dead-tree version is ready to go

I'm a bit cross-eyed, but I've finalized the manuscript for the homeschooling book, the front-cover image (I finally remembered to add my name), the back cover, and the spine. So the dead-tree version of my book is ready to take to a copy center to have printed out. I'm going to print out a short run of 50 copies (originally 200 copies, but I've had second thoughts). I don't expect to sell many, and like my lingering copies of Water from a Skull, I expect these books to be hanging around me sixteen years years later. I'm placing my hopes for sales on the e-book version. Still haven't figured out how to turn chapter titles into links in the table of contents, though. That's one of the things I'll be exploring all day Wednesday.

John McCrarey offered an interesting remark about the title, to wit: it might not be appealing to people who are rejecting teachers (with their Critical Race Theory and generally PC agenda) to have a title like Think Like a Teacher. I thought this was a reasonable criticism, and I said I'd consider John's suggestion for an alternative title: Teaching Like a Thinker. John's title certainly has appeal, but as I went back through my manuscript, I realized there's a lot I'd have to change about the book's content, for which "think like a teacher" is something of a refrain. The entire book is about getting homeschooling parents into the mindset of a teacher. The book is small, but it covers a range of topics from the need to plan out your curricula (assuming you'll be teaching your kids multiple subjects) to the value of reinforcement (something that many beginning teachers fail to do in their rush simply to complete a curriculum, thinking quantity of information is more important than quality of learning). 

Upshot: I'm keeping the original title. Sorry, John. I'm just going to have to risk the hatred of certain overly political folks, but if you're pulling your kids out of school to teach them yourself, then there's no getting around the fact that, now, you're the teacher. This book is supposed to help with that transition to the teacherly mindset. For what it's worth, the book's title isn't Think Like a Unionized, Democrat-voting Teacher.

Here's a list of the book's chapters, written out as commandments. One of my first stabs at a book title was The Ten Commandments of Homeschooling, but a quick Google search showed me that everyone was using that title already, and besides, books titled The Ten Commandments of are a dime a dozen. Still, despite my going with a different title, the chapter names are hortatory:

Introduction

1. Know Your Goals

2. Have a Plan

3. Have Standards, Set Boundaries
4. Be Patient
5. Be Consistent
6. Learn While You Teach

7. Research, Research, Research
8. Think Carefully About Testing
9. Provide Success Experiences and Keep Things Interesting
10. Think Like a Teacher

Glossary

This book isn't really for veteran teachers; most of what's in my book is pretty commonsensical and nothing special to someone who's taught for years. But frazzled parents needing that initial leg up might find the book useful, and that's the demographic I'm aiming for. The book is meant only as a jumping-off point for newbies to the teaching game.

And here are the covers, front and back:

At least Bowker's barcode generator works. Is the back-cover blurb too confrontational? Lemme know. There's still time to change it.