A Book of Your Own

Editor’s Note: The following piece, by the late, great Herman Holtz, was to appear as part of Herman’s “Hindsights & Insights” column. It is part of our collection of “classics”–articles that stand the test of time no matter how many technologies come and go. Published with permission. It seems, from what I read every day on the TECHWR-L list, that it isn’t at all easy for most people to break into a beginning tech writing job. Of course, that kind of Catch 22–you need a job to get the experience you need to qualify for the job–is far from unknown, especially in the high-tech working world. It’s why prospective employers want to see clips and other evidence that you can write reasonably well, whether it is technical or not, before they will consider you. I was a tech writer long before I wrote my first book, although I had to jump through some difficult hoops to land my first tech writing job (a series of six tests on technology); however, a great deal of my work later, especially my consulting jobs, came about as a result of my books and the reputation they bestowed on me. Being published between covers brings you respect almost as quickly and surely as becoming known as a millionaire business owner does. Even now, it happens. A reader who owns a small business in Baltimore hired me recently to do some consulting with him, after reading one of my books published a few years ago. The gentleman had read several books on the subject of proposal writing and contracting, and he decided that my book reflected the kind of thinking he needed, although it was one of my most slender volumes. It is really not that difficult to turn out your first book if you select a subject that you are reasonably familiar with (and so can research efficiently) and plan ahead with a solid and well-thought-out outline. Remember that what you write does not have to be a thick tome. My books have generally run to about 275 to 500 pages, but I have also written my share of