Elevate your content, and create engaging learning materials for your students.
This ensures your goals as an author are in line with our capabilities.
Fill out the following form and we'll get in touch with you to schedule a discovery session.
Following the discovery session, we’ll determine whether Great River Learning is a good fit for your project. If so, we’ll
If the answer is “yes,” we’ll both sign-off on the blueprint and start development.
Once our agreement is in place, we’ll hold a 60–90 minute meeting led by one of our instructional designers—we call them Project Development Coordinators.
The planning meeting has three parts:
1. Brainstorming – We’ll talk through your course goals and vision. Are we building supplemental or stand-alone material? Just for your school or potentially a broader audience? You can share what’s already working well and any ideas you’ve wanted to try. We’ll also bring insights and examples from past projects so you’re not starting from scratch.
2. Instructional Design – This is where we shape the student experience. I like to think of it as listing the “ingredients” for a typical topic or chapter. We’ll definitely include reading and images, but do we also want to add videos, practice questions, interactive exercises, or mini-simulations?
3. Editorial Schedule – Finally, we’ll map out the work. Together, we’ll look at what content already exists, what needs to be developed, and who’s doing what. Then we’ll build a schedule that fits your workload and your life, so it feels manageable from the start.
Before we wrap, we’ll also confirm that the student price and your compensation make sense. By the end of this meeting, you’ll have a clear project blueprint to review and approve.
After the planning meeting, we’ll create a blueprint that captures the project’s vision, content, and direction.
You review and sign off to confirm it reflects exactly what you want.
Only then do we both decide if it makes sense to officially move forward.
Once we have enough content, the Project Editor will present a chapter prototype to ensure we are all on the same page with organization and aesthetics. You'll also have the ability to program new functionalities during this phase.
Once we’re aligned, the same Project Development Coordinator who led your planning meeting becomes your main point of contact.
Their role is to bring your vision to life while keeping the process smooth and supportive. They'll:
Work with you on content organization, activities, questions, and videos.
Handle editing, permissions, and interactive development behind the scenes so you can stay focused on teaching.
Once we have about two chapters of content, we’ll build a prototype so you can see the look, feel, and structure of the project. That way, we can make adjustments early before the rest of the content is built.
From web designers and copy editors to programmers and developers, consider our team your team throughout the process.
Project Development Coordinators (PDCs) focus their attention on broader development oversight and ensuring projects launch on time. This includes monitoring submissions of content, offering advice to the author(s) as appropriate, and facilitating any necessary (mid-stream) adjustments to the project’s short-term scope.
Project Editors (PEs) focus on the development of new projects. They work with our entire editorial team to facilitate copyediting, permission clearance, and the development of interactive exercises. Once enough content has been submitted, Project Editors present a chapter prototype to ensure we are all on the same page with organization and aesthetics.
Web Designers shape the overall design of the publication- enhancing each project’s aesthetics while maximizing usability. They also work to weave various multimedia objects (images, videos, animations, and interactive exercises) into the fabric of the narrative. Web Designers run internal accessibility audits to ensure all GRL publications meet the stringent accessibility standards as outlined in the WCAG.
Permissions Editors facilitate permission clearance of any copyrighted material for each project, as well as negotiate any applicable usage fees.
Copy editing services guarantee professional-level delivery and management of original content.
As development continues, we’ll check in regularly to make sure you have what you need.
When the first edition is ready, we'll:
Handle launch logistics, instructor training, and student access through inclusive access, the campus bookstore, or our e-commerce platform.
Encourage student feedback so we can learn what’s working well and where we might improve.
You’ll always make the final decisions about what’s best for your course. Our role is to bring you ideas, handle the heavy lifting, and make the process feel supported and manageable every step of the way.
Developing and using the ebook has changed my teaching. The comments on end of semester evals say that students are engaging with and using the book. Previous comments about traditional texts said things like "not necessary to buy text" or "never used book". "
Julie Campbell
Author of The Adolescent Human Illinois State University