My Next Book: Letting a Hundred Flowers Blossom

It’s been two years since The Art of the Start hit the streets, and I’m ready to write another book. I have some ideas, but I'd like to tap the “wisdom of the crowd” in order to ensure that it appeals to “the long tail” in this “Web 2.0” world. :-)

So...I’ve created a wiki for the book that’s located here. The password for contributors is “kickbutt”. I’ve used PBwiki. The syntax is that you enter an “!” at the start of a line to create a heading—that is, the book title or a descriptive phrase. Then you can explain your idea in the next line.

For example, this:

! Title: Venture Capital for the Clueless

An explanation for beginners of how to raise venture capital

will look like this:

Title: Venture Capital for the Clueless

An explanation for beginners of how to raise venture capital

I appreciate your ideas very much!

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Comments

[Kempton]

Hello Guy,

Interesting idea to tap into the “wisdom of the crowd” to write this book. I look forward to contributing some ideas (when I have them) and also eager to see how this idea will turn out.

Here is my meta-idea to double the value for many purchasers of this new book. In Chapter zero, link to a new blog entry that -- gather selected entries from your blog (as one of your reader suggested) with a few new comments or two by you.

My current personal preference is to read things that you've written for your blog on the web, as oppose to in a book. You have all those wonderful links, pictures, videos, and other people's comments, etc. Plus, like many of you faithful readers, I have read and learned from most of your blog entries already and I would rather not kill some poor trees for repeated ideas. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Cheers,
Kempton

[Duncan Freeman]

Hi Guy:

This is a fantastic idea! I’m looking forward to watching the book unfold.

[Don]

Guy,

I look forward to seeing the book when you are done!

I also would love to talk to you about media to present it in, and some ways, once you have the ideas you want, to enhance your book, such as including video, audio, and interactive projects within the book!

Hope to hear from you!

Don

[Mark]

Dream Catcher... thumbs up.

~ Mark

[terra]

I JUST read "The Art of the Start", and it quickly became my new favorite book! I can't wait to read your newest creation! You rock!

[shel israel]

My personal experience is that using social media to write a book is a wonderful idea. Essentially, there are two ways you will gain from the experience: (1) Your readers will help you write a better book. Considering how good most of your previous books have been, that will be truly kickass, and (2) Your readers will become your word of mouth evangelists and will bolster your sales at very low cost to you and your publisher.

Good luck to you Guy. I look forward to reading your new book whatever the title ends up being.

[Gaby]

Title: Organic Innovation

Get your gears started and create a healthy startup.

(Meaning and innovation is pretty much what the world needs - you have already started compiling those thoughts in the blog - still lots of entrepreneurs need them in order of correlation).

Please grab our hands and carry the flag!!!

Gaby

[Daniel Thanos]

Hey Guy,

Anyway we can get an advanced if unedited and disorganized collection of your thoughts behind this impending book? I am now about to start a VC run and I could really do with the solid advice and direction this book will offer. Or if in your opinion your last work is still current to the environment I could direct my attention there.
I will be sure to run through your wiki.

Wishing you all the best, a crazy and unrelenting Entrepreneur ;-)

Daniel.

[Morgan Ramsay]

Here's another title: "Shiitake". ;)

[Anand]

Guy,
You can release one more book from your blog postings'06 with selective user comments
(just a thought).
Thanks
~Anand

[Startups.in/India]

Please ignore my last part of the comment above regarding the title. I think I was just too excited and missed to read that you were in fact looking for book title/theme and not the list of topics.

[Doug Karr]

Guy,

My experience with VC is that it's a well-connected industry and has less to do with a business plan and more to do with how well-connected you are. VC appears more like the music industry or authoring a book.

Perhaps your book can prove me wrong!

Respectfully,
Doug

[Startups.in/India]

As I was posting a contest late last night on Startups.in/India , I was saying to myself what your next book would be and it is a sheer coincidence that the first thing I see on visiting your blog today is related to the same thought that I just had last night. :)


Can't say how much excited I am. I'll definitely share what I think is missing in the other books that could have been relevant to "web2.0" crowd. But is there a more specific theme you have on mind for this book - "Letting a Hundred Flowers Blossom"? Is that going to be the name of the final book?

[Walker Hamilton]

I already added one.