I don’t think I’ve yet come down from the high that came about after learning my book proposal for “Online Community Management for Dummies” was accepted by Wiley Publishing. It’s always been my dream to write a book, and people and online communities are my passion.
In my day dreams about writing a number one bestseller, I always picture myself working from dawn to dusk, knocking out chapters in my small home office and truly getting lost in the writing. Because words always come easy for me, especially with my blogging, I imagined it wouldn’t be any different with writing a book.
Enter the rude awakening.
As I worked on my third outline revision, it occurred to me there was an opportunity to share my experience with others, especially those harboring the same illusions, because writing a book, especially a “For Dummies” book, isn’t how I pictured it at all.
It’s not a bad thing, but don’t let the “Dummies” title fool you. These aren’t simple books to write, and they’re not written for simple people.
No vaguery allowed
When I created my original outline it was a simple list of bullet points, following what I felt would be the book’s natural progression. The problem with this is that editors can’t read my mind. So I may know what’s going to happen when I put my vague list of bullets to paper, but my editor hasn’t a clue. Although I want to say, “I know exactly what needs to be said for this and how it should be written, even if it’s not translating well to my outline” my editors need to know I have a concise package of ideas that will sell. The outline process was frustrating, but I totally got it in the end and should the Wiley people wish to entrust me with another title, I’ll have it in the bag.
I think.
Guidelines and rules
All publishers have a set list of guidelines and Wiley, and the Dummies series, are no exception. Now, I’m not going to give away any trade secrets but I can tell you that nothing scared me more than receiving the telephone book-sized zip file filled with guidelines and formatting suggestions.
Ok, well maybe they’re not so much suggestions as they are rules to live by.
I’ll go as far as to say reading and memorizing the guidelines, which is more of a manual than file, really, was almost as challenging as working out the TOC.
Anyone who has ever read a “Dummies” book knows the series follows a specific format. From a reader standpoint it seems easy enough, but for a writer, it’s not so simple. Stopping to remember the rules isn’t always easy for someone who followed other writing rules for most of her career. Plus, I just want to write and sometimes the formatting process slows me down. At the moment I’m wondering if I have enough “tips” or “warnings” or if my chapter will be sent back to rewrite because I have too many lists.
Writing a book brings out my insecure side.
Suits my style
While rules and regulations are a challenge sometimes, the “Dummies” series totally suits my style. The tone is conversational and lends itself well to the same type of sharing I do here. Yeah, I do have to stop and think about what I’m writing – and I do worry I’m not formatting my documents correctly, but my experience with the Wiley editors so far is that they are patient and want me to succeed. As I get all the specific down the words are flowing easier and I’m sure by the time I’m a few chapters into it, it’ll all be second nature.
Though this book is my most challenging writing project yet, adapting to guidelines is something professional writers do and I’m happy and proud to have this experience.
I’m sure I’ll have more experiences to share, thanks for coming along on this journey with me.
