A: Richard
T. Hull, Executive Director, TAA:
"Your
motivation for making your own text -- dissatisfaction with the alternatives
that are available to you and thinking you could teach better from
your own material - is very typical of the origin of textbooks and
textbook writers. I have heard your sentiments from our TAA members,
particularly from our Texty and McGuffey Award winners, echoed over
and over.
It is certainly
possible to self-publish, or to publish with a small publishing house,
just enough books to service your own courses. But if you are thinking
that you can sell 400 copies a year to your own students, with a bit
of marketing and some favorable reviews, you should be able to see
several times that amount on the sales potential of your book. I don't
know the distribution and character of your 'niche,' but if a significant
number of teachers of art appreciation find the available texts hard
to teach, and would find yours a substantial improvement, you may
be looking at a substantial number of sales beyond what you self-project."