“Only write if you’ve got something to say.”
That was advice that stuck. And that’s advice I’ve tried to keep. Whether it’s on the blog, in articles for magazines, contributions to books, curriculum projects, seminars, media stuff… I’ve always felt that if I expected someone to listen I had to have something interesting or new or important to say.
When I’ve got something to say the process is easy.
When I don’t? Writing is work. Boring at best. It feels forced and unnatural.
Since publishing A Parents Guide to Understanding Social Media with Marko a few years back I’ve felt a subtle push [internally] to write more about social media. Externally, it’s been an obvious ask since the first book did well.
But, it’s not really in my DNA to put a feather in my cap. And though it’s nice to deposit money in my bank account I’m not really interested in an advance. And I’m definitely not interested in building a personal brand or mini-empire, the mission of the Cartel is so much bigger than that.
I share all that because I’ve resisted a new book. I didn’t want to do a new book just to do it or for the money or whatever lame reason. I didn’t write again just because. See, I didn’t feel like I had something that needed to be said. Even writing for a utilitarian reason like “it’ll help people” is meh to me.
All that to say.
I’m working on a new project.
I’m excited about it.
I’m plugging away on the nuts and bolts of it over the summer, writing the bulk of it in September. I guess it’ll probably come out sometime in 2017.
My hope is to push past helpful.
My goal is to write something you’ll want to read.
My aspiration is that it’ll be something you need to read.
You see, I’ve got something to say.
