Book Writing Week 9

The end is in sight

As you may have noticed I missed a couple of weeks worth of these updates. That is because I was deep into the writing of all of the services. Being in the middle of the writing is difficult as you have done quite a lot, but you still can’t quite see an end to the list.

How much have I written?

Now I am much nearer the end, I can almost taste it. Of the 330 services I started with in the PMO Services and Capabilities book, I have ended up with about 250. The 80 that I have discarded were duplicate services. It not until you start writing them do you realise that you are writing the very same thing, just in a slightly different guise.

I now have around 30 more of the services to go, which if I get a good writing head on I should be able to complete this week.

What have I learnt?

The strange thing with writing is that it isn’t actually the writing that is difficult, it is the thinking that goes into the writing that is the difficult part. If you have a good day and the brain is whirring away then you can get through a few of the services in a morning. If the brain isn’t working, or you aren’t in the mood then you end up staring a screen for ages with no words being added to the page.

When the muse doesn’t turn up, then it is very easy to get distracted and before you know it a whole morning has been used up, and you are not quite sure what you have got to show for it. Keeping the discipline is very important if you are looking to embark on something like this yourself

Where do I go from here?

Assuming that I do manage to get the rest of the services written this week, then apart from having a day off in celebration, then it is over to the reviewers. I assume it may take them a while to go through and give it a read, but I assume it is going to be quicker reading it than it was writing it. After the reviewers have been at it, and I do hope they are not too harsh, then it will time to make the corrections.

With any luck the book will see the light of day early next year, a date I am really looking forward to.

3 thoughts to “Book Writing Week 9”

  1. So this is where the reviewers have their fun…. Having just finished the AIPMO PMO Services Topology framework as part of the overall AIPMO Strategic Framework, I realize that we need to extend the definition of capabilities (…a bit), so this will need to be reflected in one of the initial chapters to the definition of capabilities. The writing of the Services and Capabilities book has proceeded at a rapid clip compared to the Techniques and Generic tools… which is or I hopefully should write .. was, very challenging. Why, because of the mess people have created in not knowing nor bothering to define what exactly is a tool, a technique and a hierarchy of techniques. Something the readers will see in the coming months. It probably is rare to see a set of architected books where the Services and Capabilities book is linked to several other books… now the fun starts :)… keep up the good work

  2. Good luck with it! You will be surprised how long the editing takes to remove little nits that spellcheck overlooked, or to fix parts that don’t sound right. Don’t let the process erase your personal voice and perspective. You’ll enjoy the final product! I look forward to it.

    1. Thanks Douglas
      I am not underestimating the review process. it is amazing how much time it takes to make just simple change. However I am hoping that we can still issue the first version early next year
      Stuart

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