Missing My Deadline
Sometimes I bite off more than I can handle
What I had planned for publishing today is not ready. It’s out with some people that I have spoken to for fact checking and part of it is still not written so today I do not have much except for what I am writing just before I hit publish.
I never expected I would get this far with this project. Most writing projects I’ve started tend to fizzle out around now. I have two theories on why this time feels different:
I am reliant on some excellent reporters who work at chemical trade publications like C&EN, ChemistryWorld, and at big newspapers such as the New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal
I am writing in an area where I have a lot of domain expertise and each week is an exercise in “what am I going to write about?” A problem I need to solve where I want the topics to be interesting and the writing to be on par with the reporters that I read and admire (I don’t think I am there yet).
I was recently listening to a Tim Ferris podcast and his guest Balaji Srinivasan essentially explained what I am doing, which is a brand of Citizen Journalism which is around starts minute 31:00 in the video below if anyone is interested in listening.
I’m not making any money (although that would be nice), but rather I am attempting to write something that is simultaneously educational, entertaining, and complimentary to what is available. As Srinivasan says in the podcast above I am doing some amount of civic duty and I am “not for profit.” If anything, I am unprofitable because this endeavor costs me money with respect to time, effort, and materials.
I have interviewed people for this newsletter that I never would have thought would happen. My original goal was to just provide commentary and analysis on what was happening in the world of chemicals. I was intending at most to do a review of some literature once a week to help support an opinion that I wanted out in the world. But now, I am writing stories with multiple subjects and I find myself out in deep water.
Perhaps I’ve bitten off more than I can handle, but I suppose this is how we push ourselves to be better. My public struggle here is an exercise in self improvement.
I think reporters are amazing individuals and I have a lot of respect for what they do on a day to day basis. While I don’t have anything substantial today and I hope to have something by Friday I would suggest you check out C&EN or ChemistryWorld and click on the first story that looks interesting. It is what I usually do too.
Talk to your Friday,