Writing a Book: Lessons Learned

Back in March of this year I was presented with an opportunity I've always wanted — being able to write a book. I'm your generic case of someone who wants all of the non-existent fame of writing a technology book made for a niche market of readers. Rockstar status, indeed!

Like so many, the narcissistic side of having your name as the author of a dead tree is still just so cool. Further, I've always considered myself a decent writer and thought, "yeah, I could totally knock out writing a book in a few hours!" — dumb ass.

The only equivalence I can give you is the process of building curriculum for teaching a class. I've had the opportunity to build a couple of collegiate courses and was struck at just how arduous of a process it really is, especially when involving a technical context. The pedanticism that is involved to make sure you not only understand your own material fully but also can explain it in a way that's palatable to many skill levels really, really changes what you think about the teachers you once had.

Luckily, I chose to write a book on a topic that wasn't too deep-in-the-weeds regarding technical content and also a short publication. These two items have been key in me keeping my sanity and not feeling like I was drowning in my deadline.

I can imagine, however, many people get really behind writing their first book because it seems like it should be going faster than it really is. While I could write you 20 pages on many different technology topics in a few hours at a coffee shop, it took me about 2 hours to write my first few pages for the book.

Quality takes on a whole new meaning when you write a book. That's not to say I wrote better than normal, but that I considered what I was saying more intently. I agonized over word selection, even when it may have not made much of a difference. This is just what happens when you go, "holy crap, someone may actually read this!"

In the end, my parting thoughts are these:

• You can't write a chapter as quickly as you could write a college paper
• No matter how well you write, be sure to get a few reviewers you trust
• Pick a subject for your first book that isn't too intense to start with
• Keep in mind your audience: every day; every page; every sentence
• Pick a publisher that's responsive and gives you space to just write
• This is probably just a cool life experience, and not a career move

I'm very sure everyone's book writing experience is a very unique, emotional, stressful journey. Mine? It's not quite over yet but I see the light at the end of the tunnel and am super excited to see the final result.