Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have worked as an IT Consultant for more years than I care to remember and in particular have a passion for Agile / Lean. So far I have only have my debut book out, Thrive: Surviving in a Corporate Jungle, but I do have at least 2 or 3 more books I would love to write at some point.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest (and first) book is Thrive: Surviving in a Corporate Jungle, and the inspiration came from a desire to write about the insanity I have witnessed in various corporations, but which I needed to anonymise to protect the innocent, or not so innocent as the case me be.
In particular, I also wanted to tap into human emotions. I’ve read too many business / agile / reference books and I know the subject is typically very dry, formulaic and extremely theoretical. There is nothing worse than a book of ‘quick tips’ if it takes 3 months to implement each tip. At that rate the top 10 tips would take 2.5 years to implement, which is a long time.
I think we often forget that humans have feelings, opinions and their own motivations. Corporations live in a disconnected reality whereby a mandate from above that they shall be agile tomorrow, means they are magically agile tomorrow. This disconnect from the messaging and the reality is where the most frustration and tension typically arises within the average corporation.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My editor told me I was too self-deprecating and lacked confidence in my writing style. She removed so many ‘hopefully’ I think the word count was halved.
I probably have a ‘Billy Connolly’ element to my writing. I don’t have a structure, or a plan, but find myself running off at tangents and typing furiously for a few days. I then spend a couple of weeks cleaning up the mess. I also don’t write as often as I think. I will play out key passages over and over in my head before I commit them to paper.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I listed the key books in my book. The biggest influence for the structure of this book has to be Rework from 37 Signals. I prefer not to insult the reader by spelling out absolutely everything in painstaking, and unnecessary detail. I want to spark the imagination of the reader. I want them to think for themselves.
Other big influences are everything by Tom DeMarco, Malcolm Gladwell and Douglas Adams.
What are you working on now?
I am deep into the promotion and marketing phase of my first book. I would love to say I am actively working on my second book, but finances dictate I will probably return to consulting for a while. I’m not one of these people who can write a book in my spare time, so it may be a while before I can find the time to dedicate to writing again 🙁
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll tell you when I find out. So far, I’m not enjoying the experience of promoting my book. I think the best engagement (not necessarily sales) has been from a giveaway promotion I’ve been running on Goodreads.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write for yourself first and foremost. Do it to the point you are happy and then decide on the next step. Don’t set out to write a best-seller. My book was never really intended for a wide audience, but at each stage of the project I made a judgement call whether to invest more energy or not.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Challenge everything, particularly yourself.
What are you reading now?
Mainly books on mindfulness and spirituality.
What’s next for you as a writer?
This may just be my only book. I have a personal story I would love to tell, but that is a long way off.
I need to see how my first goes is received to determine whether or not I’ll ‘publicly’ write a second book.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d have to take a large book on astronomy so I could study the stars.
I would then take an encyclopaedia.
Douglas Adams Hitchhiker would be on the list.
What I wouldn’t take would be any ‘business’ books.
Author Websites and Profiles
Mark Barnes Website
Mark Barnes Amazon Profile
Mark Barnes’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account