Boost any career by writing and publishing books and articles

by Dave Haslett (dave@ideas4writers.co.uk)

Stand out from the crowd and impress your boss and clients by showing them you're the best in the business. Your book proves how great you are!

Imagine that the MD or CEO of your company calls you into his office and on his desk is a copy of a book you've written. Or perhaps it's a copy of his favourite business magazine, opened at this month's main feature - which you wrote.

You might be a salesman, an executive, an engineer, a machinist, a teacher, a secretary, a clerk, or even the tea lady or cleaner. It doesn't matter. Whatever industry you work in and at whatever level, you can significantly enhance your career by using the written word.

If you're self-employed, think about the effect that a book might have on your customers and potential customers. Books enhance your credibility, and people associate you with a higher level of expertise. They'll want to do business with you. And you can charge them more!

So what might your boss want to see you about? We'll assume it's good news and he isn't slating you for ruining his reputation. Promotion? A pay rise? A new project he wants you to lead? An overseas trip? A prestigious event that he wants you to attend on his behalf? A presentation he wants you to give? Or maybe a "Well done, we'll be keeping an eye on you." Whatever it is, one thing is certain: you've been noticed.

If he has a copy of your book then it's likely that other important people in the industry have seen it too - especially if you've sent them all copies! Some very influential people will be keeping a close eye on your career from now on. You might find yourself headhunted, or receive job offers for positions several notches up the corporate ladder. You might find yourself in demand to give speeches or attend functions. And you'll be in a very strong position to promote your company's products or services. If your boss is any good at his job he won't fail to notice this.

You might scoff and say that your boss wouldn't think much of your book and it would do nothing for your career. That may be true. But there are other companies and other bosses. Add your book to your CV or résumé and apply for another job. Perhaps one that you wouldn't normally dream of applying for, let alone getting. And it wouldn't hurt to send a copy of your book to their MD or CEO, along with a note to say that you've applied for whatever job it is.

Even if you intend staying with your current company, send copies of your book to the managers of other companies too. They probably network with your boss and will talk about you. And you might receive some very interesting offers.

But writing a book takes months or even years, doesn't it? And it takes considerable effort and research, and a heck of a lot of knowledge and expertise. You already take work home with you, and you barely have time to feed the cat. How can you possibly write a book? And don't you need an English degree and publishing contacts?

No. Here's what you should do:

1. Choose a niche topic. There are already plenty of books available on every subject, and writing another one of those won't impress the people who matter. Choose a very narrow subject that interests you - perhaps an area that you'd particularly like to work in. Since you're aiming for recognition by people in your own industry, you don't need to worry about selling lots of copies. So if the topic is somewhat obscure and not something that would interest the book-buying public, don't worry about it, that's not the aim here. I recommend choosing a fairly highbrow topic in order to impress. Make sure you really understand it though. If you don't, find someone who does and get him to talk you through it. And get him to check your book before it goes for publishing.

2. You're probably used to brainstorming, and that's an ideal way of getting ideas for your book. Jot down everything you can think of about the subject, and use those ideas as jumping-off points for new ideas. It doesn't matter how outrageous they are - they might lead to something else that becomes the focus of your book. Go through your ideas a day or two later when your mind is fresh. Delete the bad ones, group the rest together, and arrange them into some sort of order. Look for an angle or hook that will become the book's focus. You might need some more ideas to fill in the gaps and make the book flow smoothly. Look at similar books to see how they're structured.

3. Everyone is entitled to a lunch break. Even if you don't leave your desk you can still work on your book or article. Or you can go to another part of the building, your car, the local library, a café, or even the loo. That gives you a few minutes' peace to do some writing. And a few minutes is all you need.

4. Think about what you're going to write before you write it. Prepare a paragraph or so in your head - the exact words and sentences you'll use. You can do this while you're doing other things: working, exercising, showering, commuting, and so on. Once it's all sorted out, just write it down, or record it in some way if you don't have the opportunity to write. Don't write anything more until the next paragraph is fully formed in your mind. No writer's block for you.

5. Try writing in your email program rather than your word processor. It won't look suspicious if you write at your desk, and it has a strange psychological effect that makes writing easier. How often have you started writing a short email to someone and it's turned into a much longer one without you being aware of it? You use email to communicate with people, including your friends, so it's a less intimidating way of writing. The lack of spell checker and page breaks also helps.

You can send the email to yourself at home, print it and delete it without sending it, or paste it into a word processing document. Just be aware that some company mail servers store a copy of every message you send.

6. You don't have to write anything at all. If you're giving a speech, for example, then you've already done all the hard work in preparing it. It might make a great article or a chapter of your book. You just have to capture it. Use a discrete lapel microphone and plug it into a digital voice recorder in your pocket. Some of these recorders are tiny and record for hours - and you don't have to worry about the tape running out. Afterwards you can type it up yourself, get someone else to do it for you - a secretary or admin assistant perhaps, or plug the recorder into your computer and use dictation software such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking to type it for you.

7. Your book doesn't need to contain 100% brand new material. Non-fiction books rarely do. In fact just 5% (about 10 pages) of new or updated material might be perfectly adequate for this exercise - depending on the subject of course. The rest of the book can be copied (from several different sources) then rewritten in your own words to avoid being sued for plagiarism. You're bringing together material from all those different sources, and updating it where necessary, for the reader's convenience. That isn't cheating, that's research. Try to put your own spin on it though, and perhaps add some quotes, anecdotes, observations, personal experiences, and so on. Don't take these from any of the sources you've "borrowed" material from. Make them wholly your own, or told to you at first hand, if possible.

Always remember who your target readers are - the managers and directors you're trying to impress. Write in terms that they'll understand. Remove (or carefully explain) any technical jargon, and describe complicated processes in plain English. You want them to see how clever you are, and if they can't understand a word of it then it won't work. If they tell you they've been trying to get their heads around this subject for years and failed, but now it all makes sense, then you've got it exactly right - and scored extra Brownie points. Use diagrams and photographs if it helps.

8. Get your book or article professionally edited before publishing it. You don't want the slightest error creeping in or it could damage your reputation rather than enhance it. You might know someone who has the relevant skills, but if not, there are plenty of good editors around who can perform the work for a reasonable fee. I can recommend the following:

Jenny Sanders (our own editor)
Website: http://www.i4w2.co.uk

Jacqui Bennett Writers Bureau
Website: http://www.jbwb.co.uk

Also have a look at Stylewriter - software that checks your style and usage. It's far more effective than any word processor's built-in grammar checker, minimises your editing costs, and helps to improve your writing style.
Website: http://www.writersupercenter.com/stylewriter

9. To get your articles published, have a look at the relevant trade and business publications - the ones that will impress the right people if you appear in them. Make sure your article addresses the same readership and adopts exactly the same tone as the magazine. Article length depends on each magazine's requirements. Ask the editor if they have any writers' guidelines. If not, you'll just have to count the number of words in each article by hand and make yours roughly the same. You might need to write a slightly different version for each magazine you send it to.

Only send it to one magazine at a time and allow them at least a month to reply - it would be embarrassing for all concerned if two competing magazines published it at the same time. Try to have several different articles written and circulating at the same time if possible. If one magazine turns it down or doesn't reply, send it to the next one.

Hopefully one of them will publish it - especially if you tell them you don't require payment. Remember, your aim is to get your name into print and make sure the right people see it, so forget about payment for now.

You'll need to submit your article in the correct format. That means double line spacing, a plain font (Times New Roman or Courier, size 10, 11 or 12), and plain white paper typed or printed on one side only. Enclose a one-page covering letter addressed to the editor by name (not "The Editor") and ask if he'd be interested in using it. Tell him a little about why there's a need for the article, why you're the right person to write it, and a little about your qualifications and experience. Enclose an SAE for his reply.

As far as books are concerned, I recommend self-publishing for this exercise, since it gets your book out sooner. It also shows how resourceful you are. Mainstream publishers probably wouldn't be interested in such a niche topic anyway.

Self-publishing is very easy. You can have a few copies printed very cheaply straight from Word documents using a service such as Lulu (http://www.lulu.com). Or you can use a more professional service which includes editing, full layout, cover design, printing, ISBN number and barcode, Amazon listing, BookData registration, and so on. Some companies will even market it, sell it and distribute it for you.

A typical book contains about 250 pages, so that's a good length to aim for.

As well as helping you move up the corporate ladder, you can sell copies of your book by advertising it in trade magazines, setting up a website, and so on.

10. Having chosen your niche and published your book or article, you can easily do it again. Choose another niche and repeat the process. Then do it again. One book or article might have been a fluke, but three makes you a serious writer - and an expert within your industry. The offers should start pouring in now!

I hope you found these tips useful and this article has given you something exciting to think about for the year ahead. Make a resolution now: write a book, write some articles, and see your career blossom!

My book "The Fastest Way to Write Your Book" describes these tips in much more depth and gives you a further 300 tried and tested techniques to help you create ideas, plan and outline your books and articles, research them, write them, edit them and sell them - all in the fastest time possible. For full details please visit: http://www.ideas4writers.co.uk/books

About the author:
Dave Haslett is the founder of ideas4writers, the ideas and inspiration website, and i4w2, the ethical self-publishing service. He is the author of "The Fastest Way to Write Your Book", "The Fastest Way to Get Ideas - 4,400 Essential What Ifs for Writers", and the Date-A-Base Book series which lists hundreds of forthcoming anniversaries for the coming year. For more details visit: http://www.ideas4writers.co.uk

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