Discovering the best medium for your ideas.| Dan Pink | 459

Jan 15, 2023

At one time the undisputed best embodiment of a set of ideas was a book.  It was the clear winner, but is that still true?

To explore today's best mediums for written media, we’ve turned to five-time New York Times bestselling author Dan Pink. Dan has worked as a writer for politicians and the government before going out on his own to write seven books about business, work, creativity, and behavior.

Dan shares why you need to be "medium-agnostic," capable of publishing on many different mediums of media. He shares ways to test your ideas in various mediums, from books to Instagram, from TikTok to long-form articles. Once you've spread your wings a bit, you can build upon a broader foundation, leaning in on the ideas with depth and staying power.

While much has changed in the publishing industry over the last twenty years, the need for robust, insightful ideas remains paramount. We discuss the need for thought leaders to produce quality content that engages your audience - and sparks your enthusiasm, too! If you’ve lost interest in your own ideas, the reader will never get hooked. They're only going to be as excited about your insights as you are in talking about them.

When trying to determine the best medium for an idea you have to let the material tell you.  Dan explains why you have to check the idea by asking “Are you sure?” to avoid having a bloated book that wastes the reader's time and undermines the idea.


Three Key Takeaways:

*   Authors need to be good risk managers.  Keep a low overhead, spend money on things that make money, and save money on everything else.

*   Think of a book as a long-term proposition and stick with it. Try other mediums – a lot of them! – to back up your book ideas.

*    It takes a certain level of maturity to leave some of your work on the editing floor, but remember that the reader needs to be entertained as well as educated - and keep things simple.