35 Comments

Love this! I'm reminded to use with my own beta-readers ... I'd give direction on the feedback. Not to limit people, but to focus them in a helpful way for a first draft. The Best rules I've encountered were in an Advanced NonFiction Seminar taught by a Washington Post rockstar new journalist (yes, friends with Gay and Nan Talese), author and prof.

Keep comments to:

- something you like,

- something you don't like,

- places that confuse or lose the reader in some way.

Wildly helpful for the writer when people stick to it.

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Thanks for the feedback, Kim. I like your system. :)

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"That said, I have no idea if this will work or not. Whatever happens, [...] we’ll hopefully both learn something." This is a great attitude! Good luck and that sounds exciting and fun :)

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Heh, thanks, Marisa!

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Yes Jeff,

You are definitely nuts. And that's what I like about you: You take Risks.

Good luck with all that.

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Haha, well here we go, regardless. ;)

I appreciate the encouragement, Yannis!

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This is going to be fascinating--no matter what the outcome. Thanks for doing this!

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You bet, Gail. Hope you enjoy it.

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Fantastic Jeff! I’m joining the challenge!

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Excellent!

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First off, hats off to you for diving into this 25-day book-writing sprint—it's gutsy and incredibly inspiring! You've got this, Jeff. Good luck, and I can't wait to follow along!

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Thanks, Mo! Just catching up on all these comments now.

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Jeff - this is a really fun idea. I'm looking forward to following along.

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Totes brill! This will be a game changer for me. Backstage pass what a mind opening idea( would you consider loyal non subscribers newbie writers in on it too? -pretty please 🙏

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Shoot me an email about this, and we'll see what we can do. ;)

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YAY. Will do

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Of course I'm in! I love this idea!!

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Of course you are.

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You’ve always been one to bring others on the journey with you!

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Great idea. People love to see others under pressure - we need suspense in the stories we follow.

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Indeed, we do.

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Love the idea of thinking about thinking. Would love to hear about your doubts and questions and how you make decisions even when you are not quite certain of a direction.

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😱 is my reaction to the title

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Well, this'll be a treat - and watching how you process things as you're creating will be a game-changer (as it always is with you). I'm considering doing something similar in about a month, so this will be a perfect runway. Thanks for letting us ride along!

(And thanks for the lunch - but even more the chance to hang out and chat and listen to some tunes. Always good times - refreshing and energizing. Sure appreciate you . . !)

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You bet, Mike. Always a pleasure to get to spend time with you.

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Now I understand what’s going on. Love this idea. I think I may do this for a book idea I have been sitting on for a long while.

It reminds me of your coffee ☕️ project. Are you still roasting your own?

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I am! Great memory. ;)

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Hi Jeff! I think this is a fantastic idea and I'm looking forward to accompanying you on the journey! I frequently work better under pressure myself! As a matter of fact, my current organization is lining up their guns to let me go because I'm not producing the numbers they'd like to see so I'm going to join you in this process!

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