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A review by larrys
Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky
5.0
I started reading this book on 08 April and finished it today, on 07 August, which is no reflection on the book, and everything to do with how much I personally need a kick in the pants -- nothing I start seems to get finished lately, not even books I'm really enjoying!
But once I picked this book up again I remembered how well-written it is, and with chartreuse highlighter* in hand, I went through this paperback like I sometimes go through an Alain de Boton book -- impressed at its truisms and insight, finding many, many one-liners that could easily form the basis of all those motivational posters you see coming through your Facebook feed. (That's not just me, is it?)
*Not a library book. I bought my own copy.
Scott Belsky is a truly wise man, and I would encourage anyone embarking on a longterm creative project to read this book first. We completed our first longterm creative project last year, and through trial and error had already learnt to work with 'action steps'(though I'd never thought to call them that). I also know exactly what he means by scope creep and my own weaknesses have now been clarified for me, including my own tendency to see marketing as dirty, somehow. It's sobering to hear that for every hour spent on a creative project another hour needs to be spent on marketing and networking. I guess I've learnt that already, but I don't like to hear it. I doubt I'll ever get that ratio right, but this book is motivational enough for me to put in some more hours marketing and promoting next time we release a storybook app.
Interestingly, this is the second book I've read lately that is connected directly to a website. (The first was Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint.) I came to both of these books via blogs. This says something interesting about the publishing world, I think.
I haven't yet published a portfolio at the Behance Network, but I guess I'll go and add that to my list of action steps...
But once I picked this book up again I remembered how well-written it is, and with chartreuse highlighter* in hand, I went through this paperback like I sometimes go through an Alain de Boton book -- impressed at its truisms and insight, finding many, many one-liners that could easily form the basis of all those motivational posters you see coming through your Facebook feed. (That's not just me, is it?)
*Not a library book. I bought my own copy.
Scott Belsky is a truly wise man, and I would encourage anyone embarking on a longterm creative project to read this book first. We completed our first longterm creative project last year, and through trial and error had already learnt to work with 'action steps'(though I'd never thought to call them that). I also know exactly what he means by scope creep and my own weaknesses have now been clarified for me, including my own tendency to see marketing as dirty, somehow. It's sobering to hear that for every hour spent on a creative project another hour needs to be spent on marketing and networking. I guess I've learnt that already, but I don't like to hear it. I doubt I'll ever get that ratio right, but this book is motivational enough for me to put in some more hours marketing and promoting next time we release a storybook app.
Interestingly, this is the second book I've read lately that is connected directly to a website. (The first was Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint.) I came to both of these books via blogs. This says something interesting about the publishing world, I think.
I haven't yet published a portfolio at the Behance Network, but I guess I'll go and add that to my list of action steps...