Other useful bits
On writing
A short series of useful interviews
I’ve started a company, climbed a mountain (Lantau Peak in Hong Kong) and moved house 18 times, but writing a book was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process – good and bad things!
Bad things =
- I have the attention span of…what’s that on Instagram?
- I even invented something I’m calling ‘productive procrastination’. My procrastination was so great I painted my living room and even started another business.
- I want to include every thought, every piece of research, every interesting citation, but have learned you don’t always have to do that. Curation is key.
Good things =
- I’ve discovered I have more perseverance than I ever imagined
- I’m able to gather groups of people to inspire them in a shared goal project (thank you again, book reviewers!)
- I CAN string a sentence together – who knew?
- And that I do thoroughly enjoy writing 🙂
During the process of writing, I looked online and spoke to colleagues about guidelines/advice on writing non-fiction. There’s a ton of info on writing fiction and novels, but much less on non-fiction text book writing. So it got me thinking about sharing advice on non-fiction writing from authors I know, to help others who want to write a book. So if you’re a budding author, check out these interviews with two great authors and a video from me answering your writing questions.
Me, talking about the writing process and more.
Some colleagues asked me for tips on writing a book after I released mine in November last year. Here’s a video to share the answers. I also got some questions from social media, which I read out during the chat.
I’ll be talking about motivation, finding/making the time, the process of writing, the pro’s and con’s of writing self published VS with a publisher, the importance of allies, and much more! (45 mins)
Interview with Bob Lederer, author of Beyond Broadway Joe.
Bob Lederer, market research professional and pundit for all research and insight related news with his YouTube channel RFL Online, has recently released a new book called Beyond Broadway Joe – a book of interviews with the American football players that weren’t in the limelight (at the time) of the famous New York Jets team victory in 1969. This book, and Bob’s interview below, is a lesson in interviewing with empathy and transcribing – something all researchers will do in their careers.
In the interview, I talk to Bob about his process of writing, how he approached the interviewees that made his book so special, and he also shares tips for new authors. (51 minutes)
To buy Beyond Broadway Joe (and it’s a great read, even if you’re not an American Football fan) visit the companion website here or Amazon here.
Interview with Ray Poynter, author of the Handbook of Mobile Research and more.
Ray Poynter, market research veteran and author, shares his writing experiences and tips in this interview (13 minutes)
Ray is the author of The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research & The Handbook of Mobile Market Research, the editor of ESOMAR’s book Answers to Contemporary Market Research Questions, a content author for the Univerisity of Georgia’s Principles of Market Research course, and the founder of NewMR.
To buy Ray Poynter’s solo and co-authored books, visit his Amazon author profile here.