Thursday 25 October

A new edition

The best news an ELT writer can get from a publisher is ‘we’ve decided to bring out a new edition’. That’s what happened to me this week, though I’d had an inkling this might happen from unofficial chats here and there. What this usually means is that the writer will have work lined up for a specific period of time. This work usually means making changes, updating texts, adding new elements, etc. A new edition usually has about 35% new material (more or less). The work is paid at a fee. The royalty agreement for a new edition almost always remains the same as it was for the previous edition. But the main reason such news is welcome is that it’s indirectly saying, ‘the book is a success’.

On the other hand, from a parent's point of view (and I've been here), the news might be less welcome as it could mean you can't use one child's old coursebook for a younger child who is about to do the same course. Maybe there should be a part exchange system in place, a bit like you have with old software or cars. It's a bit of a dilemma.

What’s the best news that you could get in your work role?

Overrated outcomes

This week I came across the phrase ‘overrated outcomes’. It wasn’t in the context of teaching or writing but little sparks started to flash and I immediately thought about how this might relate to the outcomes we set for our lessons as educators. And might there be other outcomes that we don’t actually state which are better in some way. ‘Unexpected outcomes’ come to mind, things that happen in a classroom which are unplanned, spontaneous and get students engaged and speaking English (in my world). This is why reflection is good. We can ask ourselves which unexpected outcomes occurred and figure out ways to replicate them.

So I came across the actual phrase in a swimming blog I’ve subscribed to. It was about the benefits of floating, and might be of interest to any fellow swimmers.

“Floating, especially with the face underwater is underrated. Swimming for exercise, with exercise as the most important outcome, is overrated. Float about and relax your neck. Try seeing swimming as ‘floating on the move’.”

So that’s what I’ve been doing every day this week in the pool, floating face downwards. It’s quite possibly the only time you can truly relax all of your neck muscles. It feels strange at first but afterwards you get that feeling when you know something has ‘done you good’.

Professional Development

I always have this section in my newsletters. Someone asked me if I really ‘do’ professional development every week. It made me think. The answer is ‘yes’ but mostly I don’t even think about it as PD at the time. It’s often while I’m writing this newsletter that I ask myself where I might have learnt something new that will help me in my work. So now I’m asking myself, do I need to plan my PD, maybe map it out?

What do you think?

This week I’ve learnt stuff from a couple of places but the main place, I think, is from reading and giving feedback on the first materials writing assignments from our course participants. Ove the years I’ve learn lots from observing and giving feedback in all kinds of contexts, peer feedback as a teacher, trainee feedback as a trainer, and in recent years feedback on materials, either to course participants or to publishers who send me samples to look at. These usually come with a criteria checklist which is always a good starting point for feedback, I think.

I’ve also learnt stuff this week from the feedback I’ve been given on some graded readers. Some of this is cultural information because I don’t know the target users’ country very well. Though I’m already starting to feel I know a lot more than I did at the start of this project.

Wellbeing for freelancers (and everybody else)

This week and last week I’ve seen a few discussions on social media that are related to wellbeing. I always enjoy reading these. I’m thinking of making this a regular sub-heading in my newsletter.

?The first, prompted by Jennifer Murray was about how to get a good night’s sleep. I shared a link to a recent news article about a new sleeping disorder called orthosomnia which is ‘the medical term for an unhealthy obsession with attaining perfect sleep, usually driven by a wearable device’. You can read it here if you’re interested or, if you prefer to listen, you can tune in to this podcast episode. The point they make about sleep apps being different from exercise or step counting apps gave me a real lightbulb moment. I think sleep is one of the most important health areas we should try and get right. Sleep and rest (which aren’t the same thing).

What’s your top tip for getting a good night’s sleep?

The second one started off as a joke by a colleague in a closed Facebook group. She asked for tips on how to stop snacking when you’re working at home, at a desk all day, as a freelance writer or editor. Lots of people came up with suggestions. One, was to drink lots of herbal tea. It isn’t for everyone but I like this tip and can see how drinking infusions or green tea would keep you for stuffing biscuits.

What’s your top tip for not snacking all day at your desk?

Writing

Another quiet but steady week in writing for me. I’ve written:

… this newsletter (decided to list this first)

… more digital activities (it’s never-ending)

… a blog post about copyright

… feedback on materials writing assignments for course participants

… a personalised calendar from now until the end of the year (that I printed off). I didn’t really personalise it in a very exciting way, no pictures or photos. But I did make it the exact size I need, add boxes for notes, exactly where I need them, etc.

Incidentally

One thing I didn’t write this week was my signature on a statement by authors which the Society of Authors has drawn up, calling for companies to license the creative works upon which they’re trained. The actual statement is short and concise and I’ll probably end up signing it. But I’m not entirely sure I understand enough about the in’s and out’s so I’m waiting until I’ve got all the facts before jumping in and putting my name to it. I’m wondering …

Has anyone in my network signed it?

Thank you

As always a big thank you for reading, writing, commenting, subscribing, and interacting.

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