No one will read it

I've thought about writing a book on workflow.  I have a lot to say (more below).  The problem is, no one wants to read a blinkin' book on workflow.  So, I'm thinking about a business novel (like Goldratt's The Goal or Who Moved My Cheese by Johnson and Blanchard).  Problem is: I've never published fiction. 

This is an odd space, really... business stories.  Taking a dry topic and wrapping it an story makes it much easier to grasp.  Normal people, who don't spend their time in geeky pursuits, may even be able to benefit (or at least, enjoy). 

How else would I get someone to read a book on the notion of multiple levels of abstraction?  I'm certain that a person, any person, can apply the principles of abstraction to workflow, and can create models for appropriate audiences that can be both useful and possible to automate.  I'm pretty sure I can teach my 12-year-old son how to model a workflow at different levels of abstraction, and how the best way to find the "big themes" is often to reduce, not increase, the amount of detail.

It's counter-intuitive, until you do it about a hundred times. 

The thing is, instead of describing workflow and abstraction and models, I'll be telling a story.  And that is much harder to do.

Comments

• Anonymous
  February 12, 2006
  The comment has been removed
• Anonymous
  March 23, 2006
  You might want to take a look at Patrick M. Lencioni's series of leadership fables.  He puts a fictional spin on some really relevant workplace issues.  There is definitely a place for this type of book in the tech marketplace.  Fits just between something like Fowler’s Patterns of Enterprise Architecture and The DaVinci Code.