I have to start by saying that I don’t really have any dirt on John and Liz Soars, famous and no doubt glamorous teaching couple and authors of the various Headway courses- 1 zillion copies sold to date. Have heard that they live in tax haven in the Bahamas, but that might just be a rumour spread by the English Teaching publishing industry to keep their authors keen. If it is true it would explain their blatant anti-Americanism and nostalgia for stereotypically twee English village life. Not sure what could explain the notorious “The happiest man alive is white, middle aged and straight” article- did one of them wander on the other side for a while and write this as an apology to stave off divorce??

The main thing I can tell you about the UK EFL publishing industry might or might not surprise you- it’s just a business like any other modern industry. Its offices are understaffed, on tight budgets and under pressure to make cash, and staff turnover is very high. With each new management change there is another big idea everyone has to adapt to, but sooner or later it dies away due to budget cuts and the person who championed it moving onto something else. In summary, read Dilbery and you will understand.

CUP (Cambridge University Press) and OUP (Oxford) are a little bit different in that they still occasionally produce radical loss-making academic books. That philosophy does not stretch to ESL textbooks anymore, though, and in fact I imagine it puts more pressure on other departments to make cash to make up for loss making parts. And so the editors and such like get dazzled by new technology, rush through jobs to meet unrealistic deadlines, cut corners and muddle along just like the rest of us.

All this is relevant to teachers who can no longer rely on textbooks to keep them stimulated with something new and challenging, and can no longer even trust an answer key to be accurate because it was not double checked before it was rushed to the printers. It is even more relevant to those looking to write stuff themselves. As an embittered semi-failed EFL writer, let me give you the wisdom of my various small successes and failures in my years on the fringes of ELT publishing life:

Top tips for getting an EFL book published

1. Only send a book proposal if you are desperate. The traditional “send a book proposal, wait for review, proposal accepted if you are lucky, negotiate and then start writing” process is long dead. If you send a book proposal in, you might be very lucky if there is a new member of staff looking for writers and it makes them think you can work on their latest book idea. More likely, it will sit under another pile of proposals until it turns into mulch. Publishers now work under five year plans with the titles and concepts of almost all books in those five years decided. The next step is they send those details to people they think might be able to write it, and then you send a proposal showing you can write precisely the book they want.
2. Specialize. If you only teach TOEIC and there is a TOEIC project coming up, you will fit together in naturally with no time wasted in the publishing office deciding whether you are the right person or not- and time is the essence! It also means that your details will go to the right person in the right department of the publishers. Don’t worry that being too limited might stop you writing more books. Once you are proven to be a reliable, low maintainance writer who meets deadlines you will be allowed to drift outside your speciality. I have it on good information that one well known exam book author who went onto write an IELTS book had actually never taught IELTS! If you dont only teach one kind of class, choose one special interest and mention that as much as possible- on your business card, in your mini-biog after articles you write etc.
3. Build your CV. Keep in mind that your CV won’t just be used for your editor to decide if you can write the book. Its main purpose will be for that person to convince their boss that you are a safe bet who will look good on the book cover, in investment reports and on the EFL lecture circuit. Basically, if the project does fk up they want to be able to say “How was I supposed to know? Look, they work for the British Council, they have an MA etc. etc. Anyone would think nothing could go wrong…” rather than “Well, I took a risk on this erratic genius teacher working in a school no one has ever heard of in a small town in Borneo but it didn’t work out this time I guess. I’ll get my coat.”
4. Work in a school with contacts. If possible, work in a school where published teachers are working, or at least make sure the school is involved in pre-publication testing of materials for the big publishers etc.
5. Make yourself visible. Write and review in well-respected magazines and on well-known websites, remembering that it is what publishers in the UK read (EL Gazette, Education Guardian etc.) that is important, not what people around you are using (www.teachingenglishinborneo.coooo.boooooo). Also give presentations and workshops at TEFL conferences the publishers go to, ask questions of authors and publishers during their presentations, drop your business card, etc.
6. Chase it up. Does your boss ever need reminding to do something? Well, your prospective editor sometimes will too. If you do send a CV (can very occasionally work) or a book proposal, make sure you chase it up, send updates etc.
7. Be low maintenance. Although an occasional reminder might be welcome, an editor does not want to be dealing with a writer who creates work for them all the time. Don’t answer each email or document with a flood of questions, don’t email too often, do make all email titles very clear so the editor can find them when they need them, and most of all make sure you don’t make errors that need correcting or chasing up. Think of yourself as a prospective foster child- would you choose the temperamental genius or the quiet child who keeps their room tidy? Also remember that your editor probably won’t be around to see the remarkable results of your work, but they will be around when someone has to clear up the mess you make along the way.
8. Don’t despair. Despite the reliance on well-known names and safe ideas, one thing that makes an editor stand out in their own field is discovering successful new writers. All you need to do is work out what “successful new writers” means to them. Which leads me onto my last tip:
9. Psychoanalyse your publisher. When you do something to further your writing career, e.g. send a proposal for a new book they want to publish, try to picture what the EFL editor will do with it. How long will they look at it? What part will they spend the most time on? What will they be looking for? Who else will see it and talk about it? What will any of those people need to see in you and your proposal to improve their own job prospects for them to take a special interest in you?