Business Book Author McKenna Sweazey: Be Generous About Timelines
We periodically feature guest input from impactful authors we’ve worked with. Please enjoy this Q&A about the writing process with business book author McKenna Sweazey.
SPIRITUS BOOKS: Tell us a little about your book, How to Win Friends and Manage Remotely, and why you wrote it.
MCKENNA SWEAZEY: I’d been batting around an idea of an empathy-based leadership book for a while and when the pandemic hit, I suddenly had both some extra time to do it and a renewed focus on why empathy is really important in digital interactions.
How has writing a book helped you personally or professionally?
I loved the academic effort of the book-writing, diving deep into a lot of leadership books and research studies. Being able to take those back to my work day has been a growth opportunity for me. And of course, I gently suggest everyone I work with read the book, so we can all start from the same foundation of what might help us be better as a remote or hybrid team.
What was the best or easiest part of the process for you?
The research was the easiest process, though I wasn’t very focused and perhaps I took too long enjoying myself. Second easiest was going through Jocelyn’s edits and honing my ideas and words. I’d blast Bob Marley and tuck into the Google Doc comments. I really enjoyed going back and trying to make myself clearer.
What did you find the most challenging?
Killing off ideas that were half-baked or didn’t align with my thesis and outline. I had a lot of research and ideas that didn’t make it into the book, and it’s hard to think you’ve wasted that effort when they’re tossed on the cutting room floor. It’s really helpful to have someone else guiding you as a developmental editor at that point, because my ego certainly got in the way a few times.
What surprised you, or what do you wish you had known ahead of time or done differently?
I wish I’d started with an outline! Starting with research and a vague thesis about empathy, I wasn’t as efficient with my time as I could’ve been. Once I had an outline, it was much easier to set deadlines for myself and crank out the necessary thoughts and ideas I could shape into the relevant chapters.
What advice would you give to first-time authors?
Go for it! But also be generous with yourself about the timeline. Creative processes, especially when you haven’t done them before, can be much bigger undertakings than you might expect, and it’s hard to know which parts of the book writing process will be easier or harder for you. Being generous about timelines in the early stages will allow you to enjoy the process more.
McKenna Sweazey is a Digital Empathy author and marketer. With a career spent working in global organizations, from corporates to start-ups, managing remote teams around the world, she’s refined her communication skills to be as effective in person as from 6,000 miles away. As a marketing leader and author, her passion is helping people harness empathy to better connect with their colleagues to drive success. She also holds an MBA from INSEAD and currently resides in Silicon Valley.
Connect with McKenna through her website or LinkedIn.
