Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

There are many endeavors in which it is important to do something before talking about doing it.

Have an idea for a book? Great. Don’t pitch the idea to publishers. They will expect you to come back with 90% of the book in hand. Then they will talk to you about you finishing the book.

Advance on the royalties? That is for celebrities. Everyone else must do the work before making the claim to genius. Write the entire book. Rewrite the entire book. Than tell publishers what you have.

This extends beyond books, plays, scripts, songs, etc. Have a great idea for the next great app? Build it; tell others about it, and do it in that order.

“But I’m an idea person,” say many. “I’ll state the idea, you do it, and we’ll share the reward.” Sorry, I’ve seen that movie, but that is only in the movies and is not how the world works.

This—do before claiming—is not always the case. There are instances when doing something, even the smallest first steps, require resources that are not at hand. If you are working in the at area, you will know it. More importantly, the folks with the resources will know it. With today’s technology, however, those cases are fewer and fewer than most want to admit.