Given my last post about my next book generated so much interest, I’ve decided to document my journey here in the hopes that it benefits others.
This is book number 7. Although I have published books as far back as 2001 (with an even earlier one from 1996 when I was at Accenture), I am always learning something new.
Late last week I sent the beta version of the book to a dozen reviewers. These are individuals that I know and trust. People who know my content and know innovation. They are primarily clients who will give me open and honest feedback.
To gather feedback, I am using the “Help This Book” software that Rob Fitzpatrick talks about in his book, Write Useful Books.
I loaded up the entire manuscript and asked my beta readers to tell me what they liked, what confused them, and what needed to go. The image is the actual dashboard for the first few chapter. In the first few days, I’ve already received 100 reactions from 5 of the readers. We still have a couple more weeks for reviewers to provide feedback.
It’s nice that you can see the feedback visually.
- Green = This is useful.
- Red = Love this!
- Yellow = Here’s a thought you might want to consider.
- Purple = This is confusing.
- Blue = Feels slow and it drags on.
I will be using this system for at least 3 rounds of feedback. More most likely, for a variety of reasons.
In future posts, I will talk about my publishing and marketing strategies, editing tactics, and more. Also, the book has a new name and I will be sharing that in the future. Stay tuned!