“A book is never done” is the title of a recent Slate article by Dan Gilmor describing the potential in books that can be constantly updated by authors. Of course, Gilmor is describing the potential in ebooks, and while constant modification is possible, his frustration with the cumbersome tools for creating these updates.
The Gilmor piece reminded of a similar frustration I experienced years ago when I attempted to explain a similar concept to the “business types” of my then publisher. My wife and I had authored several educational technology textbooks and after several editions we thought we be might be trusted to take a somewhat different approach. We proposed that we had proven ourselves and educational technology represented an area in which experimentation was kind of expected. Does it really make sense that the approach taken to convince future teachers to make use of technology in their classrooms should rely exclusively on a traditional textbook? It would seem you were not really committed to your core message. The model for textbook publishing was and probably still is a last minute rush to get out the next edition. If you work as a college prof for a living, you really cannot, in good conscience, drop everything at certain times of the year to work on an update to meet the publisher’s timetable. You have time in small amounts and more time in the summer when you are not on contract.
I thought my proposal would result in a better product. My idea at the time was to put in some amount of effort on a continuing basis at some low level of payment to be applied against future royalties. This approach would allow a more thorough and careful development process potentially resulting in a higher quality next edition. In addition, the new content could be posted to the web immediately offering updated material to those using what was already a dated, hard-copy product. It all made sense to me, but evidently not to those locked into a more traditional approach. I was willing to take the risk of investing the time for a limited guarantee, but the company was not willing to take the corresponding risk as an experiment. Perhaps they were concerned that other authors would expect the same treatment.
Interesting how things change. I now publish through Amazon and am free to experiment to whatever extent I like. I miss the editorial review and the sales force supplied by the company book reps, but I find the freedom stimulating. Our previous company has recently declared bankruptcy and is trying to find a way to regain a firm financial base. The lawyers have sent us letters and forms indicating we can request to be considered for payment for the amount owed from recent sales. It is a very small amount so I did not bother. Perhaps the buyers could be given my portion of the sales price. Anyone willing to buy an educational technology textbook that has not been updated in six years deserves a break.
