How Writing a Book is Like Giving a Speech
Last week I checked off a long-time bucket list item. I submitted my first book's manuscript to the printer. The first copies arrived this week. It is hard to explain the feelings when a project the size of this one comes to completion. Mainly, I just wanted a nap. Those last few days were hectic and filled with late nights, early mornings, last-minute edits, and the constant fear that maybe my work wasn't successful. And it may not be. That's not - nor has it ever been - the point.
As I've reflected on what it took to produce the book (co-written with my older brother/best friend), I am struck by the similarity in what it takes to make a great presentation or speech. There are
three things that really jumped out and can be applied to your next communication project (likely even your next email, but we rarely put that much work into our emails!)
Iteration
The first pass is rarely worth using. It's the edited and re-edited version(s) that really pops. Because of the size of this work, it took months of phone calls, emails, and reworking plots, details, and creative ideas. We tossed a lot of stuff (including some of my favorite little snippets!) But it's a better work because we went over it again and again. There were a couple of paragraphs that took hours just by themselves. But again, the final product is worth the effort.
How many times have you changed your next communication? If it's less than three, it's probably not ready!
Need outside help
We are miserable judges of our own efforts. Sometimes we judge low; sometimes we overestimate our abilities. In our case, we knew the message had power based on our discussions with our target audience, but our first effort (see iteration!) did not communicate clearly what we wanted to say. A half dozen early reviewers were gracious enough to tell us the truth. Then there were editors, folks who had walked the path before who gave advice, people who submitted (many unknowingly!) ideas and interesting anecdotes. And probably the most important part of the process was the inspiration of those closest to us - our family and our trusted advisors.
One person deserves a special shout-out. A friend of mine got so excited about the idea he sent me money for the first copy - several YEARS before it was completed! I didn't even think I could write a book, but seeing his crisp bill taped to my desk pushed me to a place I didn't think I could get. This is, interestingly enough, a major theme of the book itself.
Who is pushing you? Are you hanging out with people who are better than you, and can make you better?
Put self on display - feelings (GAP!)
Probably the hardest part of speaking and writing is the fact that it is YOU who is on display. As a first-time author, I don't harbor any realistic hope of having just created an international best-seller. But I'll never know if I don't allow others to read it. Just like a speech, you have to be in front of the audience. And you could fail. But it's the process of review that grows us AND our message to have the impact and influence that we really want.
Try. Get out there and see what the world has to say!
Great book. Great speech. Great meeting. They're an awful lot alike.
And, by the way, the book - 6 Steps Forward, Every Man Matters - has nothing to do with communication. It's a parable: a work of fiction designed to get men to change gracefully through the stages of life. It's available on
www.6stepsforward.com. I'd love to know what you think, even if it's critical. It's already spawned a speaking challenge as well, as we lead a men's retreat this weekend with the material from the book.
Now, onto the next book! I have at least five others I want to write, including at least two about world-class speaking.