Enjoy this week and see what you need :)
Interview with PMOT author 4- Lindsay Scott
Wow, its been days since I published- this month turned out to be pretty eventful than I had expected.
This is the last interview of the series with the #PMOT author/s and today meet Lindsay Scott, Director of Arras People as she talks about her new venture of co-authoring a book.
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It’s a big milestone to be an author- why
did you decide to be one?
My experience has been quite unique. I was approached by a
publisher at the beginning of 2011 and asked if I wanted to co-edit a handbook
related to the people aspects of project management. The book is called – The
Handbook of People in Project Management – and it’s going to be published in2013.
Initially when I was approached I was surprised as I’ve never written a book
and certainly never edited one before. When I found out that my co-editor was
Dennis Lock (the eminent project management author) I felt a little more
comfortable and decided to go for it. I was looking forward to the challenge of
doing something completely different yet in a field that I felt totally
comfortable within.
Both Dennis and I had complete authority to decide the
structure of the book and we knew that it was going to be a huge book (63
chapters, 800 pages, featuring over 58 different authors!). The book focuses on
the people aspects of project management so we have parts which focus on areas
like leadership, team management, conflict and behavioural skills. With my
experience working and blogging about project management careers and
recruitment I’m contributing to three chapters – on recruitment, pay and
redundancy.
What was your schedule like while working
full time and writing it?
One of the most interesting things about being part of a
commission for a new (and large) book is the schedule and time involved. From
the initial commission through to the book being on the shelf will be over two
years. During that time I’ve been responsible for setting the topics for the
book, approaching authors to write the chapters, reviewing the content and
working with Dennis whilst he edits the chapters. Later on in the schedule we
will look at the overall layout making sure the chapters are aligned, the index
comes together and the overall design.
Fitting in this project alongside a full time job has its
ups and downs. I’m lucky in one respect that I do own and manage my own
business which is in the project management field. I’m working with people that
I already know and reading about subjects that fit into my day to day job
anyway. I tend to work via email and social networking sites so can be in touch
with authors around the world very easily. The downsides are trying to write
the chapters that I’m commissioned to do; there are never enough times in the
day. Other authors also suffer from this as most are current practicing project
managers too. We’re lucky in one respect that we have a long timeline to work
to but I’ve found that project managers work best when they have tight
deadlines so often the writing happens in the evening and weekends. The bottom
line is, if you want to become an author – whether it is a book or just a
chapter – you need to show commitment, manage your time effectively, and create
a space in your schedule when you can be creative.
How different is authoring a book from
blogging?
As I mentioned I’m also authoring three of the chapters
(about 7000 words each) and it has been a great experience switching the style
of writing that I would normally use on the blog (How to Manage a Camel).
In some ways it has been like being back at University creating a thesis. There
has to be a lot of research beforehand, the chapters have to be correctly
structured so they ‘flow’ and I’ve been really lucky to have such a good editor
in Dennis has he is a great writer with an excellent command of the English
language. One of the main differences between writing for the book and writing
for the blog is the use of informal language. With blogging I tend to write as
I speak so there are a lot of localisms, English sayings or slang. When writing
the book these are removed so you really need to be conscious of what your
author “voice” sounds like and make sure the grammar is correct. I’ve learned
an awful lot so far and I’m still learning a lot!
Name a book/incident/person that inspired
you to become an author.
I’d never really given it much serious thought about becoming
an author before this opportunity landed in my lap but I’m a dedicated reader
and love to read about project management. In the future I’d like to write a
full book myself – something that focuses on the career aspects of project
management. Some of the best books I’ve enjoyed over the years include; I have
to include Dennis Lock’s Project Management book it’s a definite guide to project management with so much detail where its
necessary (especially around scheduling and plans). I love the refreshing style
of Peter Taylor’s Lazy PM and he’s done a great job of creating a breath of
fresh air into project management books. Finally I loved Rework from JasonFried and David Hansson simple to read, great ideas and I wish I’d come up with the layout and concept!
You can find the interviews from this series here.
PMOT Author 3- Peter Taylor
The PMOT author series continues and this time we have Peter Taylor.
Turns out, all you have to do is get the first one published and the rest follows. Peter has another coming out in 2012- watch this space.
It’s a big milestone to be an author- why did
you decide to be one?
Having my first book The Lazy Project Manager
published by Infinite Ideas changed my professional life. I had long wanted to
write but never seemed to get the right idea but then I started speaking at
various conferences and after a while I had ambitions to widen my audience and
to get on to the international speaking circuit. It was only once I had a book to
support and promote me that I began to be noticed.
A book lends gravitas and authority to its
author (assuming it's a good book and all the evidence suggests that ‘The Lazy
Project Manager’ is indeed a good book!) It can set agendas. It receives
reviews in trade media that raise the author's profile.
The book has helped me internationally, too. ‘The
Lazy Project Manager’ has been a bestseller on the Amazon Kindle store in the
USA and I've had a huge number of enquiries for speaking gigs and consultancy as
a result (I have presented in New Zealand, Brazil, USA, Germany, Poland,
France, Romania, Sweden, Hungary, Netherlands and many more).
Honestly a book written by you to sell (or give)
to clients is the best piece of marketing collateral you can own.
What are your published works and where can we
find them?
- The Lazy Project Manager (Infinite Ideas)
- The Lazy Winner (Infinite Ideas)
- Leading Successful PMOs (Gower)
- The Art of Laziness (Infinite Ideas)- eBook only
And in 2012 there will be Project Branding (Gower)
and a new ‘Lazy’ book as well.
All books are available on Amazon and through my own website
How long did it take you to write your last
published book?
Well there is the writing then there is the
editing cycle and all of my books have taken a varied time but, as an example,
my current book ‘Project Branding’ has taken about 9 months to put together –
mainly as this is case study based and this requires time to secure case
studies, support and encourage contributors, and in editing the case studies
before weaving them in to a coherent book. As a comparison ‘The Lazy Project
Manager’ was written much faster with the writing and editing process
concluding in less than 3 months.
What was your schedule like while working full
time and writing it?
Again the two books were very different. For
‘The Lazy Project Manager’ I took time off work and wrote solidly for about 9
days to write the first draft. For ‘Project Branding’ is has been a low level
effort in writing for a much longer period and this will be concluded with a
few days ‘tidying up’ over the holiday season to complete this one.
How different is authoring a book from blogging?
Well I have to say that when I do write I often
look again at my blogs and often there are some ideas or material that can be
re-used, in an expanded form of course. But really for a book I like to
‘architect’ the major themes and chapters and then look at the way this flows
and connects in a logical and concise way. Once I have that then I write and,
often, things change as you progress through the writing period but generally
the high level structure is fairly stable. Blogs can, in comparison, be short,
sharp and specific and the next blog can be (in the words of Monty Python)
‘something completely different.
Three things every #PMOT author should know?
Well three pieces of advice I would say to any
aspiring author is:
·
Don’t wait until you have written the book to
try and find a publisher. Do your research on suitable publishers and check out
their requirements for submissions, and start applying.
·
Use your network to get advice and make
connections.
·
Blog – and blog some more. It is great practice
and a wonderful source of ideas.
Is it difficult finding a publisher?
It can be. I have spoken to many people about
this since I released my first book and a lot have not been as lucky as I was.
Actually for this very reason I have collaborated with the publishers of ‘The
Lazy Project Manager’ and ‘The Lazy Winner’ and I now have a website that offers
some advice (text, videos and a free eBook on ‘Getting Published) to help
would-be authors around the world.
No guarantees of a deal but my publishers have
offered to at least have a chat with anyone who has a reasonable idea for a
book.
And, of course, there are increasing ways to
self-publish these days.
Name a book/incident/person that inspired you to
become an author.
There are many books that I have enjoyed, and
still enjoy, that I could say were inspirations to me but if I have to pick one
author it would be Brian Tracy and if I have to pick one of his books it would
have to be ‘Eat that Frog’.
I like Brian’s books because they are short,
easy to read and to the point, and I like ‘Eat that Frog’ because it deals with
a problem that we all face.
Peter is a dynamic and
commercially astute professional who has achieved notable success in
Project Management. He is also an
accomplished communicator and is a professional speaker as well as the author
of ‘The Lazy Project Manager’
(Infinite Ideas) and ‘Leading Successful
PMOs’ (Gower) and ‘The Lazy Winner’ (Infinite
Ideas).
More information can be
found at www.thelazyprojectmanager.com and www.thelazywinner.com and www.leadingsuccessfulpmos.com – and through his free podcasts in iTunes.
Being a CEO- Indra Nooyi
We all have been trying to dream big and think of achieving them, this year should be the year where we take hard core actions in getting them done.
The interview below hopefully will allow you take concrete actions and plan out what it takes to be a true leader. Listen to the 5C's almost towards the end of the interview!
The #PMOT author series will continue, I just had to share this video with you!
The interview below hopefully will allow you take concrete actions and plan out what it takes to be a true leader. Listen to the 5C's almost towards the end of the interview!
The #PMOT author series will continue, I just had to share this video with you!
Interview 2: How to Become a #PMOT Author?
It’s
a big milestone to be an author- why did you decide to be one?
I have a significant amount to share with
others based on 20+ years of experience. Most particularly, you see many
individuals who have left - either voluntarily or not - their current job going
out on their own. They need some guidance on how to begin their business
adventure and how to sustain it. My current book does just that.
What
are your published works and where can we find them?
I have been published on a number of websites and blogs, including Vistage, Business on Main, and a number of international websites/blogs and magazines. I have one published book to date and I have been a contributing author for another book. I’m hard at work on my next one! My current book is: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Best Practices for Small Business, Alpha Books, 2011. I co-authored the book with Brandon Toropov. It can be found here.
I have been published on a number of websites and blogs, including Vistage, Business on Main, and a number of international websites/blogs and magazines. I have one published book to date and I have been a contributing author for another book. I’m hard at work on my next one! My current book is: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Best Practices for Small Business, Alpha Books, 2011. I co-authored the book with Brandon Toropov. It can be found here.
The book to which I was a contributing
author is Gantthead’s Project Pain
Reliever, J. Ross Publishing, 2011. You can find that book here.
How
long did it take you to write your last published book?
Once I officially began the book, it only
took about 4 - 5 months to write The
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Best Practices for Small Business. I did all the writing on weekends and in the
evenings.
What
was your schedule like while working full time and writing it?
Not always easy! I restricted my writing to weekends and in
the evenings so as not to interfere with the job. It meant many late nights
certainly and weekends where I did not much other than writing!
How
different is authoring a book from blogging?
In my opinion blogging is easier because I
have no restrictions other than what I put on myself, and, of course, based on
what I know my audience wants from the blog. When writing books, especially
when working with a publisher, you have guidelines to follow and sometimes you
may want to include information in the book that is not able to be included due
to space constraints, etc.
Three
things every #PMOT author should know?
- Commit some time every day to writing - even if it is just 30 minutes a day
- Stick to the timeline you have from a publisher. If you don’t have a publisher - create your own timeline and stick to it!
- Have someone read the book with a critical eye. It’s hard for you to be critical since you are too close to it.
Is
it tough luck finding a publisher?
Yes, it is.
Frankly, I sort of “fell into” it. I was asked
to do a technical expert review a year prior to taking on this book and ended
up having a conversation with the acquiring editor at Alpha Books about writing.
He introduced me to a co-author who introduced me to his agent, who is now my
agent also. That being said, you should still try to submit your work and keep
at it. Don’t give up! There are also
many small boutique publishing houses and many options for self-publishing.
Name
a book/incident/person that inspired you to become an author.
There is no particular book, incident or
person that inspired me to become an author. I do read lots of books - both
fiction and non-fiction and business focused books. I suppose I could say that all my reading has
inspired me! For as long as I can
remember I wanted to write. My dream is to one day write a fiction book - a
mystery!
Gina Abudi,
MBA has over 20 years of consulting experience in helping businesses of all
sizes develop and implement strategy around projects, process and people. She
is President of Abudi Consulting Group, LLC and an adjunct faculty at Hesser College (NH)
teaching in the business administration department. Gina regularly presents at
conferences, forums and corporate events on a variety of topics. She has written a number of white papers,
case studies, and articles on various management and project management topics,
which can be found on her blog:http://www.GinaAbudi.com. Gina serves
as President of the PMI® Massachusetts Bay Chapter Board of Directors. She has
been honored as one of the Power 50 from PMI®.
