I just published a long article/essay on the process of publishing The Start-Up of You. In addition to sharing background on how Reid and I came to partner on the book, I share lessons learned and insights on the key editorial questions that define a book, how to ask for and incorporate feedback from early readers, the reality of self-doubt and self-dissapointment that’s part of the process in a project like this, and much more. I hope it’s useful for authors and entrepreneurs alike. Since it’s long, I suggest printing or viewing in Readability mode for your convenience. Enjoy!
Loved the essay. I’m actually on the verge of publishing a book as well, do you have any opinions on the decision of putting up an e-book for free or charging for it?
Thanks.
Lots of different options on e-books. Check out Hyperink.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post! The best aspect about your blog (your writing specifically) is that regardless of the topic covered in your articles, I always leave feeling both like I have learned a lot about a specific endeavor and/or topic as well as intellectually stimulated. A rarity I think that is absent in most writing covering business/entrepreneurship
Ben, I just finished reading the section titled: “Discipline, Focus, and Self-Loathing.” I really appreciate how you candidly shared your thoughts and fears about potentially receiving negative reviews or feedback that The Start-Up of You was poorly written or incoherently assembled. And, your point about having Reid on-board compounded those fears — Wow! It says a lot about you as a person in revealing how much turmoil was running through your mind during the writing process. But, I admire how you overcame those fears — by ultimately trusting in your creative, iterative process and finding different ways to harness your focus. I’ll have to check out some of the technology tools you mentioned (i.e., Self-Control for the Mac and Toggl). Your point about disengaging from email is so true (especially when you need to get real work done). You know how much I love The Start-Up of You. But, I admire even more your thoughts vividly describing how the path to success with this book was littered with a lot of crap, chaos, self-doubt, and fear along the way — Thank You!