Guide to Textbook Publishing Contracts

You have more leverage than you think. If you’ve ever been published, then you’ve seen it before — a WHEREAS and a THEREFORE followed by eight or more pages of pre-printed, pedantic prose offered up by the editor as his/her "standard publishing contract." Other than a few tiny spaces for your name, the title of the work, and the manuscript delivery date, the bulk of it looks as though it were long ago locked down in Century Schoolbook type. But the truth is that there is more to review than the spelling of your name, choice of title, and projected completion date, and more to negotiate than you might realize or believe. In this detailed guide, you will learn the key provisions of a typical textbook contract and how to determine what’s important to you so that you can enter into the contract negotiation process better informed. BONUS MATERIAL! 20 Questions to Ask Your Editor As a bonus, we included a list of 20 questions that you can employ to learn more about your publisher’s plans for, and expectations of, your work — information that will help you evaluate your leverage and your editor’s weaknesses. About TAA: The Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) provides a wide range of professional development resources, events, and networking opportunities for textbook authors and authors of scholarly journal articles and books. Visit us at: TAAonline.net About the Author: Stephen Gillen is 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 TAA Council and a regular speaker at TAA conferences.