How to write a book

This article gives practical advice on technical book writing based on the author's experience. Early collection and through analysis of resource and bibliographic materials often yield extra useful information. Making the first sentences or paragraphs or pages of each unit comprehensible even to one's “grandmother” is a good first step toward making the entire text comprehensible to its intended audience. Publishing survey or review articles, speaking at conferences, and developing annotated bibliographies are ways of rehearsing chapter writing and having something to show at each stage of the work.