THE ART OF WRITING: AMIE REMINGTON’S JOURNEY AS AN AUTHOR

For the past few years, Saturday mornings for Amie Remington looked a bit different than most. The 20-year PEO industry veteran spent the early hours of the day writing, editing, and re-writing drafts of her recently published book, The Art (and Science) of HR: A Legal Guide for New Managers, CEOs and Leaders in Between.

Through storytelling, Remington’s book provides information, facts, legal insights and HR guidance that leaders need to be effective. The inspiration for writing the book comes from a simple truth she’s learned as an employment law attorney in the PEO industry.

“If you’re a good employer and follow best-in-class HR practices, you have the chance to change people’s lives for the better,” Remington, Chief Legal Officer of Peoplease, believes.

Amie Remington

She notes that employees who work a standard 40-hour work week are likely to spend 2,000 hours at work each year. With that much time dedicated to the office, a bad leader or employment culture can have disastrous consequences on employees’ personal and professional relationships, and physical and mental health. On the other hand, good HR and employment practices can significantly improve employees’ lives.

With chapters like “Do Not Friend Me on Social Media,” “If You’re Curious Why I Quit, Just Ask Me,” and “Your Generosity Makes A Lasting Impact,” Remington draws on her years of experience and expertise to assemble this how-to-guide for leaders at all levels – from newly promoted leader to leaders in the C-Suite. The laws, rules and lessons Remington writes about stem from actual employment scenarios she’s experienced, observed or handled.

You might think then that putting this book together would be an easy process. You’d be wrong. It was a tough process that consumed nearly two full years and a lot of Saturday mornings. Yet, when asked if she’d do it again, she answers with an enthusiastic yes. Overall, she found the process to be fun and rewarding even if there were times she struggled to stay motivated. When she first held a printed copy, she felt a sense of accomplishment and pride.

A LABOR OF LOVE

Once Remington had decided to write the book, she kicked off the process by talking with a friend, Quint Studer, who has written New York Times Best Sellers, including Results That Last. He offered advice and insights about the writing process and helped sift through ideas for the book.

“The most important thing Quint did was very generously introduce me to his editor, who quickly became a friend,” Remington says.

Remington connected with Dottie DeHart and shared her initial draft of sections of the book with her. Over breakfast, DeHart laid down a hard truth: this doesn’t work; you have to start over. Not exactly the words any author wants to hear, but often times the words an author needs to hear. Remington took the advice in stride and pored over her editor’s suggestions.

When she offered a fellow employment lawyer and friend the chance to read the second draft, her friend loved the idea of the book, but thought the tone was off. So, on to draft number three. Studer read this version and thought Remington was close, but not quite home yet.

All while writing and re-writing the book (including a title change), Remington was also focused on other aspects of publishing. She had to make decisions about fonts and paper thickness and even the exact shade of gray to use. What about sub-headlines and chapter sections? Where should call-out boxes go?

She leaned on her publisher’s in-house researcher for fact checking. Since the book uses data to underpin all of Remington’s claims on best HR practices, it was important that everything was sourced and accurate.

Her editor, Dottie, guided her through each step and offered encouragement and advice along the way.

By the time Remington had finished the fourth draft, she got a signal that she had hit the mark.

Bert Thornton, the retired President/COO and the Vice Chairman Emeritus of Waffle House, Inc., read the fourth draft and told Remington that if he had read her book when he was young manager his career would have been better because he would have been a better manager.

This is exactly how Remington hopes managers react after reading the book.

“Every story in the book is a from a real situation,” she explains, “even if just one leader makes a positive change and improves the life of an employee, that’s a win.”

Remington’s book is available on Amazon, at the Bodacious Bookstore in Pensacola, Florida and at Page and Palette in Fairhope, Alabama.