I've been teaching a Philosophy course (in the 6th form at school) for several years now and there is no textbook for it. I now realise I have written so much material that I pretty much have written a textbook. I know there is demand for it as no one has punlished one before. Moreover, I have a Ph.D in the field, which might look more appealing on the cover.

The problem is (and I suspect that's the reason why no one's published that particulat book) it is very niche. The course is taught around the world (it's part of an international qualification) but only in a handful of schools. I could sell a few hundreds for sure but that's it.

Do you think anyone would be interested in publishing such a book?
Is it one of those situations where POD or self-publishing might actually be worth it? (I could probably get subsidies from the exam body in question, or at least their accreditation).

Nancy

Specialist non-fiction such as this is exactly the sort of niche market that suits PoD publishing. Having a PhD and teaching the subject, you also have the correct author platform from which to launch it. I say go for it - although you could try approaching one of the academic non-fiction publishing houses and pitch it to them first, just to see if they're interested.


- NaomiM

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If you go with PoD publishing, you only need the very basic package that gives you an ISBN number; you won't need to pay extra for promises of promotion and distribution.

With regard to which poD publisher to use, on balance I'd go with Createspace, because that's linked with Amazon.
https://www.createspace.com/
Amazon won't list books published by other PoD publishers, such as Lulu.

That's odd - I thought Routledge, for one, published AS and A2 Philosophy textbooks. It might still be a relatively niche subject, but the numbers of A level Philosophy students must make a clear market.

???

Rosy

Rosy, it's for the International Bac and the topics are totally different. AS/Alevel is well covered, as you said.

Thank you Naomi, I might approach a couple of usual textbook publishers first but will definitely look into the PoD side of things. My husband works at a uni and they seem willing to let me use their name/logo/ISBN deal etc. Not quite a publication as such as I will receive no money but it seems better than nothing. It might give the book more gravitas, maybe?

But still.... IB is taught in quite a few schools. You'd think there'd be a market?

R x

Yes, Rosy, you're right, your'd think so... But after all these years there's still no textbook, so I'm guessing it might be an idea. It might be worth pitching to an non-fiction editor. I just wondered how many books they need to sell to make money...

My husband works at a uni and they seem willing to let me use their name/logo/ISBN deal etc. Not quite a publication as such as I will receive no money but it seems better than nothing. It might give the book more gravitas, maybe?

Is it actually a Univ publisher? (You can't transfer ISBN numbers from one imprint to another; PoD publishers have their own). If so, would you recieve any royalites?

Apparently they've got a set of ISBN numbers to be allocated (already bought) and I would be able to use one + their logo perhaps, but would essentially self-publish (I would make my own money, or indeed lose my own money). They have great deals with printers etc. It's not quite a uni press but they do books as well as other products... That's a separate solution from the PoD one, as I would order quite a few coies through their printer and hope to make my money back (schools are pretty much bound to buy the book if it's good enough and the only one. People have been moaning about the absence of book for that course for ages)

But I will definitely approach more conventional publishers first, as well as the International Bac organisation

I see, nezellette. You're right, it wouldn't be PoD publishing if they are printing a limited imprint - that would be quite an outlay on your part, and it would rely on you being able to sell the copies direct to students.
The advantage of PoD publishing is they could buy the copies direct from the PoD publisher, and even students who were not on your course would have easy access to copies.
I would only go with a limited imprint if you know before hand how many copies you can sell.

But the textbooks would be on Amazon anyway, so they could probably buy them directly from there? (other books produced by the Uni are all on Amazon thanks to that particular set of ISBN they've bought in advance)

I've just looked into it a bit more and it looks like OUP are publishing all the IB books and there's one pretty much for everything but Philosophy. I'd better contact them first, then, especially if I want the IBO to endorse the book...

I've noticed that most of their books are written by several authors. Do they pair you up with people or do you have to team up with other contributors yourself if necessary?

If they've got co-authors it's because each has a particular speciality in the subject and each contributes a chapter - It's a quicker way for the publisher to put the book together from contributors who are busy with other work.

If you go for a limited imprint I'd keep the initial print run as low as possible.

Hi Nancy

In similar circumstances I sent a proposal of my work to the appropriate commisioning editor at Palgrave MacMillan (very good website with all editorial contacts listed)and am now contracted.

It's worth a go, most of the academic publishers have submission guidelines and are happy to hear from potential authors. It's not as lucrative as fiction but amazing for the CV and day job!

Jx

Contact the IBO themselves - as the IB is such a specific course, they like to keep things in house. We are about to switch to the IB, and have been in contact with them. Do bear in mind that they review their curricula every 8 years or so, so it's worth thinking about whether anything you might wish to publish will be out of date in a year or so. English A2, for example, is disappearing next year.

Yes, Darren, you're right. The IBO might would probably want me to talk to them first. I know the subject deputy chief examiner as he trained me a few years ago. I should ask him first.

I see you teach in Switzerland. My dream. I'm from the French Alps and miss the mountains. PLEASE, please tell me if a philosophy job becomes available at your school!!

Nancy

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The IB syllabus was revised in 2009 so should be ok for a few years!

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For philosophy anyway

I just want to add, if you are planning on selling this book internationally, you would probably be best to sell directly to the schools or the students to mail order from your website (set one up) because the distribution could be a nightmare. I gather you're in France, if your stock is in France and a student in, say, Australia orders a copy from Amazon Australia and they're out of stock, the lead time could be huge, and the student (as always!) would need the book immediately.