How I… began writing for publication

I didn’t complete my PhD. It’s something that is a source of deep regret – I had thrived on carrying out research and writing, but life intervened and it was the right decision in the circumstances. Luckily for me, in order to supplement my PhD funding I had begun working as a secondary teacher of Religious Studies and Philosophy and I found that I loved teaching. I spent several happy years working in a large secondary school in North London taking every opportunity for professional development and research – you won’t teach well if you’re not prepared to be a learner. As I had during my PhD, I sought out collaborative partnerships using social media (particularly Twitter), actively pursued opportunities for writing (I blogged often – because I wasn’t busy enough already…!) and carried out a diverse range of professional conversations with other teachers, researchers and advisers.

I moved from secondary teaching to work as an RE adviser in greater Lincolnshire. This was a huge learning curve for me, but it also provided a myriad of opportunities to carry out new and exciting research and, as ever, I wanted to write and write and write. I was very lucky in this regard: I connected with a number of people who opened doors for me and provided me with opportunities to realise this ambition. I began to work collaboratively with Kathryn Wright, Olivia Seymour and Jane Chipperton; together, we wrote and published our thinking online. This, coupled with a careful use of social media to help direct people towards our writing, enabled us to establish an audience for our thinking. Throughout, we were keen to emphasise that our writing was being offered as a form of professional conversation, noting that we, as learners, developed our thinking in relation with others.

In 2016, I was asked to co-author a chapter in We Need to Talk about Religious Education (ed. Mike Castelli and Mark Chater, Jessica Kingsley Publications, 2017). Whilst I had found writing for my PhD a very isolating experience, this was a much more creative and exciting process because it was carried out collaboratively. We produced many drafts of the chapter before it was signed-off for publication, listening carefully and responding to the editorial advice provided. Working with a trusted colleague gave me more confidence to write and allowed me to see how my writing ‘voice’ was distinctive from theirs. This was very important as it gave me a greater sense of confidence in developing my own voice and style. I went on to write an article for Impact, the journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, and a Grove Booklet on religious literacy in schools.  In both these cases, the final piece was edited and peer reviewed to ensure that the publications fulfilled the stated briefs. By this stage, I felt more comfortable with my written style and so was able to see more clearly where the editorial advice would enhance the writing and, at times, where it would impact negatively on the content and ideas expressed. I became more confident in being able to say no to suggested changes, where I had clear reasons for doing so. Most recently, I have co-authored a chapter that was published in Reforming RE (ed. Mark Chater, John Catt, 2020).

Receiving a copy of a book or journal in which your writing has been published is a wonderful feeling. It feels strange to see your name in print and it can be quite disconcerting to re-read what you had written often many months previously. One thing I have learned, however, is that re-reading your work is very important. This is not simply a case of reminding yourself of the professional journey you have been on over those months; it is also about checking that what you actually wrote is what has been published.

On at least one occasion, I have found that writing I have signed-off for publication has been altered after this point. Now, it is perfectly reasonable for copy editors to slightly adjust your text for the purposes of clarity and accuracy; however, it is not ok for the substance of one’s ideas to be altered without your permission as author. This is what had happened in my most recent published contribution, although there was no malicious intention at all. It had significant repercussions: readers purchased the book, read what I had written and quite fairly assumed that this was what I had intended to write. It was not, however, and this meant that a significant number of readers were misunderstanding and potentially misrepresenting my thinking. One thing you quickly learn as a published author is that others will respond to your writing, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. This is ok – it’s all part of the conversation that helps ideas flourish and develop. However, in this instance, people were preparing critiques based on words I had not written. This raised several problems: firstly, whether I could tell them that their critique was mistaken because it was not based on my actual thinking and secondly, whether I had any right to challenge the editor for having changed my writing after I had signed-off the agreed copy. I had to investigate copyright and intellectual property law to see what I was entitled to. This led to a challenging conversation with the editor, and the agreement that, amongst other things, I could write about this incident as part of a blog post about starting out as a published author. I am grateful that the editor and publisher have also agreed to revert to the original in the second print-run, which will soon be available.

So what have I learned?

That everyone has a voice that is worth hearing, that writing is one form of expressing that voice, and that writing takes practice.

That writing collaboratively is one of the most exciting and worthwhile things I have done in my professional life.

That working with editors and publishers is a learning curve and that it is always worth listening to their advice.

That it is ok as an author to say no sometimes when you have good reason to do so.

That you should always, always read what you have written after it has been published!