What Readers Are Saying About
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, 9e

"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 (9e). 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

"Writing and Developing your College Textbook is a wonderful reference for those interested in entering the field. Written by knowledgeable publishing insiders, this guide will help readers successfully navigate the ever-changing publishing landscape. At each stage of the process, from initial proposal and contract negotiation all the way through development and into production, the authors provide thoughtful instruction, enabling new authors to fully partner with publishers to create their best work."

- Linda S. Ganster, Editorial Director, Rowman & Littlefield

"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

“This comprehensive guide to college textbook development is a straightforward compendium of everything you need to know to get started writing textbooks. I wish someone had given me a guide like this when I started developing textbooks! It took years to learn all the insights contained within these covers. This guidance is precisely the information that I shared with my authors as their development editor. Like all writing, textbook writing is a specialized genre, and this guide provides all the necessary support for writers looking to be successful in the college market.”


- Sonny Regelman, Content Development Executive

"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, 1e

"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