So many of you enjoyed seeing my baby horse take his first steps last April that I wanted to share this pic with you. Tuck is now a yearling!
Tuck (that's his barn name--he's Bartholomew Cubbins PHF to the larger show world, whenever they get to see him for the first time) is a sweet relaxed guy who loves his naps and his food.
If you happen to be a horse nerd, he's a North American Spotted Draft/Oldenburg cross (dam Gateway Acres Cheyenne, sire Lordswood Bernstein SL). Over the next year he'll be learning to walk with a light saddle on his back, take a bit, tie, walk onto/travel on a trailer, and be kind to the people who are trying to feed him when he's really, really hungry.
Welcome to the world of working horses, Tuck!
And if you're REALLY a nerd, visit his sire's page and check out the resemblance.
Now that the new edition of THE WELL-TRAINED MIND has been out for a little over a week, I wanted to take a minute to respond to our wonderful readers…some of whom are unhappy that 1) the book is priced the same as the previous edition but doesn’t include the resources and 2) they didn’t realize the resources weren’t IN the book any more.
Listen, dear readers, I hear you. Bear with me for a minute.
I’ll tackle 2) first by straight up throwing Norton under the bus. The original copy for the book was definitely misleading, including the descriptive text that went out to Amazon. The phrasing didn’t make it clear that you’d have to go to welltrainedmind.com for the specific resources. We sent them corrections and new copy and appealed repeatedly for those to be pushed out to Amazon.com and all the other online outlets. For whatever reason, this did NOT happen until right before the book came out.
(Also, the original language made clear that you had to go to welltrainedmind.com for the resources, but Amazon refuses any copy that includes another website, so we had to rephrase AGAIN.)
We did everything we could with social media posts and newsletter mailings and podcasts to clarify this, but it’s hard to fight the Database That Rules All.
Now let me tackle 1).
If you’re not in publishing, you probably don’t realize how much printing costs have gone up. Have you noticed that all books now cost more? Paper costs and labor costs have doubled since the pandemic. If this new edition of TWTM included the resources and was the same length as the last edition ($39.95), it would have been priced at $54.95.
In fact, Norton originally priced the Essential Edition at $44.95. I spent a long time on the phone with editor, production manager, etc. BEGGING them to change this. I said: It’s more expensive than the last edition, and the resources have to be subscribed to separately. They said: This is accepted cover price for a book of this length. I said: Please don’t do this! Finally Norton agreed to drop the price to $39.95, which is still a little under-priced given paper and production costs.
Yes, you now have to pay $12.95 for a year’s access to all of the updated resources. If those resources were in the book, you’d be paying a little MORE than that total, and we wouldn’t be able to update them.
I’ve also heard a demand that people who buy the essential edition should get a code for free access to the resources. Well…the problem is that Norton declined to host and maintain those resources. We do that here at the Well-Trained Mind Press. Norton gets the income from the book. We (who are doing all the website work and recommending the resources) do the labor of providing the resources. And since Norton and Well-Trained Mind Press are two different companies, there was no good way to have a purchase from one company grant access to the work done by another company.
With all that said? You never make a big change without upsetting a certain number of people. This big change was 100% necessary. There was absolutely no way to keep all of those resources in *print* when it’s so simple (and cheap) to update them online. And books go out of print so much faster than they used to (we had to change almost all of our middle grade science texts because the publishers, as a sales tactic, now issue brand new versions every three or four years). This allows us to be responsible, nimble, and provide the best service we can.
I am waiting for the actual book to come before I comment on that, but I have heard great things. I did purchase the online resource subscription and was really disappointed. I have probably owned at least three of your older versions of the books with the lists included, and while I only checked out some high school resources under the subscription, I was very underwhelmed. People are better off looking at the tagged threads in the high school forum that are free. I 100 percent support the decision to separate the resources. I would just like to see more options listed for the annual fee.
At the same time, from a practical standpoint, if you look at the WTM as a process and a method, then it really doesn’t matter which edition you have. Check it out from your library, buy an older one, purchase the subscription for recommendations. If you understand HOW to homeschool in this manner, then you can evaluate the materials from your own standpoint. 👌🏼
I support this change 100%. I remember the early years when you begged Norton (in vain) not to have to include the resources because of maintainability.
Don’t undervalue and underprice your work. You have YEARS of expertise. That has immense value. Sure cost a lot less than a private school education.
I absolutely love the new book. It is well worth the price. I love how you not only tell us what the students need to learn, and when to teach it, you teach us HOW to teach it. I love your examples in each section! Your How to Outline section is amazing, as is your section on Logic. I haven't read it through as of yet, but I have made so many notes and have quite a few tabs in the book already. This is probably the best book on education I have ever read. This is my 28th year of homeschooling, so that is saying something. 🙂
well said Susan Wise Bauer - the option to get the updated resources makes up for any inconvenience and increased cost. It is a truism that homeschoolers don't often understand the cost of writing and publishing.
Susan Wise Bauer Do you have plans to include some out of print titles that might be available in libraries or used bookstores?
While I'd hate to create another grail quest for a discontinued history encyclopedia, I also hate that people feel only the newest releases cabooklist.
Our first couple years homeschooling were outside the US, and the history books we could get tended to be older British books. They were amazing resources, but didn't appear on American homeschool booklists.
Although many publishers choose to update frequently, I would like to suggest including older texts in the resource list - even if they are out of print. Publishers are making it so expensive to buy new editions, so I know many families that are opting for older editions. Some maybe hard to find, but it is still possible to find old editions.
I bought every single edition in the 20 years I homeschooled. Well worth every penny I spent. My, now college educated engineers, have the education and careers proving that it was worth it. Thank you for keeping the price as low as possible, but also for working so hard to support the homeschool community.
This all makes perfect sense. Thank you for taking the time to offer such a thorough and lucid explanation (as well as going to bat for your followers against Big Textbook & Distributor).
THANK YOU! I appreciate your transparency. Thank you for all that you pour into the homeschooling community! Thank you for making quality materials accessible for all. Thank you for providing a space where I, being a homeschooling family of color, have always felt seen and welcome. My "why" when embarking on this journey was very clear. You and your friend Julie B (as she's affectionately referred to in our house) helped me find my "how" and I'm forever grateful for both of your platforms.💕💕💕
* edit- ignore me, just needed to scroll a bit more to your older post to find my answers 😣 What's the number of the new edition, and the best place to buy it? I want a physical copy. Thank you!
I have the original edition, from around nine years ago, and things became outdated fast. I knew you would have to create another one and do it differently. This should not be unexpected, and it’s the best way to stay current. The amount of time I would save if you did the work of researching curricula for me, because I trust most of your suggestions, is well worth the money. 👍
Thanks for continuing to serve us classical educators — and for the explanation. A continuously updating website sounds like a great plan. You have served our family since 2001 and we are now educating our last child still at home. We are forever grateful.
You make me wish my kids were small so I could do it all over again! I kinda want to pay the 12.95 just to see what's new and valued by you. That has value! You have value. I appreciate so much all the hard work that has gone into your book over the years. My original TWTM will have a place on my shelf forever!
Thanks for taking the time to explain, it’s nice to know what it’s like behind the scenes!
Love the new book, worth every penny.
A clear explanation - thank you!
Previous editions were invaluable resource- we aren’t home educating any longer and will still purchase this new edition as we navigate final year of public high-school.
Susan Wise Bauer, I appreciate having the resource list online. Times have changed and are a'changin'! I also appreciate that the WTM website allows us to make recommendations - I hope mine got forwarded to you!
For $39.95, I have a guide that helps me map out my children's education from K - 12. For $12.95 - $1/month - I have access to all the resources I need to implement that plan without having to do all the research myself. Sounds like a very good deal to me. Thank you for all your work to keep the price as low as possible, but I think it is well worth the price.
Excellent post
$12.95 is an amazingly low price, considering all that you have access to! I would've expected more like $29.95 for a year of access. Appreciate you and your team for providing these!
Love, love, LOVE this episode with my friend Julie Bogart. We talk about two very different ways of teaching writing. One of them will be better for your kid--but which one?
We also dish on some home school conference happenings (as a bonus!)
Listen on Youtube or wherever you follow your favorite podcasts.
I just finished listening to this and I was so impressed by your thoughtful conversation. I went into the topic thinking I had a preferred product and position on writing, but now I’m reconsidering everything. It was probably my favorite episode of the show to date.
