It’s happening! My first draft of Digital Tidiness is complete, and I hired a professional editor to do the first round of feedback. In celebration of this milestone I’ll share the origin story of Digital Tidiness in lieu of a #tidydigital tip this week.
“The Uncharted Wiki”
Late last year I came up with a book idea for a comprehensive guide on how to write and maintain corporate wiki pages. I work as a Technical Program Manager in the tech industry, which involves a lot of writing and editing documentation on company knowledge share pages. Every team I’ve worked on throughout my career has struggled with effective knowledge sharing. My book idea was on how to find relevant documentation, how to choose the right technology for writing a document, and writing things that teammates will actually find useful. The book would also include templates for different types of program & technical documents that are commonly used in corporate settings.
At the start of 2021 I had the pleasure of meeting Wendy Kim, bestselling author and founder of Beyond Blending In. She told me about the Slay & Play Sisterhood, a group coaching program for women of color to overcome limiting cultural beliefs and embrace joy. I signed up right away when Wendy told me about the awesome women in the cohort. The first step of the program was to define three goals: a 3-month “Slay” goal, a 3-month “Play goal, and a more long-term “Cray” goal. I knew right away that I wanted to use the Slay goal to work on my book idea.
In an early session of the program, Wendy asked us to create a picture that would give us inspiration for our Slay goal. I sketched a picture of three cartoon characters with the Confluence, Wikipedia, and Microsoft Word logos in a parody of the famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. I named the picture “The Uncharted Wiki” and subsequently decided to use that name as the book title.
Simplifying the concept
My next step was to share my book idea with family and close friends. I received lots of supportive feedback, but I also heard a ton of comments related to digital hygiene outside of corporate knowledge spaces:
- “You wouldn’t want to look at my desktop; it’s super messy.”
- “My emails and documents are OUT of control”
- “My device storage is always full. Whenever I want to take a picture I have to delete a bunch of photos.”
As I reflected on the feedback, I realized that there is a need for more general guidance on how to keep common digital spaces uncluttered and useful. I named this concept Digital Tidiness and pivoted my book idea. Instead of of focusing on a very specialized topic like corporate wikis, I decided to write a handbook of specific instructions on how to clean up emails, desktops, documents, and other critical digital spaces.
What’s next?
I’m using the Reedsy marketplace to hire editors and other professionals for the book. The first round of edits will be from Jeff S, who specializes in editorial assessments and developmental editing. He’ll provide feedback on my “big picture” elements and overall structure. Next I’ll hire editors to do the copy editing and proofreading. The last step is to hire professional to do the book formatting and cover art. I also plan to record an audiobook version once the content is finalized.
I’m so excited to hit my first big milestone in the writing process! The book feels more real now that the first draft is complete. Thank you for taking part in this journey with me; I can’t wait to share the book with you once it’s done!
Such a timely topic for our digital generation! I look forward to buying a copy and following your progress.