Letters: Professors should value students over royalties

Cheers to Clemson professors Leo Rebholz and Timo Heister and other college professors who are fed up with the high cost of textbooks. (“Professors fight back against high textbook costs,” July 17).

When my first textbook was published in 1981, a paperback cost around $12. According to the publisher’s web site, the latest paperback edition costs $248.95, with options to rent (from $39.49 to $61.99 depending on the length of the rental), purchase the eBook (from $74.49 to $103.99) or purchase eChapters at $9.99 each.

Imagine: In 34 years the price has gone up some $237.

I am retired and no longer involved in textbook publishing, but I was disheartened many years ago when I heard that some authors were pushing for the inclusion of exercises designed to be filled out right on the page, or torn out so they could be submitted, which could make selling the book at the end of the course difficult.

I once heard about a professor who wrote two different introductory psychology textbooks so that, by rotating them, he could be fairly certain that used copies were not available. While I cannot vouch for the validity of this story, it illustrates how far some might go to ensure a hearty annual royalty.

More common is the “need” to update editions every other year, another way to wipe out the used-book market.

Perhaps I was naive, but while I welcomed the royalties, my focus was to provide students with useful information in an easy-to-digest writing style.

This story was originally published August 1, 2015 at 7:16 PM.