Textbook Writer

When they’re done with school, many people run away and never look back. Others, however, long nostalgically for the days of cafeterias, bus rides and book reports. Those people love learning so much that they want to do it for a living.

Some of them become Teachers. That’s not your only option, however. In fact, if you love education — but you’re attracted more to curriculums than classrooms — you might become a Textbook Writer.

As a Textbook Writer, you’ll design lessons, but you won’t teach them. Employed by a textbook Publisher — often on a contract basis — you typically specialize in a single subject, such as English, mathematics, science or history. When a Publisher is producing a textbook in your area of expertise, a Textbook Editor will hire you to create the content for it.

In order to be a Textbook Writer, you do several tasks. Perhaps the most important is research. If you’re writing a textbook about the presidents of the United States, for instance, you might have to read biographies, travel to museums and interview presidential scholars before putting pen to paper.

Next comes writing, which requires you to relay your research without plagiarizing it. You’ll have to organize your information into chapters and sections, then communicate it clearly and at the right reading level for your audience, be they fourth-graders or college freshmen.

Of course, you’ll also have to cite all your sources, since most textbooks include footnotes and bibliographies. In that sense, it’s like you’re being paid to write book reports — albeit really, really long ones.