Pondering new workshops
I can’t believe I’m thinking about new workshops for next year already. (It’s probably because it’s more interesting to think about than budgets, which is what I should be working on.) I have one idea for a class that I definitely plan on doing, though, and it’s How To Publish Your Own Classroom Book.
This is possible now through several services, but the most well-known is lulu.com. There have always been “vanity presses”, where an author can pay a company to print copies of his or her books, so self-publishing isn’t a brand new concept. What sets lulu.com apart is that there is no up-front cost to publishing - you can upload your text, cover graphics, design your book and have it ready to sell without spending a dime.
How can this work? Because lulu.com is a print on demand publisher. They don’t actually print a book until someone orders it. Then the book is printed, bound, and shipped. Lulu.com then splits the price of the book with you.
This really appeals to me as a teacher, because for a relatively low cost you can take your students’ writing (and/or artwork) and create professionally-produced books that will have enormous appeal. (Book prices range based on length, binding style, and other options.) You can order your own copies of the books at “author cost” to sell to the students, and also have them available for orders online from relatives and friends.
I expect the set up the class so we meet several times over a course of a couple of months, starting with the basic idea of how it works, then stepping teachers through the process of planning the book with their students, producing the work, uploading and designing the book, and ending with a book fair where participants share their final projects. I’ll check back in with you next fall and let you know how it turns out!