In this Useful Books Community Q&A, we sit down with author Ashton Rodenhiser, founder of Sketchnote School and author of the Beginner’s Guide to Sketchnoting.
Topics & timestamps
- 0:35 Deciding to write a book about sketchnoting
- 2:50 Finding Write Useful Books and deciding not to write a theory-heavy "ideas book"
- 5:05 Scoping the book and ideal reader profile
- 7:01 "Part 1 & Part 2" emerged naturally
- 7:55 Iterating on a highly visual book with placeholders
- 10:11 Beta reader feedback on a rough draft with missing images
- 11:35 Doing 3.5 rounds of beta reading and not having a publish date
- 14:38 Learning just how basic a beginner's guide needs to be
- 15:25 Dealing with such a high volume of feedback by collaborating with an editor
- 20:57 Delegating decisions to an editor
- 22:28 The introduction was the hardest chapter to write
- 24:48 Lessons learned and professional focus since publishing
- 26:40 Doing 75 podcast interviews!
- 31:55 Reflecting on being a published author, running a community, and what's next
- 35:58 Where to find Ashton