Since the publication of The Inspiring Teacher: Making A Positive Difference In Students’ Lives by Funderstanding, I’ve had a number of friends and colleagues asking me why I decided to go down the e-book path. I’ve written six books in the past twenty-five years. Back when I started writing, print editions were the only option. I never really gave much thought to e-books. Until a couple of years ago.
Primarily because of my association with William Glasser International, I have had the opportunity to meet many educators from both Australia and New Zealand. Books there – as well as many other places around the world – are very expensive. Then add the cost of shipping as well as the worry about whether the book will arrive at all. The bottom line is that a lot of educators are interested in my writing but find print copies both expensive and cumbersome. I had an interested audience but the print format discourages them from buying. Sure, the highly motivated buyer gets my books, but many potential readers shy away.
Enter Funderstanding. When they suggested doing a revision of The Inspiring Teacher and publishing it as an e-book, I jumped at the opportunity. As an author, it’s enjoyable to revise a book, update it, and enhance it. Having been associated with Funderstanding for almost three years, I respect what they do, what they stand for, and knew I would be fully involved in every aspect of the project. That mattered to me. Perhaps most importantly, making The Inspiring Teacher an e-book allowed me to offer this book at a much lower price than the earlier print version and made it more easily accessible to educators and parents around the world – literally. On the very day The Inspiring Teacher was published as an e-book, I received e-mail from a colleague in New Zealand. She was as excited as I was that she able to download The Inspiring Teacher and start reading it in less than a minute at a fraction of the cost of the print version.
When I wrote my first book, Teach Them To Be Happy, I had dreams of growing rich. Six books later, I’m no loess averse to receiving huge royalty checks, but my priorities have changed. What matters most is to share my ideas about education, behavior, and motivation with as wide an audience as possible. With the help of Funderstanding, making The Inspiring Teacher available as an e-book represents the best chance for me to realize my dreams.