As soon as your graduate has turned in the books and walked across the stage—be it to celebrate their high school or college graduation—the last thing they’ll want to do is crack more books and bury their nose in their laptop. It the best time, however, to write a book and publish their first book. Publishing something—even a short book—has unique benefits for your graduate.
Don’t lose the routine for hard work
Hopefully, your graduate has learned exactly the study and work habits that brought them success during their high school and college years. Following a plan and working on a book is a great way to maintain and continue their positive work habits and discipline that helped them earn their diploma. These are habits that will stick with them through their entire working life.
Demonstrate what they know
Whether your graduate publishes a fiction novel or a nonfiction book, doing a book right out of school gives them the best chance to show their knowledge and expertise. Though they may not have a career’s worth of work experience, they probably held some part time work or an internship during their schooling that could provide experience and insights. They can find something to say. The graduate with creative aspirations probably has a notebook or two of ideas that could easily become their first published novella or anthology of writings.
Forming a foundation for a personal brand and platform
Your graduate may be ready to jump into the job market. They might have an idea of what industry in which they want to make their impact. They might have a job all lined up. No matter the type of work they aspire to do; no matter what goals they have in the short- and long-term; publishing a first book gives them a jump on building a body of work and a foundation on which to build their platform and, possibly, their personal brand.
Differentiation is assured
Nothing differentiates your new graduate from the pack faster or greater than a published book. Imagine you’re an HR gatekeeper going through a stack of résumés and CVs. You have to immediately disqualify several or most of the applicants. How many applicants in that given stack are likely to have a published book? Wouldn’t you immediately put that résumé onto that short “closer look” pile? Who wouldn’t?
What to write
No matter their course of study or plans for the future, there is something about which your graduate can write a short book. A political science major could write commentary on current issues. A history major could write a discussion of their favorite event in history, and compare and contrast it to another moment in time. An English Language major might write a novella in their favorite genre. Your high school graduate could write and publish just about anything to great benefit: fiction, poetry, critiques, memories of a specific event or trip, or a collection of a grandparent’s recollections from childhood. These projects can be a focal point of a high school graduate’s college applications.
The months following a high school or college graduation provide a unique opportunity for the new graduate to bring their work ethic to bear, write about something they care about and/or know well, build the foundation for a personal platform and brand, and be ready to better compete against others for jobs, internships, or opportunities for advancement.
How much could that competitive edge help them in their job search and beyond? Don't let them miss out!
