Andy Osborne is an expert in the field of business continuity management, having spent 20 years helping many and varied organisations, across a broad range of industry sectors to develop, implement, improve and maintain their business continuity capability. 

Andy published his expertise in his book Practical Business Continuity Management in 2007. He speaks to The HotHive about what potential business opportunities can arise from publishing a book…

HH: We think that publishing a book can have incredible potential for authors, for example bringing in new business and increasing business success. Has this been the case for you in the writing and publishing of your book, Practical Continuity Business Continuity Management?

AO: Publishing my first book has indeed been good for me and my business. On a personal note there’s the satisfaction of seeing my book in print but, more importantly, it’s definitely raised my profile. A more tangible benefit is that I’ve been contacted twice recently by people who had read my book, asking if I’d like to quote for some consultancy work. Obviously you still have to win the business, but these were opportunities that wouldn’t necessarily have come my way otherwise. I’m delighted to say that I did win one of them and have recently completed the assignment. On a separate occasion I mentioned my book during a sales meeting, the prospect had bought it by the time I got back to the office and I won that piece of business too. So I can confidently say that having a book not only helps in the credibility stakes, but it has definitely helped me to win several thousand pounds worth of business.

HH: Did you write the book with business opportunities in mind? 

A0: Sort of, although the book I wrote isn’t the one I’d originally planned to write! There were (and still are) a number of books around on the subject of business continuity management, most of which are huge, weighty (and, in some cases, extremely dull) tomes that bang on interminably about process and methodology and lifecycles (yawn!).  I’d been thinking for ages that there was room for a book which simplified the subject and the process of business continuity management (which essentially boils down to a combination of risk management and contingency planning) and made it more accessible to those of us who live in the real world. So I thought I’d write one. However, after meeting Sue at The HotHive/Word4Word, I changed tack slightly and ended up writing more of a hints and tips book. I always saw it as a potentially useful marketing tool, but I’m delighted to say it’s surpassed my expectations.   

HH: What tips could you pass on to aspiring authors to get their books written and published?

AO:  Start writing! Seriously though, it’s all too easy to think “I’ll get around to writing my book one day, when I have more time” but most of us have incredibly busy lives and if we don’t make time it’s all too easy to keep putting it off. With regard to the actual writing process, one of the best tips I was given by another author was just to get stuff down on paper - spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and all - and not to edit too much as you go along as this can interrupt the creative flow. Finally, I’d recommend going on one of The HotHive’s courses for aspiring authors – doing so really helped me to understand the publishing process and spurred me into action (and no, I wasn’t paid to say that!) 

HH: Now you are a successfully published author will you continue to write and publish books? What do you have planned? 

AO:  Actually, I’ve almost finished writing my second book “Risk Management Simplified”. As the title suggests, it’s about managing risks in our businesses. The gist of it is that risk management is something that everyone in business ought to be thinking about and that actually it isn’t that difficult and it doesn’t have to involve a hugely complex process. Assuming I get my finger out and finish the manuscript in the next couple of weeks, it should be published in October or November. I’ve also got a couple of ideas for other books, so who knows?

Click here for more information or to buy Andy's book, 'Practical Business Continuity Management'.

Andy Osborne is Managing Consultant of Acumen, the independent consultancy for Business Continuity, Risk and Information Security Management. 

The company specialises in:

* Business continuity audit and health check
* Business impact and risk assessment
* Business and IT continuity plan development
* Exercising and testing
* Training and awareness

Please visit the following websites for more information:www.acumen-bcp.co.uk and www.practicalbcm.co.uk