There is nothing more motivating for students than knowing that others will read their work. Publishing gives student authors a sense of audience and voice. It’s authentic. It offers a reason for doing what they are doing instead of just writing to please the teacher or receive a good grade.

At the end of our fiction writing unit, students’ final drafts are typed by parent volunteers, and the students paste the text into hardcover books and add personal illustrations to make their book special. Our school orders the hardcover books from www.barebooks.com.