Wish you could discover companies that specialize in educational publishing? Look no further! In this article I share the top companies that specialize in this genre, as well as an additional option to consider.
Whether you are a leader in your field of thought, a college professor who wants to publish your own textbook, or specialize in a specific aspect of education, I have you covered.
Did you know that the US educational publishing market generated over $8.96 billion in sales revenue in 2022? If you’re looking for a lucrative genre, educational publishing is worth considering. But what is it, and which companies actually specialize in it? Let’s dive in.
Educational Publishing: What’s Covered:
- What Is Educational Publishing?
- Who Are The Big Education Publishers?
- How To Publish An Educational Book
What Is Educational Publishing?
Educational publishers generate material that targets the academic markets, such as schools, universities, and various educational programs.
However, educational publishing covers a variety of resources, including, but not limited to:
- Study guides
- Digital textbooks
- Softcover/hardcover textbooks
- Collections of scholarly articles
Consider the best biography books you’ve come across. Chances are high that some of the individuals written about impacted education in some shape or form.
Furthermore, while educational publishing is not directly associated with the motivational book genre, creating resources for the public can positively impact how motivated individuals become about contributing to society.
Who Are The Big Education Publishers?
Just as there are the Big Five publishers in traditional publishing, there are big publishers in educational publishing. Several of these include McGraw Hill, Scholastic, Pearson, Sage, and Rowman & Littlefield.
Before going further, it’s important to acknowledge the question you may be asking: “But what about agents? What is a literary agent and do I need one for educational publishing?”
In short, if you are recognized as a scholar and publishing your own research, or self-publishing your educational resources, you don’t need a literary agent to help publish.
McGraw Hill
McGraw Hill is one of the top educational publishing companies out there. This publisher focuses on the digital aspects of educational publishing, so if you’re looking to publish a hardcover or paperback book, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
However, McGraw is doing well in the digital space. With total digital billings exceeding 50% and in the last few years launching a mobile study app, McGraw Hill takes a fresh angle to learning.
Plus, McGraw Hill has been active in the educational publishing sphere for decades. It was formed in 1917.
Scholastic
Scholastic is well-known in the educational publishing sphere, and for good reason. Founded in 1920, it has celebrated over a century of positive impact on education. Unlike McGraw Hill, Scholastic does not only create digital magazines and multimedia tools, but also print magazines and books.
If you choose to publish with Scholastic, you will have a variety of formatting options:
- Hard or softcover
- Book size (which images page count)
- Paperweight (varies from magazines to books)
Scholastic is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. In fact, they connect educators and families and lead the way in providing:
- Literacy curriculum
- Professional services
- Classroom magazines
They also put popular children’s media out into the world. Now in over 100,000 schools, reaching almost 4 million educators and over 50 million students, Scholastic’s reputation goes before it.
Pearson
Pearson largely focuses on custom publishing for higher education. Pearson partners with educators to build a mix of the educator’s content and Pearson’s content.
This ensures your customized content looks professional but most importantly, targets your students exactly where they are. When you work with Pearson, both digital and print products are available.
Sage
Sage is an independent publisher with a global reach. They are “the world’s leading independent academic and professional publisher.” They have over 1000 journals to their name, as well as more than 500 society relationships across the globe.
Sage focuses on working with authors, editors, and societies in the academic space to positively impact the world.
If you’d like to publish with Sage, here are a few details to know:
- They focus on high-quality academic works in the social sciences
- Publishing efforts center on providing undergraduate and graduate textbooks
- Sage also publishes handbooks, reference and professional resources
Additionally, they “publish over 800 titles a year worldwide and have over 4,500 titles in print.” Contact an acquisitions editor to start your journey with Sage.
Rowman & Littlefield
One of America’s largest book distributors, Rowman & Littlefield is an independent publisher that has been around for 75 years. They focus on publishing both print and eBook formats of their titles.
They publish an award-winning titles including:
- Higher education textbooks
- Cutting-edge scholarly research
- Professional resources
- Reference works
If you’re looking to publish a textbook, Rowman & Littlefield may be the place for you. You can query an acquisitions editor at this link. Be sure to follow submission guidelines exactly.
How To Publish An Educational Book
However, if you’re looking to publish an educational resource for the masses, we can help you move from idea to published book in record time. Here at Self-Publishing School, we help you go from playing around with your book idea to successfully selling your book online.
We also walk with you through all the steps in-between, including:
- Learning how to build your brand
- Effectively growing your reach
- Expanding your income
If you want to create an educational resource that reaches the masses, Self-Publishing School is your answer.
Regardless of which publisher you go with, below are several steps you need to take to write, publish, and get your educational book into the world.
Choose Your Career Path
When you choose to publish an educational resource, you have a few paths to choose from:
- Use your book to build your business
- Use your book to launch a fiction career
- Use your book to share your legacy
To help you identify where you fall, answer the following questions:
- Do I want to write a book to build authority in my field and learn to scale my business via this book?
- Do I want to build a full-time fiction author career by writing and publishing high-quality novels and series?
- Do I want to write and publish a single book, life story, or memoir that sells well and leaves a lasting legacy behind?
If you answered yes to the first question, you are a business builder. Yes to the second question means you want a career in fiction. If you resonated most with the third question, you are a legacy author.
Educational publishing can help you walk each path or be an end unto itself. Take this short publishing path assessment to discover which path is right for you.
Know Your Starting Point
Second, it’s crucial to articulate your starting point. For example, New York Times bestselling author, Michael Hyatt, said the following:
“I worked in traditional publishing industry for 30 years and published most of my books through traditional publishers. However, I have also self-published a few of my most recent books and recommend it as the first choice for most aspiring authors.”
Michael Hyatt
On the other side of things, Brianna Ruelas, said this,
“I was connected to the fact that if I was going to write a book, it would be a launching pad for a business. About two months after publishing, I booked a speaking gig, and I launched an entire consulting business from the book.”
Brianna Ruelas
No matter what background you have, you can transition into educational publishing. For instance, Self-Publishing School alone has published over 5,000 students in more than 60 countries. You can be the next writer to turn into an author. But to do so, it takes deciding on your action plan.
Set Your Action Plan
If you dream of publishing a textbook in higher education, you may want to reach out to Rowman & Littlefield.
If you want to publish in the digital space, look over McGraw Hill’s guidelines for your proposal and consider submitting to them.
But what if you desire to reach the masses through educational publishing? What if you’d be happy for educators to use your book in the classroom, but your intended audience is larger than the academic world? If this is the case, we’d love to chat with you.
Stay The Course
Once you take the leap into educational publishing, you will likely find that sticking with your goal has its ups and downs. Working with a book coach can be a tremendous help.
Not only do book coaches know how to guide you from point A to point B, but they can empathize with your writing journey.
They know how to encourage you to press on even when you may feel like giving up. Many people dream of becoming published authors, but taking the steps necessary takes substantial grit.
With a book coach and writing community, you drastically increase your chances of achieving your dream.
Educational Publishing: Take Your Next Step Today
It’s easy to get caught up in learning as much as possible about how to do a task and put off the steps of actually starting the task.
Now that you have discovered several companies that specialize in educational publishing, it’s time to move forward.
In fact, spending too much time learning, without executing, can be a form of procrastination.
To help you move forward and take your first step to accomplish your educational publishing goal, book a free call with a team member. We can’t wait to speak with you!
