Edited from: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LK1d45SyKcvh1kcMwMCjog
For many Internet people, it is an important milestone node from outputting, writing articles to publishing books. But many people just stay at the stage of the article, without systematically organizing the content, and at the same time, they don't know the process of publishing a book and how to prepare it. In this article, the author shares his experience of publishing a book, hoping to be helpful to everyone.
The full text is 2645 words in total, and it takes 5 minutes to read
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I had the intention of writing a book more than ten years ago. At that time, I wanted to write a reference book about Delphi programming language. Later, due to the small market demand for Delphi language, I terminated the writing of Delphi programming language book.
Looking back more than ten years ago, if I had established product thinking at that time, or had expert guidance, maybe I could have avoided a lot of detours. I deeply feel the importance of knowledge and experience.
Over the years of working, I have met many newcomers who are graduating and preparing to enter the workplace, and I have seen my own confusion in these small partners. I very much hope that I can bring some help to these small partners.
With the further accumulation of work experience and knowledge, I have gradually established my own thinking system, and the time has gradually matured to organize this knowledge into structured content and share it.
To write a book with the thinking of a product manager, to influence and drive more people, to help more small partners grow rapidly, to improve efficiency, and to reduce involution, this is also the original intention of writing a book.
The process of writing a book can be seen as the process of building a product from 0 to 1. It is a very complicated and difficult stage for a product to go from 0 to 1. For most products, it can be said to be a narrow escape.
Products often start with product ideas (which needs of users can be solved by the product), go through product analysis (whether there are similar products), product deduction (product framework and functional logic dependencies), and finally product realization (products that can be used by users) .
Some readers consulted me before, and saw that the job description was very suitable during the job hunting process, but the HR (Human Resources, Human Resources) in charge of recruitment gave feedback that it was not suitable. Later, I found out from friends who were in personnel affairs that personnel are generally screened mechanically based on keywords when recruiting. For example, job seekers have experience in intelligent customer service products, while the recruitment requirement is a background in natural language. If the recruited HR does not have basic product knowledge in this area, there is a high probability that candidates with experience in smart customer service products will be directly passed.
In actual work, when product managers communicate with colleagues in various business departments, because they do not understand each other's domain content, the cost of communication is very high, the resistance to collaboration increases, and work efficiency decreases. For those who have just graduated or are new to the product manager position, because the company lacks a corresponding training system and no corresponding guidance from colleagues, it takes a lot of energy to get familiar with the product manager field in a short period of time for those who have just graduated or are new to the industry .
Therefore, the author hopes to write a very basic book for product managers, which can systematically introduce the necessary product knowledge of product managers, and help those who have just graduated or are new to the field of product managers to quickly establish a product knowledge structure and cultivate product thinking , improve collaboration and work efficiency among colleagues in various departments, and encourage everyone to work in a very professional and friendly environment as much as possible.
At present, there are roughly two types of books on the theme of product managers on the market, one is related to product manager methods, mainly explaining some ways and methods of product managers to do things, and the other is related to product manager skills, such as B-end products Manager, decision-making product manager, data product manager, etc.
However, for new product managers who have just entered the industry, these books only talk about the methods of product managers, but cannot provide practical guidance for the work of product managers, and only talk about a certain product skill, but they cannot understand the product macroscopically in the entire product system Manager all knowledge skills.
Most product newcomers hope that in a short period of time, they can not only be familiar with the relevant methods of product managers, but also have an overall understanding of the books on the knowledge system necessary for product managers. For personnel in other business positions, they can also quickly grasp the work content of product managers and cultivate product thinking. The positioning of writing books is very clear.
According to product positioning, take the target user of the product, that is, the target reader of the book as the main role, and bring it into the book for product deduction. Starting from the needs of target readers, build the overall framework of the book.
The content of the book is divided into five parts.
The first part mainly explains the basic methods in the knowledge system of product managers. These basic methods are the refinement of the author's many years of work experience. In the first part, product managers can learn about the core competitiveness, executive functions, goals and key results of product managers, and how to conduct basic product analysis and product research.
The second part mainly explains the financial knowledge, artificial intelligence knowledge, and WeChat applets that product managers need to know. Help readers quickly establish a basic product thinking and knowledge system.
The third part mainly explains how the product is realized. Through simple B2B (Business-to-Business, business-to-business product) and B2C (Business-to-Customer, business-to-consumer) product realization as cases, the whole process experience product from The construction process from scratch, the establishment of a product thinking framework.
The fourth part mainly explains the construction method of the basic product, and uses the data analysis and strategic products that are often encountered in the actual work of the product as practical cases to explain. It is convenient for new product managers or other personnel to work quickly.
The fifth part finally shapes the soft power of product managers. Product managers not only focus on solving problems now, but more importantly, they can look to the future and lead the trend.
After product deduction, and finally according to the writing outline, it took more than three years to complete the writing of the book. Finally, this "Product Manager Knowledge Stack" will be presented to readers.
I would like to thank all the family members, friends, colleagues, and leaders who have helped me, the teachers of the People's Posts and Telecommunications Publishing House, and the readers and friends who have always supported me!
After the product is officially released to the market, the cold start of the product and user growth are very important. The same is true for books. The smell of wine is also afraid of deep alleys. If the product is not promoted, there is no user growth and product communication, it will be difficult for the product to be well-known by users, and it will be impossible to establish connections with users who need it.
Sometimes I also think about it, what is the value of a product manager? If you just write a PRD (Product Requirement Document, Product Requirement Document), what is the difference between a product manager who has worked for 1 year and a product manager who has worked for 10 years.
With the continuous accumulation of work experience over the years, this question has gradually been answered.
A product manager who has worked for 10 years is not necessarily better at PRD writing than a product manager who has been working for 1 year. However, the more value of a product manager who has worked for 10 years lies in the systematic product experience.
That is to say: if you write a single login product functional requirement description, a product manager who has worked for one year can do it, but building a login-based platform product involves risk control, account, and complex scenarios that require experienced product managers to complete. Top-level design.
A product manager can only reflect its due value if it is used in a suitable position. As the saying goes, a thousand-mile horse often exists, but a bole does not often exist. The value creation of the product manager is more about bringing together the "long board" members of the team to give full play to their respective advantages to finally achieve the product goal.
The mission of the product manager is to discover product business opportunities, use the comprehensive experience accumulated over the years to carry out product entrepreneurship, create excellent products, and attract outstanding people to do valuable and meaningful things together.
Nobel Prize winner Romain Rolland once said, "There is only one kind of heroism in the world, which is to still love life after recognizing the truth of life." The same is true for making products.