Writing a Tips Booklet

Posted on November 8th, 2008, by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D.

Question posed during today’s Life of E’s Email Extravaganza:

I will be gone tomorrow so I wanted to email you a question in advance. I have been answering questions from former collegues regarding working with a certain type of student. It has occurred to me I need to write a “tips” book to get all this information down. How do I get started? Should I go off of the questions or should I just brainstorm? I don’t want it to be too long but I do want it to be usable for teachers who are short on time and need a quick resource to go to. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Response:

Good morning and great question.

Definitely write a tips booklet!!!
I would do both…brainstorm but use the questions that others have asked as a jumping off point, too. When I created my first tips booklet, I sat down with a pile of index cards and just started writing…you will have SO many ideas that you generate that you will likely have more than one booklet…or better yet, a booklet and then some Special Reports or downloads that people can get/purchase from you.
Go back and listen to Paulette Ensign’s teleseminar (http://www.meggin.com/downloads.php). It’s one of the free downloads that is there. I’ve listened to her materials MANY times over. You can go to her site and take a look at some of what she has for free and might also consider some of her products.
So for now, start writing your ideas (and doing so on index cards or something like that make it easier to move them around and arrange them in ways that you like, but the computer works great, too, of course).
And you are exactly right…teachers have got to have something QUICK that they can access so you might even call yours Quick Tips for _________.

Great question! I’ll also post this on the blog.