Writing Out Loud
Share unfinished work publicly to harvest corrections and buy-in before it's done
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 74%
Kelly's practice, learned from blogging and Wired, is to share work publicly before it is finished so feedback arrives while change is still easy. He wrote his book on his blog first; the internet corrects mistakes early and volunteers extra ideas, which is far less embarrassing than fixing them post-publication. Beyond correction, involving people in a creative work makes them emotionally invested and bought in, giving them a sense of ownership. Williamson's parallel is running work-in-progress comedy shows and involving influential clubbers in event decisions to build ownership. Kelly ties the courage to share to 'be the only': if the work is truly yours, no one can steal it.
Origin
Kevin Kelly's method developed while blogging and editing Wired, and used to draft his own books in public.
Core principles
- 01Share your work early, before it's done, to get feedback while change is still cheap
- 02The internet is very good at correction
- 03Involving people in the process makes them bought in and invested
- 04Once something is finished it is really hard to change
How to run it
- 1
Show it before it's finished
Publish or present the work while it is still rough and changeable rather than waiting for completion.
Pro tip Once it's done, it's really hard to change.
- 2
Invite correction and ideas
Openly ask for feedback so the crowd catches mistakes and adds ideas you'd have missed.
Pro tip The internet is really good at correction.
Watch out Getting the same correction after publishing is far more embarrassing.
- 3
Involve people in the process
Bring your audience or influential participants into decisions to build emotional investment and ownership.
Pro tip You need not act on their feedback for them to feel ownership from being asked.
- 4
Iterate in public
Keep revising openly, workshopping the work over time the way live shows are refined.
Pro tip Hamilton was workshopped live for a decade before release.
In the wild
Running nightclubs, Williamson would bring the most influential partygoers into the process before launching a brand, asking whether a room should go tech house or tropical house. He never intended to act on their feedback and already knew the direction, but by being consulted the influencers felt a sense of ownership and were emotionally invested when the night was finally announced. The involvement itself, not the feedback, produced buy-in.
→ Early advocates who felt ownership and championed the launch.
Common mistakes
Perfecting privately before shipping
Waiting until work is finished forfeits cheap early feedback and makes necessary changes far harder.
Hiding work for fear of theft
If the work is truly your own 'only,' no one else will take it, so secrecy costs more than it protects.
Is it for you?
Best for
Writers, makers, and founders producing creative or knowledge work.
Not ideal for
Genuinely secret or competitive work where early exposure is a real liability.
From the transcript
“this idea of sharing your work really early before it's done, in order to get feedback. Because once it's done, it's really hard to change.”
“involving somebody in the process of a creative work gets them to be more bought in than you can imagine”
From the episode
22 Habits To Follow For A Happy Life - Kevin Kelly - #638
Kevin Kelly