Publishing as a Changemaker
In a world continuously forcing injustices and inequality upon people of color, Dr. Taryn L. Fletcher has risen to the occasion and is calling all of us to action. Dr. Fletcher is a powerhouse author, educator, and thought leader ready to take the world by storm. And her book is helping her pave the way.
Editing this inspirational book, In All Lanes: Action Steps for New Leaders to Empower Black and Brown Students, Rethink School, and Transform Behavior, was humbling and inspiring, and I can’t wait to see how Dr. Fletcher shapes education to be more inclusive for students of color. Learn about her efforts and stay in touch with her on Instagram.
This is a recap of our Author interview on March 29, 2021 on Instagram Live. If you missed out, please check out the video here, or continue reading the recap below.
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Introduction of Dr. Taryn Fletcher (in Delaware) and her book In All Lanes
Dr. Fletcher was inspired by her passion for working in education with Black and Brown students.
She’s a mother of three children of color and she lives in the world that she teaches.
Her goal is to make the world safer for Black boys and parents who send their children to school, as well as improve teachers' abilities to connect with children of color.
The book is a combination of influences from her life, work, and doctoral dissertation.
She connected with Val through Self-Publishing School.
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Dr. Fletcher can’t believe she wrote a book during such an unforeseen and questionable time. Schedules were tough, but she found a way to write.
She began writing while serving as a deputy superintendent at a large school district (10,000 students/families).
Dr. Fletcher had her third child in November 2019 and was on leave when the pandemic hit, so she pivoted and took time to be home with her son. Then became a teacher working from home.
The book took dedication and writing in the middle of the night.
Val suggests using momentum and writing whenever you can, block time if you can and stick to a schedule.
Dr. Fletcher said it’s difficult to sit in the space and talk about race, diversity, and racism during a time where it was on TV every night, in addition to discussing the issues with her 15-year-old son.
She would write between 11:30pm-4:30am after everyone else was asleep. She said your body will tell you when to stop.
Memorable tips that Val gave Dr Fletcher: Write about what I know, which was my passion for educating young students of color. Affirmation and value are essential to students.
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Just like taking in culture in other countries, we need to do the same with Black and Brown students’ cultures.
Dr. Fletcher studied this topic for years.
Another great tip is to write every single day, even if it’s just 1 sentence or for 1 hour.
You can also keep a schedule and target word counts for each writing session.
Val suggested having an accountability partner for check-ins, especially when you are feeling stuck.
Dr. Fletcher is hosting book talks and doing events online to celebrate the book launch and share her message with educators.
Val said individuals could find ways to get involved in the community by reading this book, such as contacting representatives and learning about curriculum in schools or volunteering with ESL programs.
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Editors should feel like they have the same investment in the book, and an editor can be an accountability partner.
Dr. Fletcher asked Val for feedback on the tone of the book because she was concerned it was too harsh on teachers who might view themselves as allies.
Val reassured her that it was a reality we all need to face and it’s written in a productive way to get people to take action.
Dr. Fletcher is already thinking about her next book, but is taking time to breathe for now.
She learned so much and can’t wait to help others with her book as a guiding resource.
Dr. Fletcher wrote her rough draft in 30 days and was surprised at the process and friendship she developed with Val as an editor.
According to Dr. Fletcher, the first step in publishing: get the rough draft done and don’t overthink how complex the process will be.
She had to stop herself from researching other ways of getting the task done.
To her, the most complicated aspect of the publishing process was how to present the book to the world.
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Val explained that books from big publishing houses can take years, while self-publishing has many facets it can happen quickly because there are many resources out there. Val likes to refer authors to other resources and create a sense of community in the world of self-publishing.
Val enjoys learning various topics while editing for authors.
Dr. Fletcher did not explore big publishers and knew she was up against poor interest stats about books regarding her topic.
She’s excited that her name is on the book and she is the boss; she found it empowering to find someone who wants to invest in your project.
She pushed and pushed with the cover design to get what she wanted.
Val believes it is a good creative process for teachers to have outside of the classroom, where there are less restrictions.
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Dr. Fletcher has a launch team of 100+ people who have helped promote the book.
They share their advance copy review of the book and celebrate its success!
She utilizes Instagram and Facebook Live, hosting a book talk every Wednesday night about a different topic in the book.
The discussion is organic and involves listening to other people’s stories, connecting different educators through the topic.
Dr. Fletcher is launching a business based off of the book, helping others who want to build an army of culturally relevant practitioners.
She’s focused on reaching out to organizations, community-focused groups, and school systems to share expertise through on-the-ground training, coaching, and program design.
This could be in hospitals, government, and corporate institutions.
Val shared it is similar to a train the trainer model.
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Val recommended Bliss Books & Wine as an independent bookstore that could carry Dr. Fletcher’s book.
The book is also available on Amazon.
Val recommended sharing social media posts (and following the author--@drtarynflecther) to educate themselves on this important topic and help Dr. Fletcher promote her work.
If you want to learn more as an educator or you’re a community member seeking to do their part, don’t miss out on Dr. Fletcher’s book and her work at teachourfuture.com.
Until next time!