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Confessions of a Supplemental Text Writer
Jeremiah A. Gilbert, Ph.D.Associate Professor,
MathematicsSan Bernardino Valley
College
What Are They?
Supplemental texts include:
Test Banks
Solutions Manuals
Resource Guides
Who Writes Them?
True or False: Supplemental texts are written by one of the authors of the primary text.
Who Writes Them?
FALSE! Supplemental texts are typically written by an additional author who usually had little or nothing to do with the primary text.
When Are They Written?
True or False: Supplemental textsare written after the primary text is finalized.
When Are They Written?
FALSE! Supplemental texts are written while the primary text is being finalized and can be very subject to change.
Who Gets Credit?
True or False: The supplemental author does not receive credit for their work.
Who Gets Credit?
FALSE! It depends upon the publisher and the type of supplement.
Is It a Solo Project?
True or False: Supplemental texts involve a group of people, not just the writer.
Is It a Solo Project?
TRUE! Along with the primary text authors, there are also editors as well as content and formatting checkers.
How Long Does It Take?
True or False: Since the primary text has already been written, it’s a quick project that can be done in your spare time.
How Long Does It Take?
FALSE! Even with the simplest project, there are layers of editing and many potential revisions to deal with, all of which take time.
Whose Teaching Method?
One challenge is having to match the teaching method used in the primary text, which may not be the same as your own.
Good With Graphics?
True or False: You will have a graphics department to help you create tables, charts, and figures.
Good With Graphics?
FALSE! Everything you produce is expected to be camera ready, including any graphics.
What’s an ISM TOC?
There are lots of acronyms to learn:
CSM – Complete Solutions Manual
ISM – Instructor’s Solutions Manual
SSM – Student’s Solutions Manual
TB – Test Bank
TOC – Table of Contents
What About Digital?
There’s a growing market for writing questions for online HW systems, though get ready to learn the code that each publisher’s system uses.
Following is a sample question …
What About Digital?
MC: ________are the entities described by a set of data.*A. IndividualsB. Elements [[An element is a member of a set]]C. Variables [[A variable takes on different values for different individuals]]D. Populations [[A population describes a set, not individual entities]]_content_hint: Think of another word for a person._level: 2_eBook: 5.1
Will You Get Rich?
Will You Get Rich?
Unlike the primary text, supplemental texts are not royalty based. Authors are typically given a flat fee in the form of a stipend, which is agreed upon before the project begins.
Will You Get Rich?
Online HW systems pay per problem, with the most being paid for “parent” problems and less being paid for “sibling” problems.
So, no, you won’t get rich, but you can end up having some fun.
