stephen E. Gillen's webinar, "20 Tips & 20 Questions for Your Next Textbook Deal"
Read Sean Wakely's blog article, "Trends in College Textbook Publishing: 5 Trends for Navigating the Digital Transition"
Watch an interview with the authors, "Author Q&A: Writing and Developing Your College Textbook"