On January 1st, 2013, publisher Flatworld Knowledge will begin charging for the online version of all of its textbooks (mine included). For six editions I’ve been proud to offer my textbook via browser, free to all. It’s been wonderful to see the text used at hundreds of universities worldwide and I’ve been humbled and grateful to those who wrote with thanks. I’m also grateful to Flatworld for providing vital services: editorial, layout, graphics work, copyright clearance, hosting, and more – and I want to see them stay in business. The initial freemium model seemed great – free to all, but the more convenient print version would be offered at a very low price point. Enough students would want print versions that Flatworld could earn a living and authors like me could earn royalties to justify the enormous commitment for first version and continued revisions needed for a high-quality textbook.
It hasn’t worked out that way. I don’t know Flatworld’s economics, but it’s clear that a continued rise in commodity prices (paper, ink, and transport fuel) have put tremendous pressure on ‘dead tree’ edition costs. A hyper-efficient market for used textbooks also hurts in that no used sales benefit the firm or its authors. This likely caused Flatworld to stop offering printed texts in bookstores this past fall. Adding to that, the free online version was just ‘too good’ – there was little incentive for students to pay up for other digital products, while few wanted to wait to order a printed book mailed direct-from-publisher. There’s also an important faculty perspective: while my textbook is likely the most discipline impacting (and certainly the most gratifying) scholarly work I’ve produced, at a Tier-One research university this kind of work won’t get you promoted (I’d very much like to see this change, but I’m not optimistic that this will happen any time soon). The unfortunate reality is that in any model without significant incentives, high-quality work will struggle to get produced. An official Flatworld statement is available online. and there’s been widespread coverage of the change in the media.
So starting next year my text will cost $19.95 online (for other options, such as course-packs, and to provide feedback to Flatworld, please contact them at [email protected]). I hope that students and faculty will find the price to be fair. It’s still less than one tenth the price of many management texts (yes, for those not in school, the $200+ business textbook is the norm). The cost is even cheaper than rental services such as Chegg. I will continue to offer my personal lecture slides, podcasts, exercises, and other course material free to all. So with Flatworld’s change, here’s hoping the good guys in the white hats now have a model to thrive as we move toward a tablet-based, atoms-to-bits future.