Book Idea

[LongTomH]

I've been talking for some time with friends about writing a book about what happened to my old company. It was a good place to work, until we got a new CEO - whose name I won't mention here for various reasons. This individual came to use from an airline that he had driven into bankruptcy while trying to get it ready for an IPO; he left that company with $15 million in his piggy bank while reducing headcount and getting employees to take deep wage cuts.

When he came to my company, he immediately began layoffs and gave employees a 5% wage cut (We're not unionized, so we didn't have a choice.). We were told that the wage cuts might be temporary. Months later, at the time we were finding out that the wage cuts were to be permanent, a friend googled up some SEC documents which detailed the outrageous salaries and bonuses our executives were getting!

All this was in preparation for an IPO to take the country public. The IPO tanked - the market wouldn't match the price per share our CEO wanted. Next step was to get the company ready for sale to the highest bidder.

All this was while continually reducing headcount. Our pension plans were frozen; we were told that, no matter how long we worked, our pension payouts wouldn't increase!

I watched all this happen, and saw the effect on my co-workers: both those who were laid off and those who remained. I was let go in 2005. I got a chance to come back as a contract programmer in 2008 - hourly wage, no seniority, no paid vacation, no paid holidays or sick days. That lasted about a year.

That isn't any different from what's been happening across the board as jobs are outsourced, companies are downsized and people are just thrown out into the street.

What I'm thinking of including in this proposed book is:

• Out CEO's rap sheet - what he did to other companies, and his political activities.
  
• Personal stories of my co-workers and how they coped.
  
• How layoffs and outsourcing are affecting our society.
  
• How does this relate to the concentration of wealth to the top 1% or 0.5%?
  
• What does this portend the 'Future of Work?'
  
• Is there any way out of this mess?

What I really want to ask is: Can this be made into a book that can be sold and marketed? Would this be something that a progressive publisher might be interested in?

[RagAss]

1. As a work of fiction, it will sell if the CEO is ripped apart by a pack of weasels at the end.

The "human" like the one you describe above has torn this society apart, family by family. If we act like every other society has acted when faced with this ruthless destruction of its fabric, then the time of their time is running short.

[sybylla]

2. As with any story, it all depends

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre fiction? Literary fiction? Biography?

Perspective - One individual? A few? Many?

Tone - Comedy? Dark drama? Parody? Absurdist? Morality play?



My two cents - I think this is a story that will sell. Success boils down to the framework you tell it in and what aspects you want to emphasize.

[LongTomH]

3. I should have explained that this was intended as non-fiction.

Part objective reporting and part analysis - relating what happened to my company to what's been happening 'all over' as jobs are outsourced and people are downscaled.

I really wanted some advice as to the marketability and as to who I should market it to. I think the story should be told - just for the sake of truth - but, it won't be of any value if no one reads it.

[jotsy]

4. You might be able to market pieces of it in serial fashion to places like Alternet or Common Dreams

in serial fashion to see if you can generate some spark while you're working on the book, it might at least give you a feel for the waters.

From there, the best writing advice I ever got comes courtesy of a program adviser at a community college where I studied journalism in the early 90's. "Have a message and make your words work."

[LongTomH]

5. Thanks for the advice!

I'm a beginning, unsold, totally green writer! Green as in 'novice,' 'unexperienced.'

[sybylla]

6. Okay...

Unless you've got credentials and documents to back up much of what you say, you may be asked to fictionalize the people and the company and even some of the data you're using to avoid law suits, so keep that in the back of your mind. I'd write it exactly the way you want to and when the time comes, let the publisher's lawyers tell you what needs to be adjusted if anything.

Non-fiction projects can be submitted to agents and publishers in a proposal before you ever put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). You can find information on creating and submitting non-fiction proposals with a walk through Borders writing aids section or a Google search. (Loads of agents and editors blog about just this thing.)

The process for coming up with a proposal for your project may help you sort out the marketability and the target market questions. Head to your local library and pick up a copy of The Writer's Market. It lists markets for ALL story types, all genres, various project lengths and publication types. Even an old copy would help you research markets and start pulling together some ideas for a proposal. There are an amazing variety of ways you can craft this story to make it sale-able. Spend some time exploring the possibilities.

There are a lot of writing magazines that address issues, tips and tricks in crafting both fiction and non-fiction stories. The library might be a good place to find an archive of them.

As for the story itself, I'd advise you to stay away from getting too technical and if you have to go technical, don't let it be dry. To be successful, you need to engage as many readers as possible. Unless you're writing an academic paper, the more technical the more readers you are likely to lose. (I say this as a technical writer.) Your publisher will spot that a long way off and may reject your proposal/work because of it.

Finding a target audience and discerning marketability is not easy. Universally, people want to read stories about other people, especially someone they can empathize with. So I would suggest you try to keep your focus on the people involved. Do a good job at that and 1) the technical stuff won't matter as much, 2) your audience just grew.

As a "new" writer, you should try to find someone who fits your target audience, someone you can both trust and count on to be absolutely, brutally honest about your work because you'll find there are times you need/want a second opinion on bits and then eventually the whole.

Sounds like a worthy project to me. I wish you good luck with it.

[Jim__]

7. Can you put a unique perspective on this story?

Like you said: That isn't any different from what's been happening across the board as jobs are outsourced, companies are downsized and people are just thrown out into the street.

What might make it successful is some unique perspective. Your bullet points have been covered in the literature. So, you need something that differentiates this story.

But, all-in-all, it sounds interesting.