I love to write. It’s cool to have a blog to make this happen. But what if there’s more? Are there ideas that have been percolating and they are just aching to get out?
Have you read other’s people’s work and thought “I could do that !!” Well, what hold’s you back? How do you go from a wish and make it come to life? What if you wrote an entire book ??
I have a few HR friends who have done this and put out some amazing content !! I would recommend you picking up Dwane Lay’s Lean HR, Jason Lauritsen and Joe Gerstandt’s Social Gravity and Dr.Daniel Crosby’s You’re Not That Great. The took the jump of making that inner voice public. All of them are great resources !!
Another great resource is the new book by Cathy Fyock and Kevin Williamson entitled On Your Mark: From First Word to First Draft in Six Weeks. They provide the perfect starter to get your words down on pages and into a book. You see, they wrote a book on how to write a book. Brilliant !!
Cathy is an accomplished author, with this being her fifth book, and a fabulous HR pro. I’ve known Cathy from my work as a fellow SHRM volunteer at the State level. Kevin is an editor with incredible experience. (His Style section at the end of the book is worth the book alone !!)
I loved this book because it demystifies what most would think is a daunting task. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a huge amount of work which takes intentional effort and discipline. However, Cathy and Kevin give tangible examples and break down the process into manageable pieces. The exercises at the end of each chapter will help you build the discipline you’ll need to create your book.
I’ve been seeing a flurry of blogs later that are saying that HR seems to be stuck in an endless loop. The thought is that people aren’t coming up with creative ideas, but I disagree. There is still so much to learn, share and generate.
More and more people are joining the blogosphere from HR. It’s great to see new voices and I still make sure to read the myriad of posts which come out each day. I think it’s better to be positive about what’s being said. You can always learn from what others have to offer.
Make sure to get Cathy and Kevin’s book. After reading it you’ll see if you want to take that next step. They make writing a book seem not only attainable but also inviting. I know it peaked my interest !! Now to get that voice out to see what hits the page !!
Steve: You’ve offered great encouragement for your readers! I hope everyone knows that you have something of value to share with others, and the written word is one of the best vehicles around to share your message. You do have a message to share and a story to tell. The world needs to hear your voice!
You have peaked my interest with you story about “on Your Mark”. I know that there is a voice in me, I hear it a lot! Not sure if I am up to transferring it to paper. Definitely going to read the book and see.
Fred
I think this is a great post! Another blogger encouraged me to start blogging and I was afraid to actually put my thoughts to paper, but I’ve had a lot of fun blogging and it has helped me in my own professional development. I had to learn that all of my posts weren’t going to be for everyone and some people were going to completely disagree, but if it started a conversation somewhere then maybe it was worth it. As long as there are people like you encouraging others to try new things I think HR is going to be just fine!
I met Cathy at #MSSHRM14 this year! I’ve read 1/2 the book, to date, and recommend it to anyone who blogs and/or wants to write. Cathy and I have a call scheduled later this week – can’t wait!!
In my opinion, I believe there are quite a few of us who have a book inside us just waiting to be written.
You are right! I think each of us has the power to do anything, as long as he or she believes in himself or herself! I really think that the sky is the limit when you are decided to do something. Congratulations to your friend for the last book released! I’ll look for it and I will read it with interest, because you wrote so beautifully about it.