Ask the Author: Rodd Wagner
Answered Questions (6)
Rodd Wagner
A group of us have been talking for a few years about how messed up employee engagement has become. We kept asking questions and kept conducting research until a cohesive, empirical argument for a better way emerged.
Rodd Wagner
Many things inspire me to write. It depends on the chapter and what needs to be said. Sometimes it's a powerful piece of research I can't wait to share. Sometimes it's people doing something so goofy I can't help but call it out. Sometimes It's a great story of a leader or manager who has something to teach the rest of us. All of it goes back to my initial journalism training on looking for what's newsworthy. I try to see what I'm thinking of writing through the eyes of those who buy my books. If I think they'll find it insightful, I'm excited to write it.
Rodd Wagner
I've learned that it's a mistake talk about the next book until it's almost done.
Rodd Wagner
Find your voice, your time, and your place. Writing is the disciplined art of managing your own mind in order to communicate forcefully for hours at a time. Every writer needs to know when and where he or she writes best. Often when I'm writing, I tell no one where I am. I shut off the phone and I ignore email. Distractions are murder on writing.
I recommend keeping two book files - the book itself and a slush file to which you can cut and paste what's not working. Writing is as much cutting and revising as it is the initial creation. It's much easier to put a passage that's not working in the slush file than to chop it altogether.
If you're writing nonfiction, don't touch your endnotes until the end. Copy a URL or make a quick endnote to remind yourself where you got a particular fact. Then keep writing. If you invest to much in the sourcing too early, you'll be less likely to cut or revise when you should.
Let everything you write sit for at least a few days, return to it fresh, then be merciless on your own stuff. If you're like me, you'll find sections that just need a little polishing and sections that need to go to the slush file. That repeated filtering means everything to creating a well organized and well written book.
I recommend keeping two book files - the book itself and a slush file to which you can cut and paste what's not working. Writing is as much cutting and revising as it is the initial creation. It's much easier to put a passage that's not working in the slush file than to chop it altogether.
If you're writing nonfiction, don't touch your endnotes until the end. Copy a URL or make a quick endnote to remind yourself where you got a particular fact. Then keep writing. If you invest to much in the sourcing too early, you'll be less likely to cut or revise when you should.
Let everything you write sit for at least a few days, return to it fresh, then be merciless on your own stuff. If you're like me, you'll find sections that just need a little polishing and sections that need to go to the slush file. That repeated filtering means everything to creating a well organized and well written book.
Rodd Wagner
My research, reporting, and writing have taken me around the world. I've gone to see people on the job in a fiberglass factory in Brazil, a paper warehouse in Poland, a tech facility in India, a home improvement store in Wales, and the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz conducting exercises in the Pacific, just to name a few. The great thing about being a writer is being able to share those cool stories so widely and in the interest of helping people have more fulfilling experiences at work.
Rodd Wagner
If the words aren't flowing, it means I'm either tired, distracted, or I have not made enough information on that chapter top of mind. If I'm tired, I'll crash for 30 minutes. If I'm distracted, I'll switch coffee shops. If not enough is loaded into my brain, I'll keep reviewing the research until the line of attack develops. I find a Saturday spent fly-fishing does wonders for the writing.
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