Writing for the Education Market: What Is It?

In the previous post I talked about the two kingdoms of kid-lit, the trade market and the education market. Trade books are titles you can find in a bookstore. You probably won’t find many educational books in a bookstore. But you might find a few.

What is the education market?

The education market is made of books for school libraries to buy. These books may be about high-interest topics that kids are naturally curious about, like Minecraft, the musician Lizzo, or the Bermuda triangle.

These books also include topics that kids may have to write a report about. Think endangered animals, the Civil War, or the latest Mars rover.

Why you can’t judge a book by its cover

Trade books and educational books can be tough to tell apart. You can’t necessarily tell by where you’ll find them. Many trade books can be found in schools and libraries. And some educational books are sold in bookstores.

What’s more, educational publishers work very hard to make sure their books appeal to kids. So, they make them look like trade books. That can make it nearly impossible to tell the two types of books apart.

Why you can’t judge a book by its publisher

You can’t always tell the books apart by the publisher. For example, Scholastic published my Rookie Read-About series on the continents (education market). They also published Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (trade).

With so much overlap, how can you tell the types of books apart? There is an easy way.

How you can figure out a book’s market

Here’s a quick way to recognize an educational book: flip to the back pages.

If it’s a book for the education market, you’ll probably see glossary words, a recommended book list, or other features. This is called “back matter.” Teachers love back matter.

If it’s written exclusively for the trade market, you probably—but not always—won’t see any back matter.

Why is the education market useful for writers?

If you want to write for children, you should know that the trade market is highly competitive. It’s a difficult place for a new writer to break in. Not impossible, just difficult.

The education market is much friendlier to new writers. It’s where I got my start. It’s a good option if you want to get started writing for children right away.