An Editor's Perspective on Open: Open Changes Everything

No one is completely satisfied with textbooks. Not even the great textbooks. There's always something you would change. Something you would do differently.

Textbooks work when they are convenient. Certainly you can teach your course without one, but why not have something to help carry the teaching load? Let your textbook cover the basics so that you can do the fun stuff in class.

But here's the problem. The established model of textbook development requires that you try to please EVERYONE, all at once, in one book. The more people you have to please, the less convenient it is for YOUR individual course.

So, what are your options as an instructor?

• Work around the book. Skip sections. Add your own material. Teach against it. Wait! I thought this was supposed to be convenient? Instead, your students are wondering why they paid a premium for something with decidedly non-premium performance.
• Write your own book. Thankfully there are people who have the energy and expertise to do this. Without them, were would I be? My authors impress me every day. They are exceptional. But this option's not for everyone (though give me a call if it is!) and certainly you can't call it convenient. It takes years of work. You just want to teach a good course – right now!
• Make the book your own. Create a custom version. This option has existed for a while within the old industry. But there are stipulations; extra people involved, minimum orders, 8- to 12-week production times. The details vary, but they definitely stray from what I would call "convenient."

Enter Flat World Knowledge. Exit inflexibility. Convenience is restored in the form of easy customizability.

First we make a great book. Then we publish it under an open license. It sounds simple, because it is. Our authors are the best in the industry because they understand the benefit of our model. They see that they are creating a tool for OTHERS to use. The utility of that tool differs from classroom to classroom; they give up control of their content so that you can optimize its performance.

The open license is what makes all the difference. Take any one of our books. Make a copy and then MAKE IT YOUR OWN. You don't have to call us. You don't have to tell anyone. No commitments. No stipulations. Just do it. Delete a section, move stuff around, write you own portions, click "publish." You're done. Now, our book is YOUR book.

Our authors get it. Steven Barkan (University of Maine) explains, "When I heard about Flat World Knowledge, I jumped at the chance to be an author for one simple reason - their model just makes so much sense."

Joe Hoyle (University of Richmond) gets it. "The only question is whether we choose to be part of the solution or choose to wait for someone else to find that solution. As an educator, I want to play a role in the transformation of textbooks."

This is why I love our authors. They don't have to have the final word about what goes on in YOUR classroom. They are providing a service; giving you a well-written, peer-reviewed textbook and allowing you to do what you want with it. Sure, use it as is. That's convenient. Or make it your own. It's up to you. And it's easy.

This is what OPEN is about. We give up control because only YOU know what's best for your students and we at Flat World Knowledge won't try to tell you otherwise. Command-and-control of content was a 20th-century concept. Publishing is suffering for it. The 21st century is open. Thank goodness.

In the spirit of openness, I'll give the final word to another of our 21st-century authors, regarding Flat World's model. John Redden (College of the Sequoias) predicts, "When the inevitable change comes, instructors and students alike will look back and wonder how we ever managed without it."