Comments on: What I Wish I Had Known About Writing A Book

By: Links for Super-Charged Living - April 12, 2008 | My Super-Charged Life

Links for Super-Charged Living - April 12, 2008 | My Super-Charged Life — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:07:41 +0000

[...] How I Made $10,000 From My Blog in One Day! Five Lessons From Newspapers to Boost Your Blog’s Circulation What I Wish I Had Known About Writing A Book [...]

By: Cameron Schaefer

Cameron Schaefer — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:15:52 +0000

@ Catharine,
Great point, there really are two types of writing…well, there are lots of types, but those two seem to summarize most. Stories are indeed key…amazing how timeless the art of storytelling really is.

@ Ephrem and Robert,
So glad you liked the post and got something out of it. Appreciate your support and know Glenn does as well!

@ Mark,
A good story is always a sure fire way to capture someone’s attention. I agree, it’s a precious commodity with how much “noise” there is in all of our lives.

@ Lexi,
That’s awesome that you got a book published. It is quite an accomplishment. Seems like leaping in is standard for people who want to really live life fully.

Cameron

By: Lexi of Creative Energies

Lexi of Creative Energies — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:13:58 +0000

Excellent article. I can relate to the trials of doing a book for a major publisher and the learning curve involved, although my book on how to paint flowers in acrylics is very different from the form of writing he discussed. Some things are learned by leaping in over your head and treading water.

By: Robert | reason4smile

Robert | reason4smile — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:16:54 +0000

Really a great article. Thanks for sharing this. I have a dream on writing a book, I believe this will be very very useful…
Robert

By: Mark McCullagh

Mark McCullagh — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:06:15 +0000

Great post Cameron. I was thinking about that old saying, “Inside everyone, there lies a best-seller.” Or something like that.

As bloggers (and marketers) I think it is important to remember that people love a good story and this is the best way to capture that all-too precious commodity – ATTENTION!

By: Ephrem

Ephrem — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:45:03 +0000

Very insightful and straight to the point post for anyone who wants to write a book, including experienced writers. Thanks for sharing these ideas.

By: Catharine de Wet

Catharine de Wet — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:23:10 +0000

I have read Glenn’s book and he has done what he explains here very well.

Being in academe, I have come to realize that there are two kinds of academic writing – the hard core research stuff for research and professional journals, and the more accessible, practitioner based information. Both are necessary, but if you want to spread your knowledge to the widest audience possible, stories are essential. Even we dry academics love stories!

Great post!

By: J.D. Meier

J.D. Meier — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:18:49 +0000

Nice distillation Glenn!

I particularly like your point on slowing down and telling stories. When I joined my current group some years ago, I had to learn to be brief, be bright, be gone. I learned to compress information and strip out any stories to “just the facts.”

This was effective for technical information, but not for presentations or motivating change. Win the heart, the mind follows. You win the heart through emotional picture words, metaphores, stories, … etc. This is true for presenting, writing and everyday dialogue.

The other key lesson I learned was how to factor reference information from action. This helps turn insights into actions. I wrote some of the lessons I learned building books at http://blogs.msdn.com/jmeier/archive/2007/12/24/building-books-in-patterns-amp-practices.aspx.

By: Cameron Schaefer

Cameron Schaefer — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:30:05 +0000

@Ankesh,
Great point, I would imagine that scenario happens quite often so it’s good to be prepared beforehand. Sometimes if you want to do something right you have to do it yourself.

@Ruth and Garry,
So glad that both of you enjoyed the post and got something out of it. Glenn has a great way of taking complex ideas and making them manageable. Hope these tips help you in your writing journeys.

@Rob,
Excellent point about the nature of writing. Even in the short time I’ve been writing for this blog I’ve noticed that my style, methods, etc. have constantly been evolving, shifting and growing. It’s what makes writing such a ferocious animal.

@ Evelyn,
Your unique story is what connects you with readers. That is something I’m constantly struggling with when I write for this blog. It’s easy to list a bunch of pithy comments and points…much harder to share a story that captivates the reader and actually takes them on a journey.

-Cameron

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:14:14 +0000

Wow Cameron and Glenn,

This is a really great post. I’ve been wondering myself what it takes to become a best selling author. Guess it all boils down to telling your UNIQUE story and being able to connect with the crowd through it!

Much thanks,
Evelyn