The Key to Introducing a New Section of Content

Textbooks are essentially a collection of discrete sections of content.Take a chapter on, say, medical records in a doctor's office.

First comes an introductory section that provides an overview of the topic. From there will come a series of headings, each announcing what's to come in that section.

The key to writing that little introductory section is to write it first and last.

Here's what I mean.

Write It First

Take a stab at what you'll be covering in the section to come. Then pay it no mind.

Write the rest of the section. Put in all your subheadings, bulleted lists, and whatever else is required to cover the content.

Then go back to the intro.

Write It Last

Now rewrite your intro, listing or otherwise addressing each major subsection in order of appearance. That's important; it helps the reader focus on what's to come.

My guess is that your original sequence wasn't terribly close to the final sequence.

So by just throwing down an intro, planning all along to return to it, you'll free yourself to write the really good stuff. And after finishing the content section and revising the intro, you'll have the perfect setup for the reader.

So go forth! And then back again.

When There's Too Much to Do to Write

My to-do list right now is absurd. I mean, really? All this in that short amount of time? And I'm supposed to write a blog too?

Aaaaargh!

That's where I am right now. Luckily I know how to get out of this utter mess with minimal stress. Here's what I do; maybe it will help you too.

#1 I clean my desk.

Seems simple but really, it works. I've got six books on my desk now that I've analyzing for competitive information. Off they go, into a pile on a table in my office. Yes, they're still in a pile, but they're off my desk, and for now, that's what counts.

I've got a bunch of papers all over the desk, papers I'll use to complete a task, so they're important. But they're not prioritized in any way. So...

#2 I prioritize.

I'll collect all the papers and put them in a pile. Then I'll go through them with an eye toward prioritization.

After I've prioritized the papers, I'll plunk them in a stack next to my computer. I've got higher priority items to complete before I hit this pile, but at least now I can see how big the pile is and can attack it the moment I finish those other critical tasks.

#3 I relax.

That's pretty much all you can do when you've got too much to do and write what you know you need to write.

Hey, wait a minute. I've just written a blog, my desk is reasonably clear, and I've got a clear idea of what to do next.

It worked!

3 Quick Grammar Tips for Textbook Authors

Sometimes you just have to vent. This is one of those times.

Health care textbook authors, listen up, I've got a few grammar and usage tips for you.

#1  Enough with the reminders, already

Stop writing, "as mentioned previously," "as we'll discuss in chapter X," and other such reminders. If you mention something previously there's no need to call attention to it again. Just go on with what you're talking about, it will be okay.

And if you're going to talk about something later, don't tell the reader about it now. What good does that do? Just say what you're going to say, and let the reader find the new material later. It will be more fun that way!

#2  i.e. and e.g.

Hate these little, archaic abbreviations. Hate them like poison. Why?

Because they represent lazy writing. What, you can't write out that is? You have to write i.e.? Is for example or for instance (e.g.) so difficult?

Don't make the reader think back and ask, Wait, what does "i.e." mean again?

YOU know what it means, so just write it!

#3  Punctuation outside quotation marks

If you're writing for a U.S. audience, put the hang-danged quotation marks OUTSIDE the punctuation!

Yes, yes, I know, the marks go inside a colon or semi-colon most of the time, but that's the exception. It's  much better to get the exception wrong sometimes and the "rule" right most of the time, don't you think?

Thanks for listening.

How Publishers Pay Health Care Textbook Authors

"Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the 'gotta have it' scale." —Zig Ziglar

New authors often wonder how they'll get "oxygen" for the book they write. In health care educational publishing, two options are by far the most common, royalties and .work made for hire payments. Let's take a look at each one.

Royalties

The majority of health care textbook authors make money through royalties, an amount of money based on a percentage of sales of the book. The percentage typically used is called a net royalty, meaning that the actual payment will be based on what the publisher actually receives for each book sold.

The list price of a book might be $75.95, but because of discounts to distributors and chain bookstores, the publisher might average just $50.47 for an actual sale. The net royalty is calculated on that amount.

Royalties are often paid twice yearly, once in the spring and once in the fall, though some publishers distribute quarterly. Check with your publisher for their royalty payment schedule.

Work made for hire

Sometimes a health care publisher will form an agreement with one or more individuals to develop a book on a "work made for hire" basis, often abbreviated "work for hire" or WFH. In such cases the author is paid a certain amount to create certain content.

At that point the relationship usually ends. The publisher is typically free to do with that content whatever it wishes, and the author is free to write for another publisher, even on the same topic.

Payment in such cases, as a rule, is based on whether the author has supplied "acceptable" content. If the publisher deems the content acceptable, the payment is generated.

So, which is best?

There is no "best" answer to that question. With a royalty arrangement, the better the book sells the more the author makes. And then twice a year (or more, depending on the publisher), a check arrives without you having to lift a finger.

Royalty arrangements, though, mean that you won't receive any payment until well after the book is finished, bound, and plunked on a bookstore shelf. So the entire time you're writing the book, you're working without payment, something few of us are accustomed too.

For WFH arrangements, payment comes soon after you finish writing, no strings attached (generally). But then the payments are finished, no checks showing up in your mailbox every now and again. And if the book sells well, you won't share in that success; you'll have already made your money.

Either way you make money; often it's more a matter of when.

3 Main Goals for One Health Care Publisher in 2013

We publisher-types examine our goals every year, setting a course for signings, markets, research, and so forth. Those goals are, of course, private, and you won't learn about them here.

But we also set our own personal goals for working with authors, sales reps, developmental teams, and other in-house departments. Mostly we don't talk much about these, but here on the cusp of 2013, I thought I would lay out a few of my goals for 2013.

1. Get out of the office more. I enjoy traveling around to schools and talking with faculty about their needs. That's one of the most enjoyable responsibilities I have. The last couple of years, though, I haven't been able to get out as much as I would have liked. So this year, watch out, I'm-a coming at ya!
2. Stay true to my authors. I always try to stay true to my authors. To me that means being honest with them about all aspects of their books and advocating for their vision throughout the process. When I stay true to my authors, I automatically stay true to my company.



Methusela

3. Learn more, teach less. I must admit, I do get a little preachy sometimes. Too often I talk when I should listen. I'm going to work on that this year. Even with me being, as my mother would say, as old as Methusela, I can always learn something.

So, tell this Methusela Man, what are your goals for the new year?

My Most Popular Blogs of 2012

Here's my annual countdown of most popular blog posts of the year. Granted, I use the word "most popular" rather loosely, counting my blog readers in the hundreds rather than the millions, like, you know, Justin Timberlake and such.

Onward...

#10  Why Textbook Authors Should Also Be Textbook Marketers

Yes, if you want to write a textbook, you'd better prepare for the marketing aspect of the business.

#9  The Six Content Categories for the Holy Grail of E-Textbook Publishing

The second of a pair of posts on what I call the holy grail of publishing: a true e-book.

#8  The Holy Grail of E-Textbook Publishing

The first of that pair of posts.

#7  So This Is What 60 Looks Like?

Who'da thunk this silly little post would finish so high on the list? Not I, said the old man.

#6  Mary Kinn

A post about the inestimable Mary Kinn.

#5  Guest Post: To Post Or Not To Post

This guest post is the first to make it to the Best Of list and is from Allison Morris at OnlineClasses.Org.

#4  8 Tips for Fitting Social Media into Your Already Busy Day

Three of the top four posts deal with social media. Here's the fist one.

#3  5 Tips for Health Care Professionals Using Google+

The Google+ tips finished just behind the tips for Facebook.

#2  5 Tips for Health Care Professionals Using Facebook

Tips for Facebook.

And the number 1 most popular post of 2012...

10 Characteristics of a Successful Textbook Author

Ah, yes, the ol' have you got what it takes to write a textbook post. Gotta love it.

Happy holidays, one and all!