I know that sounds a bit over-Biblical, but it's literally true. Before there's any book -- even most novels -- there's research. Finding that magic stuff that not only corroborates what you're already thinking, but leads you in new directions and to new insights. The process of writing is a process of discovery.
But before you can start writing, you find yourself -- I find myself, anyway -- sifting through gigabytes of raw data looking for those amazing bits you can only hope are somewhere out there waiting for the right query, which has to be framed in the special jargon of the field you're just learning about.
For instance, when I was writing Gonzo Marketing: Winning Through Worst Practices, the discovery of "public journalism" and "cause marketing" -- phrases with very specific meanings, phrases I'd never encountered before -- changed the whole direction of the book.
Of course I used Google for this research. And you can bet I also used Highbeam Research for a deeper level of information archeology -- words you may have noticed elsewhere on this page -- only it was called eLibrary back then. A little further down, I'll demonstrate how I researched some of the core concepts for the book. But first, the de rigueur digression du jour...
Many readers of Gonzo commented that the notes were the best part of the book. Well, OK, I think I remember one person saying that. But I wholeheartedly agreed, so that makes two. Unfortunately, in marking up the text version to put the first couple chapters on the web, my will and energy forsook me before I could get to adding the endnotes. In other words, I was too damn lazy.
Happily, I am not now forced to confront my moral failings in this regard, as Amazon has helpfully added a powerful function to many of its pages -- a bibliographic listing of references, with links to the particular pages on which these references occur. This hyperlinking is beyond anything available in conventional bibliographies. In some cases, a second listing is provided of other books that refer to the book you're looking into. These additions seem to have gone largely unremarked, which is in itself remarkable, as they constitute an invaluable resource for serious readers and researchers.
The endnotes for Gonzo begin here (there are two pages). The listings look like this:
The "front matter," "back matter" and page-number references link to the corresponding scanned pages of Gonzo Marketing. The book names link to the books I referenced. Following are some of the core concepts in Gonzo, along with a couple-three examples of the kinds of sources I went looking for when I was writing it.
cause marketing
Cause-related marketing, which triggers a donation to a nonprofit organization with the purchase of a product or service, epitomizes enlightened marketing. Of all the media in the marketing mix, cause marketing is the only one that concurrently benefits consumers, society and businesses.
These days, purchasing decisions are often based on how a consumer feels about a company. Research proves this: 76% of consumers would be likely to switch to a brand associated with a good cause, according the Cone/Roper Cause-Related Marketing Trends Report.
from:
Business, society share interests by Les Ukman
source: USA Today, 6 August 1998
gonzo journalism
Self-proclaimed inventor of "gonzo" journalism, Hunter Thompson combines lurid tales of his personal life, some of them conceivably true, with often exceedingly shrewd political analysis. An example is his 1973 account of George McGovern's doomed Presidential bid in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail.
He did not scant his own heroic imbibement of any handy alcohol, his driving at high speeds under the influence of same, or his sniffing, snorting, smoking or swallowing marijuana, heroin, Quaaludes, and pills identified only by color. Images of violence freely floated from the man's psyche to his typewriter and from that abused instrument to the printed page. Nevertheless, Fear and Loathing is, on rereading, a more incisive chronicle of the 1972 campaign than any produced by its author's unhallucinated colleagues.
from: Generation of Swine (book review) by Robert Lekachman
source: The New Leader, 28 November 1988
social capital
[Robert] Putnam declines to call this a national crisis, for this sort of thing fluctuates, yet he does see signs that "social capital" - the connections among individuals - has crumbled since the golden postwar years and particularly during the past 25 years....
The Internet, some believe, may emerge as a major player in the reknitting process....
"I'm optimistic that we could use the Internet to increase our connections," he says, "but there's also a risk that it could become isolating, just another glowing screen that we spend time watching."
The question, he says, is whether the Internet will become a really nifty telephone that facilitates person-to-person connections or a really nifty TV that centers on passive entertainment.
"For the most part we are investing in ways that would make the Internet a nifty TV," he says.
from: Bowling as a metaphor for American society (Interview with Robert Putnam)
source: The Christian Science Monitor, 19 July 2000
And so on. And on. And on. It's a long process. But great for writer's block, because you can extend the research phase indefinitely, and thus avoid the writing altogether. As I know only too well. This is when it's probably best to get together with your research assistant for a heart-to-heart talk about your um goals...
<< Home