A Journey into Authorship

Focus. There is lots to do, but right now I just need to do one thing. I need to hit the ground running and knock out Chapter One.

I mentioned last week in Week 1: Clean House and Prep that I’m in contract to write a book on Docker with Manning Publications Co. Last week I shipped out my draft Table of Contents for review. Today I started working on Chapter One.

I’m new to all of this and I gather that most publishers have fairly unique workflows, so I’m approaching this with an open mind. We kicked off this phase with a chapter launch meeting. I met with my Developmental Editor for about an hour. She clearly communicated expectations for the content of the chapter, the level of detail expected, and that this was — for most authors — the most difficult chapter to write. We spent a bit less than an hour on the phone. Along with pages of notes, I have written down that I’ll have about ten days to crank out chapter 1 before review.

With stage set for the next few months, I guess the rest is on me. This is one of those do-or-die, test your mettle moments. I love these. How far down can I push the pedal and for how long can I hold it there? The simple act of being measured pushes me to out perform my own expectations. Today I put together four figures and a page and a half of what I think will be the most challenging text in chapter 1. It feels like a good start. With the rest of the chapter outlined, pages should start dropping like flies.