Book Launch!

Back in September I wrote a blog post about the book that I've written. In that post explained why I wrote it and what it's all about. I submitted my manuscript at the end of the summer holidays and (naively) thought that all my work was done. In September and October I chose the design of the cover, gathered some reviews for the Amazon page and that was about it - it wasn't a huge amount of work. Then came November, and suddenly everything was really full on.

Getting the book ready for print was a much bigger job than I expected. I stayed up late into the night many times in November, working on checks and edits. My editor was brilliant and made lots of useful suggestions. The challenge came from the fact that all of my equations were retyped and therefore needed thorough checking, and all of the intricately detailed old textbook extracts were retyped too. It was an immense job to proofread every single line. If I wasn't a teacher I would have taken a few days off work to do it. But I had to fit it in around long days at work, getting my girls into bed, doing my marking and lesson planning, and everything else. In hindsight I think perhaps it was foolish of me to think I could be a full-time teacher and mum of two young children and write a book! But hey, I lived to tell the tale.

It's quite possible that an error will have made it through to the book, and I can only apologise for that. I worked harder on this than I've ever worked on anything before, and now it's being printed I feel rather emotional about it all. I feel relief, anxiety and happiness all at the same time. 

Because I never thought I'd write a book, and now I have, I really want to celebrate. Although I've organised and hosted two book launches and a number of other events in the past, I decided that I wouldn't be able to have a launch for my own book. My new job is really tough, and weekends and evenings in December are packed full of both work and family stuff, so I definitely don't have time to organise an event.

Thankfully my friend Emma McCrea (author of Making Every Maths Lesson Count) got in touch and offered to organise and host a launch party for me. I'm very grateful to her for working really quickly to get everything set up in time for the book's publication date. Tickets went on sale today, and I'm very excited about it.

The launch is on 14th December at SAMA Bankside, which is a bar near Blackfriars in London (those of you who stayed on for the Humble Pi afterparty might remember it!). The event is 3pm until 5.30pm. If anyone wants to stay out afterwards and turn it into a maths teacher Christmas night out then I'm up for that (it's optional though!). It's been a while since the last #christmaths so I think we're overdue a festive party... 

My little book launch will consist of maths activities, drinks, maths mingling, and two talks (one from me and one from the awesome speaker Zoe Griffiths). Tickets are £20 and this includes a copy of the book (hot off the press), a drink on arrival and all mathsy entertainment.

I know lots of people are going to be busy on the 14th, but I hope some people can join me to celebrate (I'm aware it's not ideal timing for a launch, but I really wanted the book to be out before Christmas).

You can book a ticket here. Feel free to bring partners and friends - this event is not exclusively for maths teachers, though the entertainment is all mathematical!

Hope to see you there. And if you can't come but still want to read my book, it's available to order here.