writing textbooks that sell
DESCRIPTION
A panel of publishers and authors share advice for writing ESL/ELT textbooks. Handout downloadable at www.joemcveigh.orgTRANSCRIPT
Writing Textbooks That Sell
Joe McVeigh Ian Martin Janet Aitchison Stephanie Karras Irene Frankel Daphne Mackey
Panelists
Janet Aitchison
Stephanie Karras
Ian Martin
Irene Frankel
Daphne Mackey
Writing Textbooks That SellSession overview
• Introduction & thanks
• Presentations by the panelists
• Questions from participants
• PowerPoint slides available: www.joemcveigh.org/resources
Writing Textbooks That SellSession overview
• Thanks to the Materials Writers Interest Section of TESOL.
• Thanks to the photographers on Flickr who share their work using a creative commons license.
Getting in the door
Looking for opportunities
Listening toteachers
Filling aneed
Constructing the content
Predicting the future
Taking risks
Dealing with an uncertain economy
Finding the right market
Calculating potentialsales
Janet AitchisonPublishing Director, ELT/ESL
Getting Started in Textbook Writing
Janet Aitchison
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
The stakes are high in ELT publishing
Getting your foot in the door
Don’t pitch a book – pitch yourself!
The perfect author
StephanieKarrasPublisher, U.S. American ELT
What’s the Story?
How can you contribute to a strong story?
Know the market
Know the competition
Be clear about what you’re writing
Be open and flexible
IanMartinDirector of Global Marketing
IreneFrankelEditorial Director, U.S. Adult ESL
Meet the needs of the market
Who is “the market”?
What do “they” want?
No PARSNIPS
PARSN IPS
oliticslcoholeligionexuditysraelorkmoking
Meet State Standards—especially California’s
Standards for Evaluating Instructional Materials for Social Content http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/socialcontent.pdf
Avoid advocating a point of view
Replace a reading that argues a point of view with a “neutral” reading, followed by a discussion question that lets in all opinions
Be sensitive to cultural issues
Replace culturally unacceptable content with globally acceptable content
Check the expiration date
Avoid presenting material as new or trendy. What is currently new or trendy will likely be old hat by the time the book is published
DaphneMackeyLecturer and Author
A Writer’s Perspective
When you’re writing
A Writer’s Perspective
When you’re writing
When your book is published
A Writer’s Perspective
When you’re writing
When your book is published
When you’re thinking about your next project
Thank you
Download the PowerPoint slides
www.joemcveigh.org/resources