Featherstone 
Short books, big impact: books on the verge
How writing a shorter book can have big benefits
How to write a book? However you like! But if you want it to be read, and cut-through, that’s where the shaping begins.
When authors explain their concepts to me, or I read through early drafts of manuscripts, I absorb all the author is trying to do and how. But then we apply an editorial and marketing lens: how might the author write, shape and present the manuscript to appeal to and serve readers; and might there be other audiences the author hasn’t thought of, who, with a few tweaks, or via a wholly different editing or book marketing strategy, could be tempted to become book buyers too?
Is the author trying to do too much? Or too little? And who is the audience for this book?
So much comes down to the author’s purpose: what are you hoping to achieve by writing this book? Why on earth would you devote a year (or more!), wrestling concepts, commas, passive and active language, publishing practicalities, and then the whole stuffed backpack of tasks that is book marketing?
Why indeed?
A Clear Author Purpose Makes the Writing Easier
Gayle Dallaston has been doing the wrestling because she’s clear in her purpose: to empower others to transform our cities and neighbourhoods with verge gardens—cooling, biodiverse breathing spaces to connect native plants and animals, pollinators and pedestrians.
“If 2 out of 3 of the residents in the Brisbane City Council area planted verge gardens (aka the nature strip outside their homes) it would create 1000+ hectares of biodiverse habitat and transform the city,” she says. “How I see it is my verge is no longer a small patch of land in front of my home, but a part of a massive amount of land that forms interconnecting corridors throughout suburbs and cities…It is not my land. It is part of the commons, and it connects everybody and everything.”
Gayle is a member of Kelly Irving’s Expert Author Community, and that’s where I first met her. I was an industry expert guest in their cohort’s goal-setting session and a later pitch session too. It’s always such an honour to hear about what people are writing about in these sessions, every book so different, every author so passionate.
My environment-attuned ears pricked up when I heard what she was writing about, and a few days later she put in an order for a copy of Look-It’s Your Book! and the workbook to help her further explore her publishing options.
A few months later, Gayle sent me a message: she’d realised that the one book she thought she was writing was actually better served by, “three books (at least)”.
Why Publish a Smaller Book First?
The Benefits of Starting Small
So, what are the benefits of an author’s decision to publish and launch a smaller book first? There are multiple:
- Speed: you’re able to write, edit, design, produce and get into the hands of readers quicky.
- Cost: it’s more economical to produce and therefore for readers to purchase.
- Practice: you can learn so much from producing a smaller book, meaning you’ll be more capable when tackling a larger one.
- Risk: You’re able to take more risks and experiment when you have less on the line.
- Meeting your audience where they’re at: Time and concentration are limited, shorter books can meet a need and, depending on your topic, may be more effective than longer books.
- Building an audience: As Gayle said, “it’s an introductory book to set the stage for the others”.
- It’s potentially a better book: Focussing in on your message and what your audience really needs to know, leads to a better book. No waffle, just fulfilling the reader’s need for information.
A Spotlight on Garden on the Verge: A New Approach
And Gayle, in her book Garden on the Verge: A New Approach, has done it well. The book is consciously sparing, refreshing, informative, optimistic, wise, grounded and gives a holistic view of the benefits, risks and how-to of nature strip gardening. It’s a framework for collaboration between individuals, councils and communities for the benefit of all.
Garden on the Verge: A New Approach is a small book (just 80 pages with well-spaced and sized text), but very, very generous and holistic in insight.
How Gayle talks about the personal, social and environmental benefits of verge gardens and how to respectfully work with neighbours, councils, community groups, pedestrians, even the local postie, makes it all seem possible to never mow again…and get even your most perfect-lawn-loving-weed-spraying neighbour on board.
Why Little Books Can Have Big Impact
Before ebooks, before podcasts, before attention spans became attention slims, it used to matter that books were thick with text filling out hundreds of pages. Why? So, when the book’s spine was lined up on a bookstore’s shelf, it would make an impact and the title could be easily read. For a book like Gayle’s this matters so much less. Garden on the Verge can easily be stacked up on the counter of a garden store, botanic gardens would be happy to stock it in their shops, and councils, gardening and environmental groups will be able to purchase it in bulk.
Little books like this make the world a better place, and that’s why I love working with authors so much.
Where to Find Garden on the Verge
You can discover distributors of Garden on the Verge or get yourself a copy direct from Gayle at the Shady Lanes Project here.