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.

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