Where Jackson’s guide touched on personal themes, Zaroulis’ stuck with the practical. Subjects included “choosing a topic, formulating a question, and directly answering the question,” she says. Rather than interviewing reluctant college administrators, she was able to talk to some of her own teachers at the Groton school.
Both authors were paid a lump sum for each draft of their work, and will receive royalties on each book sold. The glossy, five-by-seven handbooks sell for $6.95 each.
But neither plans to get rich off their work. Jackson said her motivation was just to “get published.” Zaroulis simply wanted something to do during her year off between high school and college.
“You do a whole lot of work to get your name out there,” Jackson says.
—Staff writer Lisa M. Puskarcik can be reached at puskarc@fas.harvard.edu.