Unless you're a celebrity who's just received a seven-figure book advance from Simon & Schuster
for your ghostwritten memoir, publishing a book-be it fiction or
nonfiction-can be downright vexing. Before vanity presses took off and
self-publishers started vying for niche markets, aspiring authors used
to court agents and publishers, submit manuscripts, and keep their
fingers crossed for months
before receiving a response. Landing a book deal was a nail-biting
endeavor contingent on a list of factors beyond mere writing prowess
and subject matter. The process, according to some contemporary
authors, is even more cutthroat today.
So where does that leave you, the educator, the business executive, the nurse practitioner, the mental health counselor, or software engineer? If you're ready to disseminate your knowledge on a particular topic, choosing where to pitch your book depends on your endgame, audience, and chutzpa. Packaging a book proposal, then steering it in the right direction, is just as critical as penning the book itself. There are a variety of publishers at your disposal with different audiences and standards. Today we're exploring textbook publishing.
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Textbook Publishing
Best for you if: Your primary objective is to impart knowledge to students. You are a college instructor itching to teach a specific course, but have discovered that too few textbooks exist on the subject. You work in an ever-changing industry that requires new or updated materials for students in high school or college. You're already publishing in academic journals and want to expand to a student audience.
Probably not for you if: You're too busy to take on a long-term project with frequent (and tight) deadlines. You fear updating a chapter every time your subject area undergoes the slightest transformation. Your research and writing is too complex or too simple for your target audience.
Walden Story: When pharmacist Elaine Tompary, an M.S. in Mental Health Counseling student, was an instructor at William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, she taught a pharmacology course that required a textbook she and her colleagues bemoaned using every semester-not because the text was abysmal, but because it sorely needed updating. "The original author had passed away and we were still using it," says Tompary of the original version of Human Diseases: A Systemic Approach. "One of my colleagues actually remembered helping the author type the manuscript on a typewriter."
Tompary rounded up three professors who were using the text, contacted the book's publisher, Prentice Hall, and pitched a revised edition. The editors at Prentice Hall were thrilled with the proposal. With so many instructors using the book every year and so few resources available on the subject, the publisher gave Tompary and her co-authors freedom to overhaul entire sections and add new chapters. In fact, says Tompary, Prentice Hall was so receptive to the project it published three revised editions by the same trio of instructors over the course of eight years. "If you're teaching a course and there's a publication you want, just go for it," says Tompary. "The publishers were motivated because the book needed updating, and we were motivated because we actually use the book." Luckily the rights to revise this particular book were available, but those attempting to revise an existing work should be prepared to address this issue with the publisher and possibly the author or author's agent/estate.
Tips for submitting to textbook publisher- Be compelling. Just because you're writing a textbook doesn't mean you have to be dull. Cite real-life examples in your book proposal. For example, in her chapter on mental health, Tompary discusses psychiatric patient Shirley Mason's multiple personalities, made famous by the 1973 book Sybil. "When I wrote a chapter about blood, I included a story on the use of medicinal leeches," says Tompary. "Students like sensational stuff. The more gory the picture, the more dramatic the details, the likelier your chapter is to be read."
- Think interactively. Textbooks often come with CD-ROMs, instructor manuals, test banks, and extra online features. Include proposals for the content and design of these materials in your book proposal. Consider technology options and tailor your materials to today's student body.
- Network. Textbook publishers frequently send sales representatives to colleges and high schools to promote their books. If you work in a school, chat up a sales rep and find out what's selling on his or her list. Attend professional and academic conferences. When Tompary worked for a pharmaceutical company, she attended American Diabetes Association meetings, where any number of textbook publishers were on hand to peddle new books in the exhibit hall.
- Incorporate feedback and move on. "Just because you get rejected doesn't mean you don't have something to say," says Tompary. "Work with the feedback you get from publishers and you'll be better equipped to find the right one."
