Book publishing company founder Tim Gordon will share more than three decades of publishing expertise in a new course that will be offered at the Pembroke campus in February.
Gordon, 68, will teach a new course titled Book Publishing: Embracing Change over three Wednesday evenings in February.
According to Gordon, the course is for people who want to look for a career in the writing field.
“I realized that no one had ever asked me how to make money as a writer,” Gordon said.
Gordon has given lectures about the book industry and taught classes about creative thinking and book marketing strategies.
“The saying goes, ‘a smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a wise man learns from others’,’” Gordon said. “I can teach people about how new systems work in the book trade and beyond.”
In 1981, Gordon established a publishing company called General Store Publishing House in Burnstown, Ont.
Last year, Gordon founded Burnstown Publishing House, a publishing company that is “designed to embrace the future of the book and e-book market,” according to its website.
Mary Elizabeth Marshall, a communications professor at the Woodroffe campus, has experience with the book publishing industry. Her master’s thesis was published in Germany. “There’s a feeling of success. It’s an accomplishment,” she said.
According to Marshall, writing isn’t necessarily an easy career path to take. “Writing doesn’t always pay the bills,” she said.
According to Gordon, making money is often a challenge that writers come across. In 2013, BJ Gallagher of the Huffington Post reported that the average non-fiction book in the U.S. sells less than 250 copies.
Gordon will use his knowledge and experience to inform students about the challenges they may come across while trying to present and publish their writing.
“This course is about pitfalls, and misunderstandings about the way things work nowadays in the book industry,” Gordon said.
Book Publishing: Embracing Change will begin on Feb. 10. Information about registration is available at algonquincollege.com.