As more regular readers of Continuations will know I have been working on a book that pulls together many of the ideas I have been writing about here. So where does this effort stand?
The good news is that over the summer I have produced a 120 page draft together with another writer. The bad news is that I know everything that’s wrong with that draft and it’s a lot. Some problems are small, such as inconsistent tone of voice as there are two writers. Others are large, such as missing sections on capital and partially wrong arguments on labor. Worst of all I have come up with a better framing of the overall argument that requires fairly substantial rework.
My plan now is to do one big rewrite before publishing a draft. I am hoping to make progress on that over the holidays although how much I will accomplish is unclear as we will be traveling to India as a family. The good news is that once I am done with this rewrite I will have a website ready for releasing it and letting everyone read and contribute.
There are two reasons for writing today’s post. One is to let everyone who is waiting for the book (not sure anyone is) know what’s happening. The other is to further my own determination to do the rewrite. Tackling that is a lot like tackling the cleanup of one’s basement or attic – one knows exactly what needs to be done and yet dreads the task as it confronts one with past mistakes. Much like dealing with technical debt.
Having written today’s post, I am feeling better about the prospect already. Stay tuned for another update in the new year.
