Practice makes perfect! Show your class the benefits of creating a draft of their story and self-editing their work. The kit pages should be used for their final draft.

Each child gets two pages: a lined one for writing and a blank for their drawing. There are instructions on the left border or on the back of your kit pages which will instruct you how to distribute the pages to your class.

Please be sure to write on one side only to avoid colours bleeding through the page.

We offer replacement materials for everything in your publishing kit. Simply print them off. We recommend printing kit pages on good quality paper (we use 100gsm paper). Be sure to write the page number on all replacement pages. Tippex can be used on mistakes, but we recommend using it sparingly, as it can create ‘shadows’ in the finished book.

To get the best results, we recommend writing with black pen and drawing with markers to ensure your students’ work is vibrantly shown in your published book. Where pen and markers are not suitable for your students, you can use pencil or colouring pencils, however the colours will show up a little fainter in the published book. Please do NOT use crayons, Crayola Twistables, paint, or glitter.

Your students can also type their work! If your whole book will be typed, you can provide us with one word document. If you plan on using a mix of typed, handwritten, or hand-drawn pages, please print out the typed pages and include them in the envelope when you submit your manuscript for publishing.

It is important that your books pages are numbered as it ensures that no pages in your book are missed during the scanning and printing process. Page numbers can be typed or handwritten.

You can include as many photos as you would d like in your book! We recommend using good quality photos. You can either print them on the kit pages, or use Pritt Stick to affix physical photos to the kit pages. We do not recommend using Sellotape to affix your photos.

The publishing kit contains two pages per student for a class of 32 students. If you have a larger class than this, please contact us at info@ourclassbook.ie and we will advise you on how to proceed.

Some schools choose to do school-wide books, or group classes together into one large book. Please email us at info@ourclassbook.ie to learn about this service.

You can select a submission date that suits your needs. Should you wish to adjust it, simply visit our site, provide your Order Number, and pick a new date. Your Order Number can be located on the back of your publishing kit or an email from OurClassBook relating to your order. Contact us if you need help finding it. Note: System updates might take up to two working days

Send home the Parent Order Forms included in your kit 2–3 weeks ahead of your submission date. Have your class write your Book ID on the order forms so that parents can pre-order their copy of your special book on our website.

You can find your Book ID on the back of your kit envelope or in a recent email from us. Make sure parents order before we receive your class’ work for publishing so they can avail of the discounted pre-order price!

* The programme is free for schools to take part and only requires a minimum order of one book to publish. We also include one free classroom copy of the book as a thank you to the class teacher for publishing with us.

There are several options:

• Parents can pay directly through our website. At the end of the publication process, we will send you a list of the parents who have purchased the book for the teacher (the list includes the parent’s name, the student’s name, and the number and format of copies purchased).
• The school may also make the purchase independently by cheque (made payable to CJ Fallon) or by bank transfer using the below banking details: 

Company name: CJ Fallon 

Account number: 13980757  

Sort code: 902127 

Bank Address: Bank of Ireland, 1 Donegall Square, Belfast, BT1 5LR, United Kingdom. 

If paying by bank transfer, please include the following payment reference: OCB- 

*If the school decides to purchase using one of the last two methods, it must inform us during the publication process and we will send you the corresponding invoice. 

Review the Publishing Checklist included in your kit and ensure you’ve completed all the steps. Then, pack the students’ pages (face-up and sequential) in the provided envelope. Postage is on us – simply use the included returns label. If you need another return label, simply email us at info@www.ourclassbook.co.uk.

Ensure you post off your package one week before the submission date.

We recommend posting your manuscript to us one week before your Submission Date. Before you do, there are a few steps things that need to be done:

1. Activate Your Kit.

As soon as you receive this publishing kit, please activate it! It only takes a moment. www.ourclassbook.com/activate/

2. Tell the Parents the Good News!

Send home the Parent Order Forms included in your kit 2–3 weeks ahead of your submission date. Have your class write your Book ID on the order forms so that parents can pre-order their copy of your special book on our website.

You can find your Book ID on the back of your kit envelope or in a recent email from us. Make sure parents order before we receive your class’ work for publishing so they can avail of the discounted pre-order price!

3. Finalise your order.

Once you have completed your manuscript, you can finalise your order by going to www.ourclassbook.com/finalise/

Here you will tell us everything we need to know about your classbook. If you are doing a digital book, this is when we will ask you to upload it for publishing.

4. Pack Up Your Manuscript

• Organise your cover sheet, title and dedication pages, along with your book pages in numbered order, and finally the authors’ page. All pages should be facing upwards.
  It is not necessary to staple pages together or to put them into individual plastic pockets.
• Fill out the white box marked with a star on the back of your kit envelope.
• Send one final reminder home to the parents that now is the last chance to avail of the discounted pricing.
• Put the envelope in your box, affix your pre-paid returns label to the package and drop it off at your local post office one week before your submission date. If you need a new returns label, please email info@ourclassbook.co.uk.

If you have any further questions, see our FAQs page, or contact us at info@ourclassbook.co.uk.