Why write a book and top tips?

Writing a book can be a profoundly rewarding endeavor, offering countless benefits and challenges. Especially if you have a creative mind, it seems endless, and the more you write, the more thoughts emerge.

Particularly when I was writing my "questionable quality" books and even my PDFs, ideas usually come at times when I am reflecting by myself, far from a computer. It's a huge challenge, and you need to have a lot of patience, as sometimes not everything will fit in the first version of your book. But before I give some tips...

But Why Write a Book?

There are various reasons to write a book, not just for financial purposes. In fact, depending on the country, being an author may not be profitable. In my case here in Brazil, the returns are minimal. But below, I list the reasons:

• Sharing Knowledge and Ideas: Books are excellent means to share deep knowledge, ideas, and insights on a wide range of topics, from personal development to academic subjects.
• Telling a Story: Whether it's a captivating fiction narrative or a compelling true story, writing a book allows you to share stories that can entertain, inspire, and inform others.
• Building Credibility and Authority: Publishing a book on a specific subject can establish you as an expert in your field, enhancing your credibility and authority.
• Personal Achievement: Writing a book is an achievement that brings a sense of accomplishment. It's a way to fulfill a personal goal or a life dream.
• Leaving a Legacy: Books can outlive their authors, allowing your voice, stories, and ideas to be heard by future generations.
• Reaching a Wide Audience: With the global book market and digital platforms, your book can reach readers all around the world, making a comprehensive impact.
• Generating Income: Although it's a challenging path, successful books can become a source of passive income through sales, licensing deals, and adaptations.

Of all these points I've mentioned, I use sharing knowledge and leaving a legacy as the main factors because I don't care about the financial return it may bring. You rarely see me promoting the books, and for those who know me, I hardly ever sell them. Instead, I end up sending free copies to people I like. Does this mean you should do the same? No! Because if you're an author focused on generating income, your approach will be completely different from mine.

Top Tips for Writing a Book

• Start with a Clear Concept: Whether it's a theme, message, story idea, or subject matter, have a clear concept in mind. This will be your guide throughout the writing process.
• Create an Outline: An outline helps organize your thoughts and structure your book, making the writing process more manageable and coherent.
• Establish a Routine: Consistency is key. Set aside dedicated time to write every day or week to make steady progress.
• Embrace the First Draft: Accept that your first draft won’t be perfect. The goal is to get your ideas down on paper; refinement and polishing come later.
• Seek Feedback: Share your work with trusted individuals or writing groups to gain valuable insights and perspectives. Constructive criticism is crucial for improvement.
• Revise and Edit: Revision is where much of the real work happens. Be prepared to revise and refine your manuscript multiple times to improve its quality.
• Learn About Publishing Options: Research the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus self-publishing. Understanding the landscape can help you make informed decisions about how to publish your book.
• Be Concise: A very long book can be tedious. Always leave something for a second part, especially if it’s your first work, so if it is well received in the market, that’s excellent.
• Promote Your Book: Whether through social media, author websites, book tours, or media appearances, promoting your book is essential to reaching your audience.
• Stay Persistent: Writing a book is a marathon, not a sprint. Persistence and resilience are crucial, especially in the face of challenges or rejection.

Particularly when I was writing each of my books, some were very quick to finish while others took about 2 years to come to life, so try to manage your anxiety. Currently, I am writing one about Antivirus Evasion which is shown on the cover photo of this article, and so far, it has been taking 1 year and 4 months, as I want to be careful to bring completely up-to-date knowledge about AV evasion, EDR, Firewall, Application Controls, etc. Just like the book "Introduction to Offensive Security," which took 2 years to come to life, but in the end, the result is entirely satisfactory.

Being an author is very important, of course, you need to be careful with plagiarism and copy-paste, and you should not confuse these two terms.

• Plagiarism is copying something without giving due credit to the original author.
• Copy-paste is copying an author's content but giving due credit.

However, even though copy-pasting might seem simple, you need to verify if the article or content belongs to the author you are mentioning. I myself face this dilemma when I make my PDFs; often, I find the content in various sources, and CopySpider returns a specific source, but sometimes it's not the original.

Therefore, taking these precautions is essential, but it's a joy to see a friend thanking me for including parts of their discoveries in some content I produce, as it gives more visibility to excellent work. Only the approach to credits needs to be really calculated.

In summary, if you have something to contribute, even if you don't master it 100%, write it; nothing is irrelevant today. To talk about a problem, we don't need to be complete experts in it, but we need to use reliable sources to give more credibility to our work and to be taken seriously in the academic world. It’s not uncommon to see people writing about artificial intelligence without even having a specialization, but they use research from major universities as a bibliographic reference to give life to a work and a concept.

As someone who has been writing from a young age, I started writing my own crazy stories at the age of 11, besides having a personal diary that urged me to want to build literary works to leave a legacy of knowledge. This became very important for me to have the desire to produce materials.

However, I am not a successful author, so my tips might not be as good as those of a best-selling author. But in general, all of us, whether a best-seller or someone who started today, will encounter discouragement, imposter syndrome, and anxieties, be it due to a lack of creativity or believing that your work will not be important.

Author’s Notes: I have always liked writing, which is evident from the PDFs of questionable quality and the articles I produce. Sometimes, some are just a collection of links that reference works by other authors. I also include preparatory materials for certifications and study materials for the certifications I am studying, aiming to save time and create reference guides for personal use. Imagine having to search on Google when you can have someone do that work for you. This sums up my PDFs, which, for some, are interpreted erroneously. As an avid reader, I have seen many excellent works criticized based on ad hominem arguments. Certainly, if you become the author of something, even if for free and referenced, you will be criticized.

I leave this final note for you to understand that your work is not irrelevant; it will contribute to someone in some way. The amount of positive feedback I receive for investing my time during the early hours studying, noting, and compiling this information into PDFs that I distribute for free is significant. The final message I leave is that, regardless of everything, just as there are people who like "The Lord of the Rings," there are those who do not – and it's okay. Hating is part of human nature.

And I would like to thank some friends who were part of the writing journey:

Deivison Pinheiro Franco (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/deivison-franco/ ) - Offensive Security Introduction

Cleber Soares (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/clebersoaresbelem/ ) - Offensive Security Introduction

Filipi Pires (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/filipipires/ ) - Defense Evasion Introduction

David Meece (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/david-meece-cybertech-dave/ ) - Thank you for inviting me to write the foreword for your book