Surprise Bulk Orders of Compelling Conversations From Amazon

"Next to money, English is the leading international language."
Evan Esar, American humorist

A new semester means more last minute orders of class sets of textbooks, including ESL books. I'm now seeing this situation as both an ESL instructor and a small publisher.

During the last week, several schools and English teachers have purchased class sets of Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless. Naturally, that development pleases me for many reasons. English teachers using the book in Chile, Rwanda, Hungary, Russia, Canada, and Italy feeds my global soul.

Yet I’ve also been surprised at how many institutions have placed their orders on Amazon where they pay the full price of $24.50 . While ordering on Amazon puts more money in my book, it seems what I call a “good mistake” in my classes. Why?

Because schools, churches, and bookstores can place their orders with Booksurge directly, receive a 40% discount, and save money. Each book will cost $14.70 instead of $24.50. If the adult school or English language school sells the books to student, the institution can even make a nice profit. Schools that provide free ESL textbooks to their students should appreciate the savings because they can also provide more materials to English language learners.
• Bottomline: If you choose to buy Compelling Conversations for your oral skills class, conversation club, or advanced ESL class, save your school and yourself some money. Order your class set from Booksurge, the book’s publisher for wholesale orders.. Call customer service the BookSurge wholesale ordering hotline at 866-308-6235 and select option #6.

Of course, textbook prices do not matter equally to all. Some elite private schools, school administrators, and wealthy English language learners might even prefer to pay full price. Perhaps ordering class sets of hard to find quality ESL books directly on Amazon better fits their needs. Amazon also works better for individual English tutors and teachers.

Yet adult schools, public programs, churches, and smaller language schools ordering 10 or more copies should be - especially in these difficult economic times – more cost conscious. As the old proverb goes, a penny saved is a penny earned.

Thank you to everyone who has already brought Compelling Conversations into their classroom, and thank you to everyone considering Compelling Conversations . I hope that deepening the connections between individuals through smarter, better conversations will help create a better, more humane, and peaceful world.

"Conversation means being able to disagree and still continue the conversation."
Dwight McDonald (1906-1982), American editor

Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com

Amazon Rates Compelling Conversations #3 in Adult and Continuing Education

Let me enjoy this brief moment of personal satisfaction.

Amazon lists over 5 million books on its website – and continues to overlook many fine self-published books. Naturally, as a self-publisher, Amazon represents an important outlet for my ESL conversation textbook, Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics. Besides, numbers add precision and ratings can become addictive.

Today Amazon has Compelling Conversations listed at 6,198! That’s my highest overall rating yet – and far better than my usual top 35,000 rating. The book is also rated #3 in the category “adult and continuing education”. Consider me satisfied and surprised.

For a small self-published author, selling a book around the world – and collecting favorable reviews from customers in Australia, Japan, and Spain is a simple pleasure. Amazon’s customer reviews have certainly helped promote the unusual conversation book aimed at sophisticated adults who want to bring their insights, wit and humor into more and deeper English language conversations. Besides my website, www.CompellingConversations.com that offers free sample chapters, Amazon remains my principal promotional tool. So the Amazon ratings and category rankings provide a way to measure success.

Of course, I remain curious about Compelling Conversations finding more success in adult education ESL programs than the flexible private language programs, university programs, and conversation clubs. Private schools, focusing on student desires and needs, usually provide smaller classes with more speaking opportunities. Further, the academic vocabulary appeals more to university bound or university trained adults. Compelling Conversations usually ranks higher in categories like “English as a Second Language”, “English as a Foreign Language”, “Teaching Methods”, “TOEIC”, and even “Quotes” than “Adult and Continuing Education.”

The increasing popularity of Compelling Conversations also reflects a growing awareness that adult education students want and need more speaking opportunities. Adult education programs, sometimes narrowly focused on a so-called life skills curriculum and preparing students for fill-in the blank mandated tests, offer few conversation classes. Why? Mostly because of the funding structure which doesn’t encourage specialized language classes. The large class sizes also limit the chances to speak – even in intermediate and advanced classes. Creative, dedicated adult education teachers have to make exceptional efforts to provide students with speaking skills – and many do so. Compelling Conversations helps busy adult education teachers supplement life skills lessons with energetic conversation activities.

Amazon updates their numbers every hour, and no doubt Compelling Conversations
will soon return to its usual ranking. Reaching the top 10,000 on Amazon may not sound like much to people who reduce all experiences to dollar signs. I made more money teaching Thursday than on my exceptionally successful Friday as a publisher. Yet I’m counting this milestone as a personal victory, counting my blessings, and smiling.


Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com