TAA announces 2007 Texty, McGuffey Award winners

The Text and Academic Authors Association has selected seven textbooks to receive a 2007 Textbook Excellence Award ("Texty"), and two textbooks to receive a 2007 William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Award ("McGuffey").

The awards were presented at the TAA Awards Luncheon June 22 in Buffalo, New York during the association's 2007 Conference on Text and Academic Authoring at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

The Texty winners for 2007 are:

• Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Understanding, Preventing, and Responding Effectively, 2nd ed., by Barbara Kaiser and Judy Sklar Rasminsky, published by Allyn & Bacon (College Communication/Education/Performing Arts/Visual Arts category)
• The Essentials of Computer Organization & Architecture, 2nd ed., by Linda Null and Julia M. LoBur, published by Jones & Bartlett Publishers (College Computer Science/Engineering category)
• Data and Computer Communications, 8th ed., by William Stallings, published by Pearson/Prentice Hall (College Computer Science/Engineering category)
• Invertebrate Medicine, 1st ed., by Gregory A. Lewbart, published by Blackwell Publishing Professional (College Life Sciences category)
• Finite Mathematics and Applied Calculus, 1st ed., by Frank C. Wilson, published by Houghton Mifflin (College Mathematics/Statistics category)
• A History of Roman Art, by Fred S. Kleiner, published by Wadsworth/Thomson Higher Education (College Humanities/Social Sciences category)
• Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict & Change, by Joseph F. Healey, published by Sage Publications, Pine Forge Press (Humanities/Social Sciences category)

The McGuffey winners for 2007 are:

• College Algebra, 8th ed., by Michael Sullivan, published by Prentice Hall (College Mathematics/Statistics category)
• Biological Psychology, by James W. Kalat (textbook), Elaine Hull (study guide), Jeffrey Stowell (test bank), Cynthia Crawford (instructor's resource manual), and Chris Hayashi (NOW and Multimedia Manager), published by Thomas Wadsworth (College Humanities/Social Sciences category)

2007 Texty, McGuffey authors share award-winning advice:

Frank Wilson, author of Finite Mathematics and Applied Calculus:

"Writing a textbook is a tremendously challenging academic endeavor. It requires a substantial investment of time and energy as well as personal sacrifice. Yet despite the difficulty, textbook writing is deeply rewarding. Here are a few tips I found helped me:

• Before writing a textbook, work as a freelancer for a publisher doing such things as proposal reviews, solutions manuals, final accuracy reviews, etc. These activities will help you establish a relationship with your publisher and familiarize you with much of the publishing process.
• Write for the student not the professor. Too many textbooks have so much technical jargon that they become virtually unusable for the novice student.
• Log your hours as you write. This will help you project how much time it will take you to finish your text. My first text took 2100+ hours from initial concept to published textbook over a 3.5 year period.
• Negotiate as much financial support as possible from your publisher before signing a contract. The financial support of my publisher allowed me to cut my teaching load in half for one semester so that I could focus intently on writing.
• Celebrate writing milestones. At times the writing will feel like drudgery. Keep your enthusiasm high by taking time to celebrate milestone achievements.
• Take a day off from writing once a week. For religious reasons, I avoid working on Sundays. I have found that taking Sundays off from my writing and other work allows me to reengergize and refocus. By Monday morning, my mind is fresh and my spirit is renewed.
• Enjoy the ride!"

Barbara Kaiser and Judy Sklar Rasminsky, authors of Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Understanding, Preventing, and Responding Effectively:

"Other authors will share tips about using the internet and writing software, about creating files for each topic or chapter when you first begin to think about a book, about ways to keep abreast of new developments in your field. But I think I speak for both myself and my co-author Barbara Kaiser when I say that the best advice we can give to someone writing a textbook is to have a collaborator you trust.

"In our case, we bring entirely different skills to our work together. Barbara has spent many years on the front lines of early childhood care and education, working directly with children and families; and she brings to our texts a wealth of specific examples and a wise understanding of the human and classroom elements. I have a journalistic background, a need to dig deep into a subject, and a passion for making things clear. I balance her natural optimism by being a pessimist. Even though we now live 1000 miles apart, we talk every day about everything we're thinking and writing, question one another ruthlessly, go back to sources again and again, and rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. When Barbara says a section belongs in the previous chapter, I protest, but I give it a try. When I say the research doesn't support her position, she backs off—or finds something to confirm it. We push each other to search out new ideas, constantly trying to understand more. We are a team, and our books are the better for it."

Gregory Lewbart, author of Invertebrate Medicine:

"Invertebrate Medicine (Blackwell Publishing, 2006) is the second veterinary text and first comprehensive text I have edited. In 1998 the Self-Assessment Color Review of Ornamental Fish, a clinical case "quiz book" for veterinary students and veterinarians was published simultaneously by Manson Publishing and Iowa State Press (now part of Blackwell). I learned a lot from both of these contributed works and hope the following tips and comments are helpful:

* A strong interest in the subject matter is essential. This helps ensure the focus and drive necessary to keep the project moving despite inevitable setbacks and delays.

* Work closely with your editors and publisher, communicating clearly and often, even if you may not have good news to share with them.

* When working with contributors or co-authors, select these individuals carefully, and communicate well with them. In addition, don't be discouraged or disappointed if some potential authors, including good friends, are unable to commit to your project. Several of my closest friends and colleagues were unable to write chapters for me. I appreciated their ability to say no, rather then say yes and be unable to produce quality material on time.

* Read your contract in detail and look out for you and your contributors/co-authors. I was able to make some changes in mine (from the "boiler plate" version) without too much difficulty. While I have not done this to date, hiring an author's attorney to review contract issues might be advisable.

* Promote your book but within reason (and there is probably a fine line to be recognized here). I frequently donate my books to charity auctions, for example, but I don't generally talk about my book when lecturing or giving other public presentations. I'd rather leave this up to the publisher or moderator of a scientific/presentation session. I also worked closely with the marketing person assigned to my book regarding potential advertising and review venues.

* Remember your teachers and mentors. While this may not be directly related to writing/editing a quality textbook, we've all had influential people in our lives, and it's important to recognize them and share some of what they taught us with our own students and colleagues.

William Stallings, author of Data and Computer Communications:

"I encourage feedback from students and professors by maintaining a web site for each of my books. I also find that presenting the material to professional (as opposed to academic) audiences generates the type of feedback that is useful in clarifying the material."

Elaine M. Hull, author of the study guide for James Kalat's Biological Psychology:

• "Study and write about subjects that fascinate you. Many people are interested in how brain function can go wrong. I am fascinated by how it ever goes right! How do neurons in one part of the brain produce vision, while those in other parts process speech, produce skilled movements, or figure out the consequences of our actions?
• Use everyday analogies. For example, regenerative ion flows in action potentials in a neuron are slower than local graded potentials. The action potentials require individual ions to "swim" much of the length of an ion channel, whereas local graded potentials merely "elbow" similarly charged ions a short distance down the neuron. Also, the three photopigments in our retinal cones are a bit like tennis nets with different sized holes. Those with large holes can catch large red foam balls (long-wavelength photons); those with medium holes can catch smaller greenish yellow tennis balls (medium-wavelength photons); while only those with small holes can catch small, energetic blue marbles (short-wavelength photons).
• Use clinical examples. Oliver Sachs has written numerous books describing people with various types of brain damage, resulting in interesting clinical symptoms, such as a woman who lost the ability to perceive motion after a stroke that damaged one area of her visual cortex.
• Be compulsive and do your best. Write, check, re-check, think, write more, re-check."

James Kalat, author of Biological Psychology:

"The key to winning the McGuffey longevity award is to write your first edition when you are young, and then live a long time. The key to living a long time is exercise, good diet, and cowardice. Stay away from wars, barroom brawls, bungee jumping with a frayed cord... things like that.

The second key to success is to work with good people. Elaine Hull has been not only the author of the Biological Psychology study guide from the start, but also a source of excellent advice on the content of the text throughout. It is a rare treat to find a researcher of her level of expertise who is willing to continue this kind of collaboration for so long. In the course of nine editions of Biological Psychology and eight of Introduction to Psychology I have worked with only four acquisitions editors. Some authors have faced more turnover in a year or less. I have been fortunate to have superb editors. The three who went on to other opportunities continue to be my close friends.

A textbook author needs to balance contradictory personality traits. Just deciding you are capable of writing a textbook, to tell the world what is true and important about some field, requires self-confidence bordering on arrogance. Then you need the humility to follow the reviewers' advice to revise or delete sections that you liked so much.

One more thing: It is essential to be in a department that regards textbook writing as a legitimate scholarly activity. Many university departments are less than supportive. I have been fortunate to be in a department that has encouraged and valued my writing."

Joseph F. Healey, author of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict & Change:

"My advice contains no surprises or secrets and, of course, reflects my personal experience within the discipline of sociology.

• Pay close attention to the reviewers. You will never please them all (and you shouldn't try) but responding to their criticisms, within the framework of your project, can pay huge dividends. The first draft of this text was simply excoriated by the reviewers. They hated it and, considering their criticisms objectively, they were right. I responded by putting the text aside and not touching it for 3-4 months. Then, after thoroughly licking my wounds, I started over from scratch and wrote a new draft guided by the criticisms. This was a painful and time consuming process, as I had to trash my original outline. However, the result was a revised draft that was stronger in every way (and, the reviewers liked it). The fact that the text has stayed in print for four editions is a tribute to the strong foundation which I developed in response to those first devastatingly critical reviews.

• Tell a good story. I know that this advice won't apply to all types of textbooks or disciplines and, unfortunately, it doesn't always apply to my own writing. Still, to the extent possible, I try to follow some of the principles of a good novel. Writing Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class provides multiple opportunities to tell "good stories" that feature high drama, tragedy and pathos, and the best and worst of human capabilities (e.g., the origins of American slavery, the experiences of Native American tribes or immigrants). More than that, however, I consciously structured the text so that it has a story-like organization: a beginning, middle, and end. The first six chapters lay out a conceptual framework which is then applied to case studies of a variety of American minority groups. The "end" comes in a summary last chapter that re-states the main conceptual themes and brings the story to a close. I think (based on absolutely no evidence) that even readers who are unaware of the underlying structure benefit from this organization because it presents the material in a more accessible and logical format.

• Don't try to explain everything. Again, this may be peculiar to sociology but it is common for texts in my discipline to strive for an encyclopedic, multi-perspective approach that incorporates all analytical frameworks. I consciously rejected this approach and strove to do more with less. That is, I decided to use a minimal number of very powerful concepts and theories that I introduce early and use throughout the text - these ideas are the analytical framework of the story I want to tell. I think that this approach increases the integrity of the work and makes the material much more coherent to the reader.

• Be honest. Minority relations are enormously complex, sensitive, and controversial. No book can satisfy all points of view (or, to put it differently, every book on this topic will anger someone). My response to these challenges is to try my best to state the often ugly truths frankly and plainly and without extraneous editorializing. I try to provide a straightforward accounting of America's often dismal history (student's lack of knowledge about the past always surprises me) and to deal with current issues objectively and by focusing on the evidence provided by social science research literature. Also, within the framework of telling a unified story, the text provides multiple points of view and incorporates many different voices in the flow of the narrative and in special features such as boxed inserts presenting the real life experiences and debates on controversial issues at the end of chapters."

Fred Kleiner, author of A History of Roman Art:

"Two of my bedrock principles are to explain everything clearly because I assume that the students reading my textbooks know nothing about the subject (and they usually don't) and to write with passion about the subject in order to convince readers that the material is worth mastering on the assumption that students have no interest in the subject (because they usually don't)."

Linda Null and Julia Lobur, authors of The Essentials of Computer Organization & Architecture:

"So what makes an author successful? First and foremost, it is important to write what you know! Figure out exactly what you want the students to be able to do once they have read your book, and then make sure the book shows them how to do it. We gathered exercises, problem sets, student feedback, and exam questions from over a decade of teaching computer organization and architecture. These materials helped us focus on exactly what we wanted to achieve. And remember, there is no such thing as too many examples!

Secondly, you have to have the luck of picking a subject that will be economically successful for the publisher. You also have to have a publisher that is dedicated to producing high quality works. Good project management is essential, as is first rate copy editing and proofreading. Unfortunately, not all of these things fall into place for all authors.

Being a co-author brings its own set of dynamics to a project. Without a doubt, if you're not working as a team -- pulling in the same direction -- you can derive little joy from the work. We started this project as friends and have emerged from it as even better friends. We both contributed a distinct set of strengths. We respected our differences and built upon them. Moreover, we were very fortunate that the areas in which we are equally skilled are those areas where we needed to work in tandem, such as in going through reams of copy edits and producing our index, always on a very aggressive production schedule."

On Winning a 2007 Texty or McGuffey Award:

Frank Wilson, author of Finite Mathematics and Applied Calculus:

"When I opened my letter from TAA, I had no idea that it was going to be an award letter. As I quickly scanned its contents, a rush of elation came over me and I let out a loud, 'Yahoo!' I cheered a few more times, much to my wife's amusement. I am deeply honored to have been selected for this prestigious award for my first textbook."

Barbara Kaiser and Judy Sklar Rasminsky, authors of Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Understanding, Preventing, and Responding Effectively:

"We are proud and thrilled to win this recognition from our peers. It is especially important in 2007, the year of the shootings at Virginia Tech, that TAA has chosen to honor a book on a subject that all teachers, both preservice and practicing, desperately need to know about: understanding, preventing, and addressing children's challenging behavior. This subject doesn't always receive the time and attention it deserves, and perhaps the Texty award for our book will encourage college and university departments to give it more prominence. Because there is a link between behavior problems in young children and aggressive and violent behavior later on, teachers who are properly prepared and confident working with all children can make a real difference in their students' lives. At the same time they can help to prevent violence in our wider American society."

Gregory Lewbart, author of Invertebrate Medicine:

"For me winning the Texty was very exciting and quite an honor. I put so much work into the project, as did others, and receiving objective recognition for this effort was quite rewarding. I am fortunate to have had many influential teachers and mentors and dedicate this award to the memory of Drs. Robert D. Barnes, Louis Leibovitz, William Medway, and Nathan "Doc" Riser."

William Stallings, author of Data and Computer Communications:

"It is of course an honor and satisfying to have peer recognition."

Elaine M. Hull, author of the study guide for James Kalat's Biological Psychology:

"I am delighted that Jim Kalat's text Biological Psychology, and my accompanying study guide, have won a McGuffey Award from TAA. I am grateful for the positive comments by reviewers, for Thomson's supportiveness, and for TAA's commitment to recognizing excellence in textbooks. I was first asked to be a reviewer for several chapters that Jim Kalat had submitted for a potential text in about 1979. I was very much impressed with Jim's ability to make complicated biological processes understandable and to pique the interest of undergraduate readers. I conveyed my enthusiasm and also made some suggestions about possible changes. Apparently, the publisher (then, Wadsworth, more recently acquired by Thomson) liked my suggestions and asked me to write the study guide to accompany the text. The first edition was published in 1981, and the ninth edition was published last year (2006). I have heard numerous glowing comments about both Jim's text and my study guide. Both students and faculty recognize that a text must have, not only accurate information, but also interesting examples and down-to-earth applications. I hope to be a part of this project into the second 25 years!"

James Kalat, author of Biological Psychology:

"Winning this award truly surprised me, as I did not know my text had been nominated. By the time I found out about it, my family already had plans for a reunion on this weekend. I apologize for not being present to say thank you in person, and I'll hope to attend next year's meeting in Chicago. In academia, we honor the top researchers, the outstanding teachers, and it seems almost everyone who excels in sports. Textbook authors are in the lonely position of being seldom noticed, except when they say something wrong, or when people complain about textbook prices. People like you and me, and our families, are the only ones who understand the work that goes into writing a text. To be recognized by my peers means a great deal to me, and I am deeply grateful."

Joseph F. Healey, author of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group Conflict & Change:

"The Texty has been awarded to the 4th edition of my text Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Class and, obviously, I am thrilled! This text is the most important product of my scholarly life. I have been studying American minority relations, in one form or another, since I was an undergraduate 40 years ago and have been working on this text for over 15 years. Many people contribute to the production of a textbook (even when there is a single name on the title page) and, although I cannot mention everyone, I would be very remiss if I did not acknowledge the invaluable contributions of Steve Rutter at the start of the project and Ben Penner of Pine Forge Press for taking the text to a new level with the 4th edition.

I am now starting the 5th edition of the text and have been sharply reminded of the huge amount of work that goes into a project like this. For me, much of the reward of authorship is the process itself: the pleasure of writing, organizing material, doing the research, and finding ways to express ideas that students will find accessible. It is a special pleasure to have my efforts recognized by others and to be acknowledged by the TAA. There is also a certain amount of pleasure, of course, in the occasional royalty check but there is no substitute for praise from colleagues. My thanks to all who participated in the selection process."

Fred Kleiner, author of A History of Roman Art:

"The greatest award that one can ever aspire to is to win the respect of one's peers, and so I am especially delighted that my fellow authors have honored my work in this way."

Michael Sullivan, author of College Algebra:

"I want to thank TAA for recognizing my text, College Algebra, 8th edition, and awarding it a McGuffey. This book was the lead book of a series of four books first published in 1987.ÊThis series, 20 years later, is in its 8th edition.ÊFor any textbook to survive this long requires contributions from many, many sources: publishers, professors, editors, sales and marketing people, and family, to name a few. I am greatlyÊhonored by this award andÊhope all the individuals who contributed to the text over the years will share it with me."

Linda Null, author of The Essentials of Computer Organization & Architecture:

"First, I think it's wonderful that we have the ability to celebrate the craft of textbook authorship via the Texty. Winning an award for something I feel so passionate about is truly an honor. It's also a huge vote of confidence and an amazing feeling of satisfaction to earn the respect of other professionals in our field. What makes this award even more special is that I share it with Julie."

Julia Lobur, author of The Essentials of Computer Organization & Architecture:

"No one has ever asked me how I felt about something like this. I really had to think about it. I'm almost stunned that someone would see our text as being as wonderful as we think it is. I've never worked so long and hard on something and have those efforts be recognized. (In my day job, I work for state government, a notoriously thankless occupation.) I am so honoroed to be in the company of the distinguished authors who have also been so recognized by a Texty."

Award Winner Bios:

Joseph Healey

Joseph F. Healey is a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. He has been a member of the department for almost 40 years and has served as chair for the last eight years. His undergraduate (1967) and MA (1970) are from the College of William and Mary and his PhD (1975) is from the University of Virginia. In addition to the text on American minority group relations that is being honored with the Texty award, he has written a text in statistics for social research (currently going into its 8th edition), co-authored an Introduction to Sociology text, and co-edited a book of readings in the sociology or race, ethnicity, and gender. He is also the author or co-author of several other titles and articles in a variety of areas including the sociology of sport and the sociology of violence. His is married and has two sons and two grandchildren, and, outside of academe, spends much of his time playing old time banjo and hammer dulcimer.

Michael Sullivan

Michael Sullivan is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Chicago State University where he taught for 34 years before retiring a few years ago. Sullivan has been writing math texts for over 30 years. He currently has 15 books in print: three Precalculus series with Prentice-Hall and one Business series with John Wiley. Sullivan is a member of the Council of Fellows of TAA and has been awarded a Texty and a McGuffey award for two of his books. He is currently Treasurer of the TAA Foundation and the Immediate Past President of TAA. He has four children: Kathleen, who teaches college mathematics, Mike III, who teaches college mathematics and co-authors with his dad on two series, Dan, who is a sales representative for Prentice-Hall, and Colleen, who teaches middle-school mathematics. Eleven grandchildren round out the family.

McGuffeys Awards Information

Textys Awards Information