In textbook publishing you have to get a previous edition of a book reviewed by instructors in the field. Usually this process provides you with a running commentary on the book that allows you to put together a revision plan that the author can work with to finish the next edition.
Other times . . . not so much.
In the general comments of one review, we ask a question about Pedagogical Features. These include boxes, activities, case studies, tables, etc. Now, you don't need to know what this stuff is, but a college professor should. Right?
Well . . . I just read the best comment I've ever gotten in any review. And I quote:
Pedagogical Features: I'm not sure to what this refers. What I like about using this text for classes are the case studies, the illustrations and tables and how clearly this is written. If you have something specifically called Pedagogical Features I did not receive it.
Yes, I find that funny. You don't? I mean, in the course of saying that this person didn't know what we were talking about, he/she managed to review the Pedagogical Features. That's funny!
Okay, maybe not. I'll get back to telling snot jokes on Monday. Sorry.
That is damn funny! You see, I, too, am in the glamourous field of textbook publishing. When conducting a similar study on college professors' needs for ancillary materials, I asked one instructor if he would like a PowerPoint presentation to accompany the text. His response: "PowerPoint? Yes, I absolutely want a PowerPoint. What's a PowerPoint?" Gotta love 'em.
ReplyDeleteGotta love publishing. I once had a reviewer, I kid you not, whose first name was Wellington. He went by Well. Last name? Hung. And he said it without a hint of irony.
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