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WRITING A BOOK: WHY?
AND HOW?
Katherine Bryant (@MathSciEditor)
TMC 2015
Find a partner and talk about these questions:
What’s a book that had a lasting impression on your life, personal or professional?
What about that book made it so important?
WHAT BOOKS DON’T HAVE
Built-in community Instant opportunities for feedback Ability to edit anytime Immediacy/short writing times
SO…WHY BOOKS?
What do you think?
WHAT BOOKS DO HAVE Space to go deeper
Larger, more structured argumentA need and an opportunity to think things
through“The book I wanted didn’t exist, so I wrote
it.” A different kind of audience
Wide reach/different reachPotential to start conversations
Status, like it or not
SPACE TO GO DEEPER
“A book is so much more than a series of blogs! It’s a chance to structure a larger
argument, add nuance and thoughtfulness, and build something
coherent.” – Tracy Zager
SPACE TO GO DEEPER
“We all know that you really don’t understand something until you try to teach it. The same holds for writing –
you haven’t really clarified your thinking until you try to write it and communicate
it coherently to others.” – Steve Leinwand
SPACE TO GO DEEPER
“You want to write a book because you have a LOT of ideas that seem to all
interrelate but you're not sure how and you’re not really sure how to tell people about them. The best remedy for that
condition is to try to get a book contract and force yourself to write a book about
all those ideas.” – Max Ray-Riek
SPACE TO GO DEEPER
“Every step of the way I am motivated by finally having the opportunity to
find (and give form to) answers to all the questions I’ve been asking for so long, and to think more closely about
what I believe and know about my work on a tacit level.”
– Malke Rosenfeld
SPACE TO GO DEEPER
“Selfish, but writing books clarifies my thinking. Sharing is a bonus.” – Marilyn Burns (@mburnsmath), Twitter, June 30
Writing can be the best kind of selfish: What do you need or want to say?
How can you say it better?
DIFFERENT AUDIENCE
“[The audience is] (hopefully) larger, but also more focused. The conversation
feels more intimate.... I think it’s fair to say we can expect readers to have a different level of buy-in with books.
Purchasing and reading a book with the intention to apply what we’re learning is
more work--more of a personal investment--than clicking and scrolling.”
– Tracy Zager
DIFFERENT AUDIENCE
“Books can reach educators who aren’t on Twitter—often, these are people who
need to be reached!.... Books don’t replace conversations; books become the
focal points for deeper/sustained conversations.”
– Tobey Antao (one of my fellow editors)
STATUS, LIKE IT OR NOT
“Writing a book and capturing your ideas in print has a far great impact than
merely a bunch of tweets. You simply become more important when you have
authored a book.” – Steve Leinwand
STATUS, LIKE IT OR NOT
“Districts reform their systems from books not blogs.” – Tim McCaffrey (@timsmccaffrey), Twitter, July 10
“Books give authors street cred with folks who aren’t on Twitter (principals, admins,
potential employers).” – Tobey Antao
Whether we like it or not, being a book author carries a certain status.
SO… WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
1. Decide what you need to write.2. Test your ideas.3. Do your research.4. Be ready for the proposal process.5. Write!6. Get feedback and act on it.7. Have a strong support system.
DECIDE WHAT YOU NEED TO WRITE
What’s your big idea? What are your goals and purposes? What’s
the change in practice you want teachers to take away? Backwards design works for books, too.
Who’s your audience? What inspires you?
Other books/authors/bloggers/etc.People you work with
Can you summarize your book idea in a paragraph? A sentence?
TEST YOUR IDEAS
Think about structure.Think about the big questions, main ideas:
how can you put them together?Draft a table of contents. Sit on it for a
week. Share it. Try writing.
Write an introduction. Can you express the ideas succinctly?
Write a sample chapter. Does your plan work?
TEST YOUR IDEAS
Share what you’ve done.Share your table of contents and writing
with people you trust. Act on their feedback!Don’t be afraid to change your plan.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
Read other books.Has someone already written the book you
want? How can you make yours different?
Who publishes the books you love?How does your book fit into the larger
universe of ideas?
DO YOUR RESEARCH
Get information about potential publishers.What books do they publish? Does yours fit?What are their submission/manuscript
guidelines? Usually available on the website OK to contact and ask, “Are you interested?”
Do you need an agent? Probably not.
THE PROPOSAL PROCESS Different publishers have different
procedures. Follow the guidelines! Typically required information:
Cover letter/introductionAnnotated table of contents
Make sure someone who isn’t you can understand.
Sample chapter Be prepared for feedback and revision
before contract – maybe.
PLANNING TO WRITE Leave yourself enough time.
It takes longer than you think. Real life interferes.
Plan at least a year if you can. Ask your editor:
What are the expectations?Do you want it all at once or in chapters? How do you give feedback?
Don’t be shy about asking for what you want.Anything else you need to know!
WRITING ADVICE
Momentum matters. Write regularly – every day if you can.
“Break up the project into manageable parts. A book is a collection of smaller pieces.” – Tom NewkirkBut it needs to remain a coherent whole,
too.
WRITING ADVICE
“One thing that is almost certain: you are writing for someone who is tired.
Make use of humor, personal examples, page breaks, headings,
alternation, and brevity. Do not write to impress.” – Tom Newkirk
FEEDBACK AND WORKING WITH AN EDITOR
It’s not personal, except that it is.Writing is emotional.
…for editors too! We really do care.Feedback is about the writing, not about the
person.We’re all on the same side. Really!
Revise, revise, revise.No book ever matches its initial proposal.Nobody gets it right the first time.
FEEDBACK AND WORKING WITH AN EDITOR
Your editor doesn’t have to be your only editor.Find people you trust and whose opinions
you value. Set things aside and come back to them
later.
Above all, communicate. If there are problems, we can work with
them. But not if you don’t tell us.
SUPPORT SYSTEM
“Be generous to yourself – cultivate the attitude of ‘self-trust.’ Remember
beginnings are fragile.”
“You need a team. Find readers who can help you – that can be affirmative and,
when necessary, let you know when something doesn’t work.”
- Tom Newkirk
SUPPORT SYSTEM
“Surround yourself with people who may or may not want to read your book but
who so want you to write it that they are willing to do things like take on some of your work responsibilities, let you write late into the night and then put up with you being grouchy the next morning, or
get you a puppy.” – Max Ray-Riek
CONTACT INFO
Katherine BryantTwitter: @MathSciEditor
E-mail: katherine.bryant@heinemann.com
Heinemann’s submission guidelines: http://bit.ly/1RYhpqi
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