Writing your first book

About a year ago I was offered the amazing opportunity of writing my first technical book, relating to a Cyber Security certification. I was so excited but at the same time intimated that I wouldn’t be able to deliver and cope with the challenge. But I accepted it and learnt valuable lessons throughout it..

Initial project scoping discussion

First of all, I had an initial chat with my editor to ensure I understood the expectations and start working on a chapter delivery schedule. There were some very tough deadlines set forth, which allowed me about 5 months in total from the moment I started writing until when I had to deliver my last chapter. You should put some real thought in this because your time frames guide the whole project. If you are late and can’t deliver on time, nothing can actually move forward since everything depends on you. Plan your time carefully and try to anticipate minor things that might skew your plan. For example, I knew I might have to deliver some training courses within the upcoming weeks so I tried accounting for that without overly committing on my chapter deliveries, even if those courses would never materialise. Anticipation is key to timely delivery.

Starting to write

I think the most important thing here was to constantly put myself in the shoes of the reader. Every time I was describing a concept, I was thinking “does it make sense to someone else reading it for the first time”? If I was reading this, would I need it to be explained in more detail or include a diagram or some figure to enhance understanding? At first, I felt like those writers in the movies, where you see people writing a sentence and then tearing the page out (luckily using a laptop saves a lot of trees!). It really doesn’t matter what your book’s topic is. If it’s fantasy and you are guiding your reader through a parallel universe with white rabbits, try to picture it from their side and see to it that they get the feeling you are trying to convey.

Adding hints and tips for readers

I tried adding as many things I could think of about how to read the book efficiently and become prepared for the associated exam. I included tips on how to approach the questions, break down the problems and advice on how to identify distractors (potential answers only placed there to distract you as they don’t really relate to the correct answer). I also tried making the questions as practical as possible and always guided my readers to try and make connections using industry examples, especially from things they encounter every day at work. I included different levels of questions, ranging from fairly straight forward to more challenging ones. That way, people could get a sense of what was more difficult for them to answer so they had an opportunity to go back and review the related content again. Finally, I ensured I advised they don’t spend time on things they don’t know or can’t remember during an exam. Instead, it would be best to move on to answering things they knew and then come back to those other questions that made it harder for them (which of course is something that depends on the style of the exam and is sadly not possible for all of them).

Don’t review or write if you are tired or just don’t feel like it

This is not an excuse for you not to write. However, writing is a very creative process. And it’s so much fun. But although you might enjoy it quite a lot, sometimes you might be too tired to think, let alone write. It’s really important to accept that and try to take a break or just do this the next day. It just depends on how tired you are or how much of a foul mood you are in. If you keep at it, you will end-up making mistakes that you won’t even know about. You might be busy or working on your deadline and telling you to take a rain check on that chapter’s delivery is not what you want to hear. Trust me, it’s important. Especially if something you write slips by your technical reviewer as well as yourself. It will end up getting printed and then you won’t be able to rectify anything. At best, you might end up spending so much time finding your mistake and correcting it, which is usually more time than what you would have spent if you were in what I call “a writing mood” (for me that usually starts with an oat meal cappuccino and plugging in my laptop to two external monitors to start writing).. Find what works for you. I like listening to Jazz music while I write.. Others like it being totally quiet. Some people prefer a view.. If you are not sure, you’re in luck.. The world is your oyster..

Reading chapters again and again

I think I reached a point where I couldn’t even read my own chapters for one more time. I must have read all of them at least 14–15 times before submitting them for final publication. Even if your book is 300 pages, that makes a total of 4,500 pages after reading all of it for about 15 times. Bottom line: You bet I would do it again. It’s really important not to miss out on anything. It’s not only about a typo that a copy editor may or may not find. It’s about your writing style, conveying the concepts clearly, being accurate at all times (something which is very hard to do when you are writing a technical book) and lastly, always ask yourself upon finishing a chapter “If I had a chance to write this all over, would I have done it differently?”. If the answer is “yes”, then go back and do it. Your readers will appreciate it. You will feel great by knowing you did you very best to help everyone enjoy your book.

Final Thoughts

I don’t think I have ever felt prouder in my life than when I received a box with the first copies of my book.. I was overwhelmed. It was like 10 Christmas’ in one. It’s not about making money or anything like that, it’s about enjoying every minute you spend writing that book and distilling your thoughts which you are sharing with everyone. I also made sure to add my contact details so readers could keep in touch with things they like or don’t like about my book. After all, it’s about them so I definitely want to get better. The publishing house realised how passionate I am about writing and they asked me to write a second book, before the first one even finished. I couldn’t be happier. You know when you hear people using cliches and think about how lame they are.. Well, at the risk of sounding like that, writing a book is definitely all about the journey… Enjoy every minute.