8 Facts I Learned about Writing While Writing a Book in 3 Months
In September 2021, I started working on the book called ‘Design Landscape | A Complete Guide to Design Jobs in 202X.’ It is a free ebook about the evolution of digital design jobs from 1991 to 2021 with insights from design specialists working at Google, Amazon, Adobe, BCG, SWAROVSKI, NASA, etc. and 10 design jobs profiles that are emerging in the industry and going to take up the market in 2022–2030.
Get your free copy of ‘Design Landscape | A Complete Guide to Design Jobs in 202X’ here
It was my first writing project which included significantly more writing than I usually do for a presentation or an interview. And it was a long and exhausting process that required thorough research, a survey with industry experts, the writing part and the production itself. I wanted it to be a serious and valuable yet fun-to-read paper. We published an ebook in January 2022 at Product Hunt, ranked 2nd in the #DesignBooks category just after the book by Figma and got featured on their email list with 500000+ subscribers, which is an outstanding achievement for us.
As the content producer and author of the book, I’ve learned quite A LOT during the whole work process. Mainly how fascinating and impressive the design industry is and how sophisticated and twisted the recruitment process can be for young, mid-senior level and ever super experienced designers.
Here are my 8 MAJOR insights I learned about writing a book that I’d like to share with you:
1. It won’t be perfect. And that’s ok. Good enough is better than perfect should probably be the first rule of every <Fight Club> writing course and workshop. Writing down thoughts and ideas then polishing them is much more productive than staring at the blank page while searching for the perfect line. For me, the most challenging part of writing any piece is the first draft. After that, it’s just going down to rounds of editing, proofreading and finalizing the page.
2. Sell it to your teammates. One of the biggest mistakes I made while working on this book was skipping onboarding for a designer who took over the tasks from another designer. I assumed they discussed the task and shared the necessary files. They did. But it wasn’t enough. I should’ve onboarded a designer (I did it eventually) more thoroughly and explained the idea behind the project and what impact the designer’s work would have on it. Also, if it’s an internal project (like in my case), your teammates should know what’s going on at every stage of project development and feel like they are your team, not subordinates. So let them know how much you value their contribution and translate it in the workflow, not just your words.
3. Share your progress with someone whose professional opinion you value. Doubt is another mind trick you can escape by sharing your work with people who can evaluate it professionally. In my case, I had a chat with our Head of Content, Yulia M., and FlowMapp Co-founder Paul Mit. Shout out to both of them! With weekly/monthly updates, you’ll keep yourself accountable and be able to see how much work has been done (if you’re hard on yourself or have anxiety, that’s a big one!). Plus, the support and approval bring a sense of doing something you will like and ease the doubts.
4. Ask for help. You don’t have to do everything alone. I’ve been working in the design industry for less than 2 years. So I asked practitioners to check my hypothesis and see if it makes sense to research it. Don’t be afraid to look stupid and ask simple questions if you need to. This way, you’ll have a chance to write something useful and relevant for the real world, not just another-tip-from-books.
5. Don’t underestimate illustrations. I know, I know, as a person working with designers, I probably should’ve realized by now that illustrations, especially original ones with the complex concepts you created, will take a lot of time to produce! But sometimes, one should see it to believe it, right? Set clear goals, consult with a design manager beforehand and try to create a workflow that works for everybody.
The first concept of Digital Design Jobs’ Landscape. Should I sell it as NFT? :)
The final illustration that was beautifully created by FlowMapp’s Design Lead Denis Bolshakov
6. Find a proofreader. :) Honestly, it will save you so much time and nerves to have someone check your pages. You won’t regret it.
7. Laugh. Put some jokes in it; even the nerdy ones that you use with your closest friends can work great in the proper context. I probably watch too many TV series and movies, so pop culture references live in my head rent-free. So I decided to let the audience get emotionally involved in the story and shake the seriousness off with a funny book/film reference when it’s appropriate.
Here’s another reference from my personal life:
8. Make it your own. Honestly, you’ll see tons of beautiful and insightful books that you might want to copy something from. It’s ok to use someone else’s ideas (remember, millions of people have already written books before you!) and get inspired by them, but do it in your own way.
With this book, I wanted to be my real self. And yes, it shows in the second part about the history of design where I analyzed tons of scientific research papers and wrote in clear, professor-ish style like I was taught in the university. So it took a lot of time to edit and polish this part, but we saved core concepts and left unnecessary terminology and bombastic academicism behind. Again, the #1 rule, when the first draft was ready, I knew what to do next.
And lastly, don’t take it too seriously! Take breaks when you need it to now overwork yourself and let yourself write without second-guessing every step of the way. It’s probably going to be messy but totally worth it!
I hope to do another part of this story after the next book 😉 Let me know if these tips work for you and send your stories at serafima@flowmapp.com
