Add Value to your Work with Teacher Study Guides

If you are writing for young people, one of your goals may be to get your work into classrooms, but how can you make your books more attractive to teachers? How can you make your books more attractive to homeschooling parents? Think about it for a moment. Educators are busy people. The last thing they need is the burden of preparing more lesson plans for their students. Make it easy for them by offering a teacher study guide with your book.

I first learned about teacher study guides while collaborating on a project to produce a whole series of them for Muslim Writers Publishing. More recently, I have come across guides produced by other Muslim authors, such as Rukhsana Khan and Jamal Orme. Although it takes time and skill to put together a professional study guide that teachers (and students) can genuinely benefit from, it is well worth the effort and may help your books reach a wider audience.

More Blogs of Note

Here are some new Muslim-authored blogs that you are sure to enjoy and benefit from:

Amirah Musings
Musings of a Female Muslim Prison Chaplain

An-Najm Publishers
A discussion of all things literature from the Muslim perspective

OptimizeIt.Designs
Business and marketing tips from a design pro.

Jobs at Islam Radio

Islam Radio in the UK is seeking sales and marketing executives in the UK. They also have an opening for a senior operations manager.

Click here to read more about these job opportunities.

My Favorite Blog

There are numerous blogs out there to visit, but the one I really like the best is the Light of Islam blog run by Sister Ruth. Her blog is a daily chronicle of what it takes to open an Islamic bookstore in Houston, Texas - everything from buying equipment to registering the business to promoting the idea and raising funds. She takes you right inside the process so that you learn about the struggles, the lessons, and the rewards of taking on such a monumental project. The bookstore, which is scheduled to open in spring of 2008, will be more than a bookstore - it will also be a place where people can go to learn about Islam.

The blog is relevant to writers since it shows you the amount of effort that goes into marketing an idea or product. This is something all writers need to be aware of. Writing is the fun (and easy) part. But no one will know about your product (whether it is a book or something else) if you don't know how to get it into people's hands.

Sister Ruth is gearing up to host a table at the MAS convention and plans to blog about the experience. You can support her efforts to open the new bookstore by making a donation and telling others about this unique project.

Gaining Name Recognition

As Sis. Widad mentions in A Muslim's Guide to Publishing and Marketing, gaining name recognition is a vital part of marketing your book successfully. One way to do this is to write articles for magazines and web sites, especially those that allow you to mention your book or link back to your web site at the end of the article.

I have listed a number of Muslim magazines, web sites and newspapers here. This is certainly a good place to get started with your marketing efforts.

In addition, there are numerous web sites that allow you to post articles on various topics. For the most part, these are non-paying markets, and there are many of them. When submitting to these web sites, always consider the quality of the web site and what your name will be associated with. Also realize that some web sites are there for the sake of dawah, while others are businesses and have the goal of drawing more traffic to their sites through your articles. There is nothing inherently "wrong" with the second model, but do make sure that you are not inadvertently giving away rights to your article - and always make sure that your by-line is there, preferrably with a 2-4 sentence bio. at the end that helps you with your marketing goals. Also make sure that your articles are not being sold or compiled into an e-book (unless you are okay with that).

Every now and then, I will list some sites that accept article submissions. Here are five for now:

Hilal Plaza
General articles on Islam, culture, and Middle East affairs.
Businss-oriented.
No payment.
Guidelines for Writers

Islam For Today
Conversion stories are particularly welcome.
Dawah-oriented.
No payment.
Guidelines for Writers

IslamWay
General articles on Islam.
Dawah-oriented.
No payment.
Submit Articles Here

IslamWay Sisters
Articles of interest to Muslim women.
Dawah-oriented.
No payment.
Submit Articles Here

Muslims Internet Directory
Accepts articles and e-books on various Islamic topics.
Business-oriented.
No payment.
Submit Articles Here

A Muslim's Guide to Publishing & Marketing

There are many books to help new authors, but I have only seen one written exclusively for Muslims. Not only does Linda D. Delgado (a retired police officer who embraced Islam and formed the Islamic Writers Alliance and Muslim Writers Publishing) explain the differences between traditional, self and subsidy publishing, she also gives us insight into the world of Muslim publishing and compares the methods used in the Muslim and non-Muslim book publishing industries.

Do you have a marketing plan? Do you understand the ins and outs of printing, fulfillment and distribution?

Read this book before sending your manuscript out to publishers. Learn more about the book and view sample pages here:

A Muslim's Guide to Publishing and Marketing