Getting It Write Writing & Publishing for the Soft Tissue Therapy Sector

BY EARLE ABRAHAMSON

“A writer only begins a book, a reader finishes it.”

Samuel Johnson

Writing and publishing for the soft tissue industry can be an exciting opportunity to present new ideas, concepts and practices but could equally be difficult and lonely for the writer. How best do we design and develop publications that engage the reader with the content? What makes a good publication? How do we get started and build knowledge and content? These are just a few questions that continue to highlight the challenges within the writing process.

This article reflects on the process of writing and how best to develop ideas into publications. It further serves to connect ideas, the individual, and the industry through understanding what matters most in terms of scholarly and practiceoriented outputs. The article is punctuated with questions that will hopefully be useful in reflecting upon a range of challenging and important questions.

I initially use the term publication to capture a plethora of written outputs but then narrow the content to consider the writing and publication of books.

As an author and practitioner, I have always marvelled at publications that are well written, accessible, and present information in innovative ways. These publications (be they books, articles, blogs or information guides) make learning interesting and invite the reader into the writer’s world. However, bringing a publication to life requires dedication, understanding and commitment to what matters most within the industry. It is not about repeating what exists, but rather finding unique ways to advance knowledge and disrupt current thinking. In doing so the reader is invited to think and apply knowledge in different ways as opposed to simply absorbing the words of the writer.

Recently, I was invited to lead an on-line writing symposium for an international soft tissue therapy publisher. The idea was to create a common space for connecting international writers. The symposium was about different writing journeys, different destinations, and different starting points. By connecting a range of writers in a common on-line space, the community of writers could engage with a series of questions as identified above and provide critical insights into their personal and collective experiences within the writing process. It further enabled the sharing of ideas and the probing of difficult questions to build publications that are not only useful for the writer but more importantly used by the industry.

I began the symposium by asking – “Who gets to write?”. This question triggered a range of responses that delved into the heart of inclusion, diversity and equality within the writing process. It exposed the examples we use, the choice of text we develop and the potential audience that could or would use and/or benefit from the work.

To develop the industry, we must begin to recognise knowledge in multiple ways. We must build a community that embraces and celebrates difference and recognises the true value of differing perspectives. The writing process is predicated on building and sharing knowledge in a range of ways. What we come to believe as truth is often engrained through exposure to specific ways of learning and doing. Collectively these are known as epistemologies and ontologies. Our knowledge systems inform the way we work and use knowledge to develop our skills. We may choose to exclude or ignore certain ways of working without fully appreciating why.

Take a moment to reflect upon how you have developed your knowledge? Who has been instrumental in designing your thinking and thought processes? What publications do you read and why? By only focussing on certain ways of working, thinking and doing, you may subconsciously be destroying other forms of knowing and knowledge (epistemicides). Do you read publications written by authors from different cultural backgrounds? If so, how have these perspectives influenced your practice?

Publishing Books

Whilst some of the above questions may appear rhetorical, they provide a landscape into designing a publication. The writing process often begins with a mind map of ideas which enables the writer to systematically consider sequence, impact, value and reach of the work. If we take the example of a book, the first hurdle is convincing a publisher that the text is worth publishing. Here the focus is on audience, content, context, comparison, marketing and future value. For example, would the text gain value if translated into different languages or could innovation be used to support the reading of the content such as embedded videos and links to resources. Writing well is often beyond words and includes a sound knowledge of the industry, coupled with current debates and resources that are used across learning and practice abilities.

During the symposium, many writers identified the volume of ideas that could enhance but equally hinder the writing process. How much should a writer pack into a book? Is the book useful as a series of volumes? How will the book be read, used or understood? These seemingly simple questions need to be unpacked and considered when writing the initial proposal. Bringing ideas to life needs focus and review. Many writers at the symposium spoke passionately about having a critical friend, a colleague with experience who could cast a sensitive eye over the text, provide insight and understanding of how the text could be shaped, and support the development of the proposal and final text. This means actively seeking out colleagues, not necessarily family members, to be readers of the text who can direct meaningful feedback into developmental actions. Some writers appear to write at certain times and need space and place to collate ideas, consolidate thinking and block write key components of the text. Others may need to write a little each day. What became evident is that writing means different things to different writers. Some attempt to share years of experience and challenge within a single text, whilst others choose to focus on a specific skill or concept. It is important to define what writing a book means within the context you work. Writing is not about fame but more about focus. It is a journey with challenges, frustrations, distractions, and despair but in return often yields opportunity, enterprise and a firm sense of accomplishment.

I conclude this article by focussing on lessons learned and provide guidance to develop writing skills and opportunities for publications. I return to the question that triggered conversation within the symposium – “Who gets to write”. This question remains a catalyst for reflecting on what writing means and how writing is valued. Over many years I have been fortunate to write and support writing in multiple forms. I become excited at witnessing the conversion of ideas into publications and how through communities of practice new ideas and publications emerge. I equally worry about the silence or absence of writing in some communities due to fear of writing or feelings of not good enough or skilled enough to write. These individuals may have a lot to offer yet opt to read what is written (consumers of knowledge) at the expense of contributing to or producing of new knowledge.

Below I offer advice on navigating the writing process:

1. Research your topic and audience – know what and for whom you are writing,

2. Identify your community of critical friends – colleagues who will support your writing journey,

3. Research the publisher you wish to write for. In doing so, read publications from the publisher to better understand and familiarise yourself with the format, style and content.

4. Think carefully about individual or collaborative writing i.e. are you writing alone or with others? What are the benefits and barriers in doing so?

5. Plan your writing experience from proposal to publication,

6. Consider the context and supporting content carefully i.e. number of images, diagrams, tables etc…

7. Do your market research – who are the competitors? What books already exist? How will your publication differ? How will your publication stand out?

8. How long will it take to complete? Plan your timeline based on your writing habits

9. Connect your lived with your learned experiences – who could review your proposal professional and add value to the final publication? Who would be useful in writing a foreword?

10. Consider innovation in the design of the work – would videos be useful?

11. Plan for inclusion – this requires thoughtful consideration of images and content

12. Who will read, use, and recommend your text? Are you writing for a specific audience?

13. Plan a focus group to receive guidance and feedback on initial ideas and writing plan?

14. Consider opportunities for promoting your work –conferences, podcasts, events, tradeshows, blogs etc

15. Be brave and begin writing. Remember your initial plan may be miles away from the finished product – but at least you are making a start.

Getting it write is difficult. The process dictates commitment and time. Apart from the guidance above, remember to be bold, brave, curious and creative. Think about long term value and how through an initial text, you could generate additional ones. There is no write way, but there is a way that will work for you. The soft tissue therapy sector needs new writers, new ideas and new ways of working. As the sector reshapes its future, opportunities arise to design publications that serve to promote the values and practices we need to uphold.

EARLE ABRAHAMSON is an Associate Professor at the University of Hertfordshire. He is an international author, scholar and practitioner. He has published a range of texts for the soft tissue therapy sector and continues to write and supporting writing initiatives. Earle has been nationally and internationally recognising for his work on leading scholarship and writing. He is chair of the GCMT and elected board member to the CNHC.