How to Get Your Ideas Published by PCI, Part 3

by Leslie Buteyn

Over the last few weeks, I’ve talked about what PCI looks for when reviewing product ideas that teachers submit for publication. I’d like to add a few more suggestions to the specific strategies I detailed in my last post.

Have a hook. If the product idea you’re submitting is similar to products already in the marketplace, why would someone want to publish it? Study the marketplace. Know what types of products are available. If your concept is similar to what’s already available, make sure that you’ve got a different angle to make your product stand out when compared to those other similar titles. Articulate that difference, and explain why your version is better.

Be focused. Make sure your product idea meets the needs of a specific student population. The focus shouldn’t be too narrow, nor should it be too broad. Sometimes teachers who submit ideas try to make their products a “one size fits all” solution, but we know as educators that some strategies work with certain populations and not with others. Know the student population you’re targeting, know what works and what doesn’t with that population, and design your product idea accordingly.

Test the idea with your students. Take the time to try out what you’ve developed with your students. Study how it works with your students, and then refine and improve it. Then, test it with your students again. Document the progress your students have made with learning the skills and/or concepts in your product idea.

Take the risk! Send your great product idea in to us. Let us take the time to review and study it to find out if it’s a fit for us. What a great reward to have your product idea published and in the hands of teachers and students everywhere!

For some examples of product ideas submitted by educators that have turned into successful products, see Cooking to Learn , Academic Curriculum Framework , and Conversation Start-Ups .