Episode 48 - Writing with the Crowd with Guy Kawasaki

'I don't think many authors would put themselves through what I put myself through. How many authors are confident enough or stupid enough to send their manuscript to a thousand people who they have no idea who they are, and just say, "Okay, just tell me what you don't like."'

But over the course of 13 bestselling books, Guy Kawasaki has discovered that this is in fact the best way to create his best book. 

'There's no doubt in my mind that the crowd improves my books,' he says. It began when he sent out his first manuscripts to a select few beta readers and noticed how invaluable their feedback was.

'Then I figured out that... maybe you don't know all the intelligent people in the world firsthand, so maybe you should broaden your net.'

Now he puts up publicly the table of contents and then the full first draft, turning on the comments function and inviting anyone who's interested to give their opinion. The feedback helps in the rewriting, and it also completely changes his relationship with his readers, who become invested in the book and its success. 

An incredibly inspiring episode, and Guy keeps it real with his advice on getting the darn thing done and not messing up your cover.