Promoting Professional Geekery #6: Write The Book

I just spent three months writing a book.  You probably noticed that by the updates.

I know plenty of great writers, who do tons of blog posts, documents and, yes books.  During the time I was working on my latest book, a friend of mine wrote a novel TWICE as long and he's not even finished yet.

You probably have a professionally geeky book in you.  A Geek 2.0 book.  Something on both a career and your likely obsessive love of certain things.  Maybe it's on how you made your video game career into a real one, or your observations of the six kinds of comic book artists, or whatever.

So write the bloody thing and be done with it.  Promote professional geekiness by putting out a book.



Can't write it?  Well first of all, give it a shot.  If your writing is bad, get a friend to help out and/or edit and give them credit in the book?

Don't have time?  Wrong – make time.  Even if it's a few hours a week and it takes you a year, you can do it.

Cover art?  Come on, you're a blatant technically literate connected wonk, you can hire your favorite deviantart.com artist for a cover.

Formatting?  Between Open Office and online directions you can find ways to easily formatting your book.  Ask me if you're curious.

Publishing?  There's lulu.com, Createspace, KDP, Smashwords, and a few other places to go.

No one cares?  Make them care, twitter about it, promote it, send out copies.  It may take months, years for your message to reach people, but it will.

Not going to sell much?  Who cares?  Do what good you can.  If you change one life, it's worth it.

Think it's silly?  Writing a book isn't silly – not everyone can do it.  It's something that makes you stand out, gets attention, and shows your commitment.

Go on.  Write the book.  Write that book of professional otakudom, progeekery, what have you.  Explain your vision, philosophy, findings, job guide, whatever.

It'll make a difference somewhere, and that's worth it.

Steven Savage