Get a book published

Seeds of an idea (the first of the start up handbooks) is currently at around 40 odd pages of the size I am looking at (5”*7”). That makes it the most complete of the five handbooks that can be combined to make a whole manual. I do not seem to be able to contact Emma so I have not been spending any time on this, which accounts for the slow progress. Despite this I have a few tens of thousands of words written, so with a little morale boost I could probably get it done quite quickly.

Will see how it goes…

Rufus Evison

With encouragement from Emma Drew I am pushing ahead with writing a set of handbooks for start up entrepreneurs. This would consist of four or five small handbooks which could later be bundled together into one compendium volume.

The expected titles will be along the following lines:

Seeds of an idea

A seed contains the full definition of a plant even though the environment determines exactly how it grows. A company without a similar depth of vision will wither and die.

Growing pains

Companies grow away from the values that made them successful in the first place. Why does this happen and how can you stop it? There are issues around size, culture and communications. Each level of delegation has its own effects. If you understand potential problems you are better placed to avoid them.

Getting funding

You need to decide whether you really need money and if so what is the best way to get it. For example if a VC gives you funding they will want a third of your company, but they will never admit that is the way it works. If you are going for VC money you need to know how to maximise the money in and minimise the equity out. I will talk about how to decide if you need money and what options are available.

Cutting loose

The difference between a lifestyle company and a scalable business is whether it can think for itself. If you want business success you need to learn to make yourself redundant.

Marketing Measurement

The CMO is said to have the shortest life expectancy on the board. This is because they generally do not have the figures to back up their decisions. There are a variety of hidden problems when measuring marketing. Generally a scientific approach is not taken and huge amounts of money are spent without full justification. If you want to market efficiently then measurement is key.

Currently I have only written around 15,000 words but I will try to have a crack at spending at least some time on this over the holiday.

Rufus Evison

I have been talking with someone about the concept of a business book. It looks like it might fly. I am trying to see whether my company would object, but if not then we may go for it.

I have now posted a few more double page spreads from Written in Crayon which is my humorous collections of excerpts from fictional books. I have also altered the image sizes to make them more readable. It kind of messes up the whole blog layout, but makes the book legible, which mattes more. I would welcome comments on the book bits you can see there as more will follow.

I am also debating writing a book on the pitfalls you can encounter within start up companies as they grow. It is the sort of topic where I have a fair degree of expertise, so I would want to see if a publisher might be interested before I started.

Rufus Evison

I have now posted a few more double page spreads from Written in Crayon which is my humorous collections of exceprts from fictional books. I have also added chapters on what happens during pregnancy, Throughout Pregnancy and Things a man should help with to my blog version of Becoming a Father. I am considering whether I ought to actually wirte a book for mainstream publication some time when I have nothing too much else to do.

Rufus Evison

I have now published 6 chapters of my Becoming a Father book in a blog.

Chapter 1 is the introduction.

Chapter 2 is about the level of commitment involved. This bit involves some information about the costs of having a baby.

Chapter 3 is some explanation of the differences a man can make and how.

Chapter 4 is about Nutrition and its effects on fatherhood and babies.

Chapter 5 is about Sex, it’s timing and effectiveness and how these affect conception and possible gender.

I have also published the reference section which covers a large area. This includes a glossary, a pregnancy timeline and a whole section of things to watch for.

More will be put up as I get the time.

Rufus Evison

The reference section seems to stand alone quite well and the next chapter needs a fair bit of editing before it can be usefully published. So instead of telling people “it is in the book” I have put the reference section of my book about becoming a father on line out of order.

A you might expect from the title, chapter 4 of Becoming a Father is all about how a man’s nutrition in the 100 days before conception can affect the chances of becoming the father of a happy healthy baby. Did you know that it is not just the ladies who should make sure they get enough folic acid? Did you know that Zinc really matters? Did you know that some sperm swim in zig-zags? Find out all this an more in the latest thrilling chapter of Becoming a father by Rufus Evison

Almost called “From here to Paternity” this chapter of Becoming a Father talks about things a man can do to make a difference.

Did you know that things a man does before conception can:
a) Increase the chances of conception,
b) Improve the chances of a healthy baby
c) Lower the odds of a miscarriage.

There are so many books out there that assume a man cannot make a difference, or even more commonly assume that conception has already taken place. This book explains the reality, based on the real medical research.

Rufus Evison

In this chapter I talked about the commitment that having a baby requires from both partners, the kind of costs that can be expected in terms of lifestyle and your relationship as well as the financial costs. Have a look at Becoming a Father chapter two and tell me what you think.

RufusEvison