Sonia Gill: more books to help more school leaders, without losing a summer to each one

Six to eight weeks of summer mornings

For Sonia Gill, writing a book used to mean setting aside much of the school summer holidays. The founder and director of Heads Up helps school leaders build high-performing cultures. When schools broke up, she had a window to put that experience into words.

First came the chapter plan. Then weeks of writing, repeated edits and another round with an editor. Even with her mornings protected, the work could stretch beyond eight weeks. She had plenty more ideas that could help her clients, but she could not give every summer to another book.

Speaking her ideas, hearing her voice in the manuscript

With Clio, Sonia built her plan in a few hours, then responded to prompts to develop the chapters. In her testimonial, she describes spending around half an hour on an average chapter, rather than half a day.

The human editing made just as strong an impression. Instead of spending days working through repeated edits, she received what she calls “this fantastic manuscript pack that sounded right”. The editing service, she says, “was a dream”.

Sonia estimates that her own contribution took less than a working week in total. That was author time, rather than the full production schedule, but it changed how achievable another book felt.

A story the contributors could recognise

Outstanding Against the Odds brought Sonia together with seven fellow authors to share the experiences of seven schools. Clio and WBR’s human support helped turn that material into a book, published by John Catt.

When one contributing headteacher, Paul, read his chapter, he loved how it captured his school’s journey without making the telling laborious. Sonia passed his response to Kat, WBR’s senior editor. She knew he would say if something was wrong, so his enthusiasm meant a great deal.

The launch felt different, too. Sonia remembers being terrified before her first book came out. This time, she was excited to share the school leaders’ stories. She hosted a successful launch with her co-authors, with WBR’s Georgia and Katherine joining them to celebrate. The joy belonged to the contributors together.

The conversations that continue after the launch

Across her books, Sonia has seen readers get in touch from countries she has never visited. They have found value in her work and want to know how Heads Up can help their own schools. As she puts it, “my books get to help more people than I could”.

The books also travel through the business: into training as support materials, into resources and social posts, and to new contacts who have been referred to Heads Up. A reader can get to know Sonia’s thinking before they ever have a conversation with her team.

Her first book was still working for her more than a decade after publication. With more ideas waiting, and a way to develop them that demands far less of her time, the next book no longer has to cost another summer.

Thinking about a book that supports your expertise and your business? Book a Clarity Call to explore your ideas and the support that would help you bring them to readers.

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