You Say You Want to Write a Book?
It’s an exciting prospect. It’s also a lot of work. Here are some tips for getting started, based on 14 books’ worth of experience.
A seasoned author told me long ago, “It’s an exciting day when you hold the first copy of your first book in your hand.” He was right. It really was a thrill. And it never gets old, no matter how many books I write.
I’ve written fourteen books now. Most of them are about various aspects of software development. The others include books on project management, product design, consulting, a memoir of life lessons, and even a forensic mystery novel titled The Reconstruction. Some of those books were highly successful, others not so much. I’m happy I wrote all of them, for different reasons.
I’ve met many people who said they were writing a book, planned to write a book, hoped to write a book, or (really) wanted to have written a book. Most of them never do.
Most of the people I know who never finished a book didn’t treat it as a project. Writing a book takes a lot of time. I usually spend about six months of significant effort on each one, with additional time devoted to revising, editing, proofreading, and myriad other activities during the publication process. If you’re serious about getting it…
