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I’ve written or edited twelve books on education (see FREE RESOURCES FROM ALL “MY” BOOKS) and also have a popular, and regularly updated, related “Best” list – So, You Want To Write A Book? Here’s The Best Advice….

I thought readers might find it useful if I also shared my top eight tips for teachers who want to write a book.

Here goes (they’re not necessarily in order of importance):

  1. Begin writing a blog.  You want to write a lot, for practice, reflection and to begin to be noticed by other educators and publishers, and a blog is an easy place to start.  You can find lots of resources at The Best Sources Of Advice For Teachers (And Others!) On How To Be Better Bloggers and, in particular, a couple of my posts that you’ll find there: Eight Ways To Build An Audience For Your Blog and Some Advice For New ESL/EFL Bloggers.
  2. Look for others places to write.  Many educators who have gone on to write books or have found other opportunities had their first published pieces in my Classroom Q & A Education Week blog.  Just let me know if you’d like to answer a question or two for the next school year.  Middleweb is always looking for educators to write book reviews.   There are many more. There are also sites that may pay for submissions, like Learning For Justice and Edutopia.  When I was just beginning to write on education issues, though, I personally was less interested in getting paid, and still am.  I understand others might not be in a similar position.
  3. Do a lot of reading.  Learn what others have to say, and discover what isn’t being said.  Trying to identify and build a niche in the latter, both in the articles you write and the book you want to author.
  4. Make your article-writing and the book you want to write as practical as possible.  One of the reasons the books that I write alone, and the ones I write with Katie Hull, are popular is because we’re classroom teachers.  Being in this position is going to be even more important now – teaching in the age of COVID and Critical Race Theory hysteria is making teaching today different from yesterday, and folks who have been out of the classroom are likely to not be sharing the same perspective.
  5. Actively learn to be a better writer.  You can start by familiarizing yourself with this EDITING LIST FOR WHEN TEACHERS WRITE BOOKS.
  6. Find a co-author.  I don’t think writing a book is fun, but it’s a lot less painful when you have a collaborator who you like, trust and with whom you share a common vision.
  7. Become active in social media.  Publishers are very interested in what kind of presence you have in the education social media world.
  8. Research education publishers to find out which ones might be interested in your book and learn their submission processes. Routledge, Norton, Corwin, Jossey-Bass, and ASCD are the ones that I would start with, and there are many more.

If you’re a teacher and have written a book, and have other tips to share, please leave a comment….