By Rebecca Kellogg
A new press is publishing a series of how-to books by students for students.
Called 'Students Helping Students,' the series is a product of Natavi Guides, founded in New York last September by wife-and-husband team Nataly Kogan and Avi Spivak. Kogan is President and Spivack is Managing Editor.
'Our first five titles have only been released for a month or so, and bookstores all around the U.S. and Canada, including college stores and college store operators, have begun to place considerable orders,' said Kogan.
The press has met with widespread favorable response, Kogan said, 'But most importantly, we''ve received some great feedback from students who''ve had a chance to read the guides.'
The idea to form Natavi Guides came from a school experience of Kogan''s.
'When I graduated from Wesleyan, I wrote a short paper for fellow students on how to approach their senior thesis,' Kogan said. 'I''d slaved over mine and thought that I''d learned some strategies that I could share. Many students used my little guide and encouraged me to publish it. I always believed in the idea of peer student learning, and this winter we decided to make the idea happen.'
Each Natavi Guide is written and edited entirely by current and recent college students.
'We don''t have a particular geographic focus,' Kogan said. 'Most of our student authors and contributors have tended to come from the Northeast so far, but we expect to recruit contributors from a wider area for our future titles.'
The Chicago-based Independent Publishers Group (IPG) distributes the books.
'National distributors like that rarely take on completely untested publishers, but they believed in our vision and took us on,' Kogan said.
The guides retail at $6.95 apiece.
Michael Gallant, 22, a senior majoring in anthropology at Columbia University wrote 'Getting the Most from Study Abroad,' published this fall by Natavi Guides.
Gallant said it took him about 7 months from signing the contract to turning in the final draft.
'It was pretty intense,' he said. 'I interviewed tons of people and spent a lot of time working and reworking every section of the book until everything felt right.'
Natavi Guides provided plenty of editorial assistance.
'It was a bit of a shock getting back the first round of editorial comments and finding what I thought were so many changes, but that''s pretty much par for the course,' Gallant said. 'We were able to get a final draft we were all proud of.'
Gallant said writing a book is a big commitment.
'It takes a lot of focus to put months of work into a single project, but it''s absolutely worth it,' he said. 'It feels amazing to see your words in print.'
Gallant said in writing his book he drew on his experience during a semester abroad in Australia.
'I put a lot of thought into exactly why it was such a positive, life-changing experience for me,' he said. 'I''ve also talked to lots of other students, as well as study abroad advisors, and found out what''s worked for them. I''m not an expert in that I really don''t know the best things to do in each country, or the right way to behave in every situation, but that''s not really what I was going for. What I do have is lots of good, solid advice, ways of approaching the experience that helped me and other students get the most out of time abroad.'
Students who write for Natavi Guides are compensated for their work in various ways, depending on the extent of their involvement.
'Primary authors of the books get paid for their efforts, both an upfront flat payment, which varies depending on the length of the book, and royalties from the book''s sales,' said Sara Hoerdeman, publicity associate for IPG. 'They are also credited as the primary author within the front pages of the book.'
The 10 to 30 secondary authors contribute anything from a quote or a piece of advice to a short essay. Hoerdeman said students who contribute an essay are credited by name, and other contributors are given an ID tag such as ''Junior History Major from Syracuse University.''
'Contributors are not paid, but they do each receive one free copy of the book with which they were involved,' Hoerdeman said.
Student reviewers receive one free copy of the title they reviewed.
Kogan invited BYU students interested in getting involved with to visit Natavi''s Web site (http://studentshelpingstudents.com) for writer guidelines and current topics.
BYU student Thomas Kohler, 23, a senior from McLean, Virginia, majoring in English, said if he were to write a book for Natavi Guides he would focus his book on how to be happy.
'I think I''d write about keeping a positive mental attitude in the face of opposition,' he said. 'Too many people go through life seeing the world as an enemy and consequently find little joy in it. I would write about how to find joy despite the world''s shortcomings.'
Colleen Whitley, a BYU honors instructor who encourages students to publish, said students who want to write for a national market will have to find common areas they share with the general population.
'We have a rather unusual campus: we aren''t surrounded by bars; we don''t encourage sex in the dorms; most of us attend church,' she said. 'We are like everyone else, however, in adjusting to new roommates, living in a different environment, moving from high school to college, and choosing majors. Upper-class students could discuss internships, getting published, doing research-all of those things apply to any student anywhere.'