Writing a book is hard. Seriously. I always knew it would be a lot of work, but not only is it a lot of work, but it’s hard work!
That said, I feel like in many ways I’ve passed through a plateau. I feel ready to start thinking about my next book. I’ve had several offers come my way, all of which I’ve turned down until I’ve delivered this first one on blogging to McGraw-Hill.
The ideas that have floated to the top of my mind for my next book are:
- Time & Task Management: Marc Orchant and I have been working feverishly on our first Microsoft course on this topic. Our first one (for Microsoft Learning) was so good that we’ve been tasked with developing the internal course on the subject. We’re thinking of maybe, possibly, doing a book afterwards from the perspective of “practical” time management.
- Internal Blogs: My current book is very externally focused. Sure, it talks about internal blogs, but really it’s as a sidenote. There are so many things to cover externally, that doing so will take more than one book. So, I’ve considered doing a follow-on book about internal blogging. Ideally it’d be heavily case study driven.
- Blogs for Churches: Some people may not be aware (based on this blog), but I’m a very, very spiritual person. I was a youth pastor for a while, and for nearly 5 years I was in charge of IT for a large church. The opportunities for churches and other NPO’s to use blogs is huge. And it’s one that I’d like to explore sometime. Maybe a book is the right place to do that.
That’s it for now.
What do you think?
May 24th, 2005 at 11:27 am
Pickle Jar: The Book
May 24th, 2005 at 2:19 pm
Well, I think all three books are a good idea even though I have a bias toward the church Blog book, I would buy a book on time management in a hurry. It is great to write your passion, to bad we have to also think about the market!
May 24th, 2005 at 2:48 pm
I started writing a book in my spare time a few years ago (like, I hadn’t signed with anyone yet, was mainly making it for a few friends to read through), and it was a LOT more difficult than I thought. I ended up giving up…
May 24th, 2005 at 6:10 pm
1. Been done to death.
2. Sounds the best.
3. Limited material I would think.
May 24th, 2005 at 6:41 pm
Jeremy, I think great minds think alike. Last Wednesday at our local business expo, I had a conversation with a local Pastor about building and promoting his new church and I told him…
Do the usual, but start a blog and keep it updated daily. Use it as a tool for communication with the body. Utilize the ease of updating to “talk” to them every day about what is on your heart.
I think #3 is a great idea. Go for it…
May 24th, 2005 at 7:54 pm
Mike’s editorial comment aside, you and I both know that the approach to time and task management we’ve been developing hasn’t been done “to death” and seems to be resonating with our reviewers. I hope it stays number one on your list ;^)
June 29th, 2005 at 6:02 am
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