What is

Authorship?
The profession of writing; the
state of being the writer of a
book, article or document.
The source of a piece of
writing; the creator of a work
of art.
The state or act of
writing, creating, causing,
producing

Isabout drafting the

work or revising it
critically for important
intellectual content
CONTINUES
N.B. Authorship builds the
brain into a very powerful
thinking machine. And
Thinking is a skill (just like
driving or playing soccer);
if you work at it you get
better!
An individual judged to have made a
substantial or practical contribution
to a publication and who agrees to be
accountable for that contribution.
One who puts some substantial
contributions to the conception or
design of the work; one who acquires,
analyses and/or interprets data for the
work.
continues
One who develops written material in
form of stories and advertisements
for books, magazines and online
publications.

The creator or originator of any

written work such as a book or play;
one who originated or gave existence
to anything.
N.B. “All the above are
Internet/Dictionary
definitions”.
What/Which elements go
with an Author/Writer?
1. A writer should establish his/her credibility
through strong research and the use of
appropriate sources and citations.
2. What one writes should be aimed at producing an
individual who is useful in society with
Knowledge, Values and Skills.
3. Reading widely to write the correct things;
concepts must be clearly clarified and
interpretations to be very clear.
4. Having very good reading and writing skills.
Experts say reading is the most useful activity to
keep your brain sharp.
continuation
5. Authorship improves one’s communication skills
and confidence, and these are the most
important skills in life. No one,
however intelligent will succeed
without them and those who possess
them can succeed anywhere.
Tips on Writing
Writing should be regarded as a chore; not
something to be looked at as difficult and
even trying to avoid. It is in-fact very
pleasurable and satisfying, but of course
also more effective.
We write for a number of different reasons
and audiences, but the aim of effective
writing in whatever from or for whatever
reason is always the same:
• To communicate our ideas.
• To communicate our thoughts.
• To communicate our feelings.
• To put our message across.
SINCE WRITING IS A MORE FORMAL
ACTIVITY PRODUCING A PERMANENT
R E C O R D , I T H E N C E R E Q U I R E S G R E AT E R
PRECISION AND CARE THAN SPEECH.

O U R C O M M U N I C AT I O N S K I L L S I N W R I T I N G
H AV E TO B E U N A M B I G U O U S S I N C E U N L I K E
IN SPEAKING, THERE IS NO INTERACTION
TA K I N G P L A C E A N D W E C A N N O T G AU G E
OUR LISTENERS’ RESPONSE AND CLARIFY
A N Y P O I N T S W H I C H M AY N O T H AV E B E E N
COMPREHENDED.
Our writing therefore will be effective if it is:
• Clear
• Concise
• Exact
• Appropriate
• Well researched
Know what is already in the market and plan how
you are going to beat it.
Know the strengths and the weaknesses of what
is already thereon the market.
 Writing Skills
The following writing skills are needed:

Consider the purpose of writing.

Consider the audience.
Use the appropriate tone.
Plan and arrange ideas in a
logical order.
Punctuate the meaning.
Use correct spelling.
Ensure legible print.
Proof-read and edit your
writing.

CONTINUATION
 For text-book writing:
Understand the curriculum - visit curriculum
people; visit schools.
Read other instruments guiding the education
system, e.g.
Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE)
Millennium goals.
Cross-cutting issues.
equality, etc.
Have a good skill in syllabus interpretation,
e.g. Look for:
Verbs
Compound objectives, etc.
Define content by outcomes
The key words in the outcomes need to be
very clear
Put facts in the book by Researching and
reading widely. Remember….What is written
is taken as the “gospel” truth by the reader
Opinions should come out clearly as opinions
Know and understand your target group
Understand your client (in this case the
Ministry of Education and probably CDC)
Differentiate between opinion and facts;
myths and facts; etc.
Appreciate cultural issues, versus
modernity. Do not rule out culture
completely. For example:
Initiation ceremonies Vs. Counseling
Hoes Vs. Tractor
Just be factual but blend with culture.

continuation
N.B.:
We are the Abbots and Mackeans of Tomorrow;
let’s do our best now and make a difference!
In text-book writing, concepts are just the same;
all you need is to do the paraphrasing in your own
English. Copy the idea!
The details of the writing process of the text-
books, as well as information on Novels and other
Literature writing will be dealt with by another
presenter on “Book Writing Process”
Copy-write Holder Rights
When you are writing for a publisher, you
as the author you get what is known as
“Copy-write Holder Rights”. In this case
the author becomes a co-owner of the
text-book with the publisher.

Thus, the Publisher has the Publishing

Rights while the Author has the Copy-write
Rights.
When you are a copy-write holder, you are entitled to a
royalty payment of normally 10% of the selling price of
each copy of the book, paid annually. Note also that this
10% royalty is shared by the total number of writers where
there was more than one author.

The writer is also usually given a certain number of free

copies of the text-book (of course also shared by the
total number of authors for each text-book)
 THE END
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION………
….