Meet Anna Forsyth - Poet, Editor, and Author of Educational Text
ANNA FORSYTH is a writer, poet, editor and sometime musician from New Zealand, currently living in Newcastle NSW, Australia. She is the founder of feminist poetry organization Girls on Key, providing opportunities for women and non-binary poets across Australia. Her poetry and short stories appear in journals in print and online in Australia and New Zealand and she is the author and editor of over 50 educational titles for primary teachers.
I’ve always been fascinated with the educational text world - who writes all those books? Well, when I met Ms. Forsyth, she was willing to share her experience and answer my nerdy questions without a bit of fuss. Learn about her journey into the educational text world and see if it might be something you’re interested in exploring…
The "educational market" isn't something I think of as a genre in the literary world, even though it clearly is - and rightfully so. How did you start out or pursue it as your niche?
I trained as a primary teacher at University and very quickly discovered a passion for writing and editing educational resources. I love the creativity of it and creating activities, along with using the right hemisphere of my brain to come up with the organising systems and the instructional design. It's been a great specialty area and led to many opportunities. I also had my start in my editing career in this educational space. Hearing about my resources used by teachers in classrooms is always a thrill!
Stephen King, JK Rowling, Danielle Steel and John Grisham are household names in their fields. Did you have any role models or books that inspired you to take the plunge?
Wendy Pye in New Zealand is a huge inspiration and has created some great books and resources, and the School Journals in NZ. In terms of my short stories and poetry, I'm inspired by Margaret Mahy, Keri Hulme, Katherine Mansfield, Catherine Chidgey and Pasifika poets like Courtney Sina Meredith, Tusiata Avia, Selina Tusitala Marsh and Serie Barford. I also love Renee Liang and Simone Kaho. So many to name!! In terms of the educational books, I'm inspired by people like Edward De Bono and also by technology and even just kids themselves!
With inflation and economic uncertainty, a professional career in writing seems further and further from a possibility these days. Have you been able to focus on writing educational material for your full-time profession or is it supplemented through a similar field such as teaching or consulting?
I run Girls on Key, then I do freelance writing and editing for a number of clients, from corporate to education to supplement my income. I am also just about to get a permanent part-time job, so that will take the pressure off. I've done a million jobs and have some ridiculous temping stories - I've done it all! I've had to be a jack-of-all trades, which suits my love of novelty just fine!
Publishing fiction seems to be a tough market to break into. Have you found the educational market to be equally difficult? What are some challenges you've found along the way?
I found it easy to get an inroad in education because of my teaching background combined with editorial experience. Challenges include fitting material into the curriculum and keeping the material fresh and relevant. It can be hard to come up with so many new ideas! Testing them out with kids is important too and I've had some really cute reviews from kids on my children's fiction, which is encouraging me to start to think about publishing in that area. Always a dream of mine!
Sometimes reading those ever-necessary journals for medicine, science, law, and beyond make for great literature to read just before bed. They're certainly important, however they too be competitive or rather, have hot-beds for controversy among writers. Have you experienced anything like this?
This hasn't been an issue for me…
Penning textbook or non-commercial fiction might not sound glamorous to some aspiring writers. What are some behind-the-scenes aspects that might change someone’s mind or give them insight to consider writing in your field, why?
I think for those who have an editor's brain or love systematic thinking but also being creative, it's perfect. I seem to have both, so I get to use both sides of my brain! If you hate organizing and systems, then it's probably not for you. There is a lot of curriculum knowledge required and stuff that may not interest everyone, but I love kids and education, so it was no-brainer for me. Any large book takes a lot of effort and can get tedious, but it's worth it in the end and the royalties are not bad either. The main thing I love about it is you are continually learning. You get to pick topics you want to explore and you can take them as far as you want. So it really satisfies my curiosity and love of learning!
Writing is hard work! And working in an ever-changing, competitive industry can be even harder. How do you maintain steady work and come up with fresh, new ideas that make your text stand apart from the rest?
It's definitely a challenge. I like to write short fiction and other things like plays and poetry to keep my brain ticking and balancing my life with swimming and other activities to keep the juices flowing. I travel a lot too and love interacting and arts events, so I'm always having fuel to add to the creative fire. Recognising when it's time to get out and re-fill the well is important too.
How would you explain the books [text] you write for educators/children/beyond?
Mine are contemporary takes on some of the topics for children, including: Thinking Hats, Fabulous Food (nutrition series), The Ideas Factory Creative Writing Series and then some more practical technical textbooks that I've edited such as mathematics.
I don't have any titles coming out at the moment, as I'm focused on publishing women's poetry through Girls on Key Press.
Some writers fantasize to becoming the next New York Times Best Seller or notable author. Would you encourage other writers to consider the educational market outside of the atypical best seller lists? Have you found it to be a lucrative, satisfying, and/or sustainable field to establish yourself in the literary world?
I don't really see it as a part of the literary world per se. The royalties were a nice little side income for a while, with an initial rush at the beginning and with a number of titles, it was a nice way to supplement my income. I think I would have to focus on it full time and have more titles to make it lucrative. But many people do!
Many writers entering the industry find themselves overwhelmed by the work beyond the writing itself. What have you learned over the years that you wish you'd known earlier on?
That you absolutely don't have to post a million times on social media or even have some of these platforms if you don't want to. How you structure your promotion or not is completely up to you. I think having online presence is good, but it can suck all the energy and time away from the work, so I try to maintain a focus on creating good work and then worry about promotion second.
Working in the non-fiction, educational market, experience or expertise in a specific subject seems necessary. Is this true? Have you found it difficult to branch out beyond your scope to write about subjects you're capable of covering yet lack the academic or work credentials to do so?
I think so. Subject matter knowledge is always beneficial but you can also contact other SMEs if it's a new area for you and do research. So it's not prohibitive, especially at primary level. For secondary and tertiary, I think it becomes more of an issue. but that's not my main area, although I have proof read and worked on a number of books at that level.
Ms. Forsyth’s definitely got a strong background in educational books for primary teachers to inspire young minds. I encourage anyone even remotely curious about the textbook world to check out her books. Never know where your niche (and/or paycheck!) might be hidden away till you try something new!
Thanks for reading…
—
Simply Sally
“GUESS WHAT? I am a failed conductor. I did stage one at university, but found I have a slight spacial issue. I still love music and I’m fascinated with the classical tradition, but it took me many years to realize I don’t fit into that world. I have a unique brain that is creative, but also very structured so I feel like I’ve now found a niche that works for my quirks so to speak! ”