As a school district superintendent, Dr. Jared Smith is more than aware of the need for personal growth. If he’s not growing and learning, then he can’t facilitate the growth and learning of the teachers in his school district. This led to him reading hundreds of books on the topics of leadership, education, and personal growth. There is no shortage of books that cover these topics.
But Dr. Smith noticed there wasn’t a book that covered all three.
Dr. Smith observed that most leadership books were written by CEOs. While running a company is a challenge and leadership is key, running a school is a far cry from the corporate world, just ask any teacher.
The education books out there were mostly written by consultants. These consultants had a lot of insightful ideas and approaches to share, which were helpful for Dr. Smith in his approach to education. Yet, these consultants were not employed by schools, making the information feel outdated.
Certainly, with the pandemic in full force, many of these approaches were no longer applicable to Dr. Smith’s current situation.
And finally, the personal growth books were mostly written by celebrities. Usually, these celebrities had no affiliation with schools, and thus, likely hadn’t a clue as to how to apply their insights to an instructional context.
Since Dr. Jared Smith couldn’t find one that covered all three themes, he went and wrote it– Learning Curve: Lessons Learned on Leadership, Education, and Personal Growth.
Writing is the First Half…
Dr. Jared Smith began writing his thoughts on leadership, education, and personal growth as blog posts. This allowed him to work through ideas and concepts at a steady pace. And working as a principal, then a superintendent, committing significant amounts of time to write is rarely feasible.
When Dr. Smith felt he’d created enough content, he began editing the posts into a book. This allowed him a broad vision of the book, whilst also seeing how the small pieces fit together. Unlike many personal growth books that focus solely on the author and their journey, he was able to find stories from other teachers and education experts to fit into the narrative.
When it came time to edit the manuscript and make it ready to submit, Dr. Smith choose 1106 Design, opting for the Comprehensive Package. This included custom cover designs, layout designs, a proofreading review, and more.
…The Second Half is Marketing
Early on in the writing process, Dr. Smith did speak with other publishers. Given he was writing an education book, the publishers he spoke with wanted a more “traditional” education format. This means long paragraphs, interconnected chapters, abstracts, etc. It felt more like micromanaging than a partnership.
Self-publishing offered Dr. Smith more autonomy. He could write, publish, and market his book that would appeal more to the modern leader. Given the state of education during the pandemic, Dr. Smith made a wise choice.
Opting for self-publishing also gave Dr. Smith the chance to market the book as he wanted to. Now he can use the book to build a platform as an education expert, with the goal of getting more speaking engagements and consulting work. Dr. Smith spends an hour each day marketing his book.
With the help of 1106 Design, Dr. Smith can impact educators, from teachers to administrators, as they navigate these challenging times. Instead of a stuffy book that looks at teaching academically, Learning Curve discusses the real, behind-the-scenes challenges of a developing school leader.
1106 Design is proud to work with Dr. Jared Smith and to help publish Learning Curve: Lessons Learned on Leadership, Education, and Personal Growth.
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Learning Curve: Lessons Learned on Leadership, Education, and Personal Growth
Author: Dr. Jared Smith
Genre: Leadership, Education, Personal Growth
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Curve-Leadership-Education-Personal/dp/1737290405
Website: https://www.drjaredsmith.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jared.smith.90
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaredSmithPhD
