P14

Getting books right

Researching readership

Mary James appeals to teachers to help publishers know what to publish.

According to Nielsen, the book industry’s guardian of vital statistics, 151,969 new titles were published in 2010, up 14 per cent on 2009. Fiction represents no small part of this and reading groups all over the country have brought big business to publishers.

But are publishers getting it right in schools? Knowing what youngsters want to read is the tricky bit. Publishing is a business for gamblers, built on the basis of achieving more wins than losses and increasing the odds of a new publication being a best-seller by understanding what customers want. Researching the schools market has become an accepted part of publishing, at least by publishers.

The success of any research project depends on the willingness of teachers to get involved. Pupils may well be asked for their opinion, but any research usually goes via the teacher. Publishers crave first-hand feedback and fingertip closeness with teachers and teachers’ contributions to this development process is vital.

How happy are you with the choice of resources you have to offer your pupils in school today? Thinning budgets mean many schools have to cut back. But tough cuts aside, are publishers producing what your pupils want to read?

There are a number of ways in which you can have a voice in the world of schools publishing.

1 Research participant: when an online survey pings into your inbox, take a few minutes to complete it. If invited to take part in a telephone interview, say ‘yes’. As well as earning some money, you’ll view your own practice in a different light, and contribute to your own professional development. Or as one teacher recently said: “I’d never thought of that. I’m going to try that very thing out next lesson.”

2 Reviewer: while authors are often teachers themselves, they don’t necessarily get it right first time. Your teaching experience and fresh-from-the-classroom reactions will be gold dust for both authors and publishers.

3 Contributing writer: many contributors have a say in a primary resource’s development and add their own ideas and words into what can be the product of a multi-talented team.

4 Author/project consultant: of course, if you think you can go it alone and you have a great idea you think should hit the presses, don’t hold back. Many publishers might want to hear from you. But a word of advice: don’t do it for the money – you’ll be disappointed.

And remember, for publishers these days, it doesn’t have to be good (though it may be), but it does have to be popular at the research stage!

Mary James works as an independent publishing consultant on research projects to identify what teachers want to use in school. She also advises teachers wanting to get their own resources published. mary.james@innoved.co.uk