Recently, two middle school teachers
chose Ned Rozell's Natural Alaska; Life on the Edge, a selection of essays
about how northern creatures survive at the fringe of their ranges, as a
textbook for their English classes. Rozell published the book with the help of
Amazon's Createspace. He’s delighted that seventh and eighth graders are
reading the essays and are such attentive listeners during his presentations
following their readings.
I asked Ned to say a bit more about how
independent authors can work with classroom teachers.
You wrote your book for adults. How did
it happen that two middle school teachers decided to use it in their
classrooms?
I always
envision my Mom as my reader. She was a school nurse and fantastic tennis
player who didn’t know an ATP molecule from STP gasoline additive. I don’t
assume readers are experts in anything. I’m certainly not.
What prompted you to speak to the
classes? What did you include in your presentations?
The teachers
asked me to present. I gave them “The Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About
Alaska,” a Powerpoint about things that make Alaska different, such as nuclear
bombs being detonated a mile beneath one of our islands.
What advice would you give authors about
getting their books into schools?
I have none.
Marketing is the weak part of my game. I’m just glad these teachers found it
and helped me learn that engaged middle-schoolers are a great audience for my
writing.
You’ve published both traditionally and
independently. What made you decide to publish this book with Createspace?
Typical author
frustrations of no marketing support and little control over my product with
traditional publishers nudged me to self-publishing options. The smile that
comes to my face when Createspace emails me a weekly report of the books I’ve
sold tells me I made the right decision.
What made you decide to join an
independent authors cooperative?
As we’ve all
watched the erosion of traditional publishing houses and newspapers printed on
paper, some of us have wondered what’s next. The independent authors cooperative is one of the answers.