How to Write a Book: Meghan Casey Shares How She Wrote Her New Book, The Content Strategy Toolkit

By Stephen Dupont, APR, vice president, Pocket Hercules

Have you ever wanted to write a book? I’ve known Meghan Casey for about 15 years. We worked together for a brief time at the Minneapolis law firm, Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly. We recently connected a Meetup Minneapolis event focusing on content strategy where Meghan was the guest speaker. Meghan and the firm for which she works, Brain Traffic, are highly respected for their expertise in content strategy, but what intrigued me was Meghan’s big career move – writing a book based on her expertise. I’d like to share with you how she made it happen and how that process affected the way she thinks about her work and career. Many people dream of writing a book. Well, Meghan actually did it.  Here’s how:

Stephen: Can you tell me about that moment when you said to yourself, “I’m going to write a book?”

Meghan: I remember it well. I was on a business trip in Florida with my boss, Kristina Halverson, the founder and CEO of Brain Traffic. We were in a rental car driving to a client meeting when she said, “I think we need another book to remind people how smart we are. Now, I could do it (Kristina wrote the book, Content Strategy for the Web) or, maybe you [Meghan] could write a book.”

Well, that hit me like a ton of bricks. Me? Write a book? But at the same time, I thought, yes, I can do this.

Stephen: What did it mean to you to have that kind of support from your boss?

Meghan: It was incredible. I was very lucky. Not many people get the support from their boss or supervisor to take on a project like this. Kristina allowed me to dedicate probably 30 percent of my workload to writing this book, and all the while, she was there to cheer me on.

Stephen: So, how did you actually start the process of writing your book, The Content Strategy Toolkit?

Meghan: I followed my own advice. The first thing I did was a little homework. After Kristina and I talked, I carefully researched the market. In other words, what other books were out there. And I found that there was this gap – the need for practical, real-life information on how to build a content strategy, along with all of the tools someone needs to actually do it. After that, I wrote a very detailed proposal about the book – what would be covered in each chapter, a list of all of the tools, etc.

Stephen: Then you submitted it to a publisher, Peachpit, which specializes in publishing books about technology?

Meghan: Yes. Peachpit had published Kristina’s book, so that made that part of the process much easier. If they would have declined, I would have submitted it to other publishers, too. The folks at Peachpit got back to me right away and said that my proposal was one of the best they had ever seen. That was huge in giving me the confidence in knowing I could do this, and it helped me to commit even further to this project.

Stephen: Lots of professionals would like to write a book, but many never take that next step because they feel like they don’t know as much as they really do. In other words, they feel like an imposter. Did you experience those feelings?

Meghan: Even though I’ve been specializing in content strategy for 10 years – before it was even called content strategy – I felt like, “Who am I to write a book about content strategy?” I thought: “What would other content strategists in the industry say about it? What if they disagreed with everything I said?” But, as I started to frame out my proposal and then, as I started to write, I saw that I really did know a lot. I really did have a lot to share.

Stephen: Can you describe the writing process?

Meghan: Once I started writing, I found that everything really flowed. All that I had been doing for the past 10 years – it all fell into place, page after page. I was really surprised at how easy it was.

I think what helped was my mindset. Instead of thinking about writing chapters of a book, I treated each chapter like a blog post. I gave my writing a more personal tone, like I was having a conversation with another person. You’ll see a lot of sass in my writing.

Stephen: How long did it take to write it?

Meghan: I wrote my first chapter in November 2014 and completed the final chapter by April 2015 – so, about six months.

Stephen: Did you have others review your writing?

Meghan: Yes, in addition to having an editor assigned to me from Peachpit, I had a few friends in the business who also reviewed my writing – really, to validate my thinking.

Stephen: Did you make any major changes from your proposal to the actual book?

Meghan: I originally had outlined an 18-chapter book, but then I realized as I was writing it, that there were some redundancies in what I was covering. So we ended up with a 15-chapter book.

Stephen: How did it feel to lay out much of your knowledge of content strategy onto paper for others to read?

Meghan: It was really cool. Cathartic actually. It helped me realize that, “Yes, I am an expert.” The other thing that was helpful was putting everything – all the tools – the forms, the links to outside tools, books, articles, etc., into one centralized place.

Stephen: Did it help you better understand why you do what you do?

Meghan: The book reinforced the way I do things and the value I bring to my clients. Because I work in a relatively new area of marketing communications I’ve seen a lot companies take advantage of their clients — not intentionally, I don’t think. The client says they want this or that, and the agency builds it, regardless of whether it’s the right thing to do. I believe in being as upfront with my clients as possible. I’ll let them know my opinion about whether they should do something or not. After all, that’s the point of my book. If you have a strategy, you’ll know if a specific project is the right thing to do. So many companies don’t have a strategy to guide their efforts.

Stephen: What do you want your readers to get out of your book?

Meghan: I’ve spent 10 years learning this and testing all kinds of approaches and tools to get where I am today. I’m sharing my knowledge so that more content strategists, marketers and communicators don’t have to start from scratch. I want to see more organizations actually implement content strategy and raise the quality — and the results — of what they’re doing.

Stephen: For those who are reading this who may not be familiar with content strategy, or content marketing, could you explain what it is?

Meghan: I believe that content strategy helps organizations provide the right content, to the right people, and the right times…for the right reasons. For the right reasons is the most important part of the equation – without the clarity of “why” we’re creating content, it’s almost impossible to meet the needs of the user or to achieve the business goal.

Stephen: What is the number one pitfall that you’ve seen in your work?

Meghan: Many companies don’t have a content strategy. Second to that, creating an editorial calendar is not the same thing as having a content strategy. Again, it’s about knowing the “why” you’re doing something and to what end.

Stephen: Do you feel the book is a good reflection or extension of your personal brand?

Meghan: Yes, if you read the book, I think there’s a lot of me in it. It’s what you would get if we worked face-to-face.

Stephen: What lessons did you learn from writing your book?

Meghan: I learned that it takes a lot more time than you think, and that it’s important to find those windows where you’re at your most creative. I wrote this book while I was also still handling my day-to-day client work, and while Brain Traffic completely supported me the entire way, I still had to fight with my internal self to find the time to work on it.

Stephen: And finally, how can someone purchase your book?

Meghan: That’s easy. Go to: thecontentstrategytoolkit.com. There’s a link that allows you to purchase it through Peachpit. Or, you can also buy it through Amazon.com.