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Goethezitat: "O sähst du, voller Mondenschein, zum letztenmal auf meine Pein." Reviews of "Wie, bitte?" were mixed. Other "first-wave" proficiency-oriented textbooks (Liskin-Gasparro, "Entradas"; Clausing, "Deutsch natürlich") also ran into trouble. Some were poorly conceived / written, and teachers whose prayers had been answered found they didn't like the answers: teaching for proficiency demands competence. "Wie, bitte?" suffered from publisher's mistakes: 1) A "glue-pot" error that caused many books to split at the spine after brief use. 2) Publisher sent potential adopters the STUDENT edition, not the "IAE" (Instructor's Annotated Edition). The publisher's acquisitions editor retired (THE nightmare of any author). Ca. 1994 Co-authors prepare to travel to NYC to supervise production of ¿Cómo?" and discuss second edition of "Wie, bitte?" A week or so before departure, publisher cancels "¿Cómo?" and second-edition of "Wie, bitte?" Contributory causes may have been changes in the tax laws (inventory depreciation, etc.) and revised sales estimates, leading many publishers to move away from "niche" books and back toward the "mainstream" (=grammar translation, four skills). Use of "Wie, bitte?" continues, from publisher's remaining stock. Use of "¿Cómo?" continues, as before, with DTP publication and PSU-produced audio. Co-authors look into custom publishing, as well as other conventional publishers. They reject a contract offer from Prentice-Hall, fearing too much editorial supervision. |