What would I do differently
about writing a book?

​Dear Reader,​

With my book, Real Progress, now being out in the world for two weeks, I thought it was time to share some reflections on the book journey.

What I would do differently

Create more uninterrupted writing stretches. Every time I had three or more meeting- and preparation-free workdays to write, I was surprised by the amount of progress I could create from the deep, continued focus. Especially the late phase of connecting the different chapters could have been sped up by more sequential focus days.

Spend less time on cover iterations. I got distracted by the "science" shared by famous authors on how to approach cover design to stand out in bookstores. After all, my book wouldn't have to compete against other books on a shelf, but "simply" appeal to my core audience, carry my recognizable visual style, and fit the title. I started too early on the cover design and let the idea of finding a "better" cover through iteration go too late.

Find a way to start marketing earlier. In my current setup, I couldn't simultaneously triple-track consulting, writing, and marketing the book. This led to a delay on my end in terms of only getting all the podcast interviews, webinars, and guest posts lined up (which only starts to happen now). For someone like me, who enjoys the marketing side, this was particularly painful since it created a delay in marketing the book beyond my existing audience and provided an opportunity for further learning from this type of work.

What I would do again

Partner with an editor. Lauren, my partner in crime for all things writing-related, was invaluable in guiding me through this process. Simply having a monthly check-in on where I stood helped me stay focused on the next chunk of work instead of falling prey to shiny object syndrome. Besides that, and her editorial magic in teasing out absolute clarity and consistency, her emotional support immensely helped me navigate several moments of doubt.

Work directly with an experienced book layout expert. Instead of working with an integrated agency to set up the book layout, I opted to work directly with an expert. Jennifer was excellent to work with, and it was great to know that she would figure out all the quirks and proactively resolve design issues with Giulia, my brand designer. While this also created some project management and bottleneck pains on my end, I prefer working with entrepreneurial humans directly.

Take my time. One might be able to crank out a book in a given number of months, but I am glad that I bided my time. To me, it felt as if the book's content needed to marinade. After putting an idea down, I wanted to test it with clients, revisit it, tweak it, and then decide what stayed. I feel that a shorter timeframe would have forced my hand on what to put in the book much too soon.

Collect chapter-by-chapter for feedback. This incremental "shipping" of beta versions of the book was not only essential in providing opportunities to improve each chapter's content incrementally, but also in allowing for ongoing feedback. The earlier feedback was also much more motivating from a psychological perspective.

To get your copy, visit your local Amazon marketplace

🇩🇪 Amazon Germany, Austria, and Switzerland​

🇬🇧 Amazon UK​

🇺🇸 Amazon US​

🇫🇷 Amazon France​

🇳🇱 Amazon Netherlands​

🇨🇦 Amazon Canada​

🇦🇺 Amazon Australia​

🇮🇹 Amazon Italy​

🇵🇱 Amazon Poland​

🇮🇳 Amazon India​

🇧🇷 Amazon Brazil​

Thank you for Practicing Product,

​Tim​

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