RAIDER Publishing: Program Overview

This new program aims to publish textbooks written by TTU faculty which will be adopted in TTU classrooms.  Works will be peer-reviewed and sold at low-cost to increase affordability for students across campus. Currently in the pilot stage, we welcome proposals from faculty ready to work with library staff to develop the first round of high-quality, digital textbooks at affordable prices. Textbooks of all disciplines and completion status—from unwritten to unpublished to previously published—are welcome.  The program defines textbooks as works written for classroom adoption, whether traditional textbooks, readers, or lab manuals .

Our books are

Refereed prior to publication by subject specialists to ensure high quality.

Affordable: Sold at low-cost, increasing affordability for students.

Instructor-Created: Created by TTU faculty for TTU classes.

Digital: Available digitally, as a PDF, e-book, or website, with possible print-on-demand options.

Educational

Resources: Materials used in classes. Our current focus is on textbooks.

Customization: Why build your course around a textbook when you can build a textbook around your course? Textbooks from RAIDER Publishing will be created with TTU classes and TTU students in mind, reflecting local syllabi and course requirements.  Customizations levels can vary, from contents following current syllabi to references to TTU within the text.  Since such customization is built into the aims of our program, they will not result in higher prices for textbooks.  And if the text needs to be periodically updated, we will work with faculty to create these updates without it impacting pricing for future versions of the book.

Affordability: Students come to college facing high prices for tuition, fees, room and board, textbooks, and more. Help lower these high prices with the one factor you can control: textbooks.  RAIDER Publishing will publish affordable textbooks to lessen the burden that buying textbooks places on students.  When the amount that students are required to spend on textbook decreases, studies have shown that student success increases.  Affordable Textbooks = increased student success.  

For more information on the importance of textbook affordability, visit the textbook affordability tab: 

Easily Accessible: RAIDER Publishing textbooks will be offered in digital formats, whether as webpages, PDFs, or eBooks.* They can easily be accessed from any location through an internet connection, and those who purchase access will retain access indefinitely. For those whose students might prefer print versions, RAIDER Publishing will offer an option print-on-demand option to be sold through the TTU Bookstore.
*We will work with authors in our pilot to find the format(s) that work best for their class, discipline, and the TTU community at large.

Increased recognition: Writing a textbook means attaching your name to a work that could be used in similar classes across the country.  Such association could bring you increased recognition in your field, especially for books or chapters that are on very specialized topics.

Support TTU: Works published by RAIDER Publishing will be sold through the Texas Tech Universities Libraries and/or the Texas Tech Barnes & Noble Bookstore.  Thus, not only do authors who publish with RAIDER Publishing support TTU students with their decision to publish an affordable textbook, but any profit from the sale of our books goes back to the library and bookstore to ensure that we can continue running this program and other initiatives to help increase affordability for students.

• Low-cost books result in royalties for the authors and/or their sponsoring departments.  These funds will support authors’ efforts in writing the book and also encourage adoption among departments.  
• Since open books will not generate revenue for RAIDER Publishing, authors of open books will not receive royalties.  However, external funding grants can include compensation for a book's authors. Thus, authors will receive funding, albeit a set amount in one lump sum rather than gradual royalties.