Right now, I’m deeply involved with the editing process for my upcoming second book.
My first book was fairly easy to edit. Since it was mostly a list of ways to live cheap, the edits were either “does this way to live cheap fit in the book?” or grammatical choices.
This time around, though, the editing is much more intense – and more challenging. So far, the prologue has become the first chapter and the original first chapter has been splintered into bits and moved throughout the book. And we’re through two chapters so far.
The whole process has been fascinating. Mostly, it’s just a matter of taking the ideas and points (and much of the writing) I had earlier and streamlining them a bit. It’s really useful to have lots of sets of eyes looking at the book, as it improves the content.
Anyway, here are some interesting links from the past week.
Focus On What You can Control, Let Go Of What You Don’t I think this is a fundamental tenet of personal finance. We can control our own behavior, but we can’t control what others do. We can’t predict the future or avoid some of the things that might come our way, but we can create security against those situations. (@ dumb little man)
5 Tips for Easy college Savings With two young ones at home and a third one on the way, these are the exact kind of tips I’m looking for. (@ wise bread)
2009 Gift Giving Guide: Gifts to people you don’t know This is something I struggle with – gifts for people I don’t know well but am obligated to give a gift to (because of a gift exchange or the like). This is perhaps the best set of advice I’ve read for such a situation. (@ unclutterer)
How to Want Very Little I think that excessive wanting is something that gets all of us into personal finance trouble – and in personal trouble. The advice here is thoughtful and well-considered. (@ zen habits)
One Example of Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck The specifics of this story read like the life I had just a few years ago. I am so glad I chose to go in a different direction. (@ free money finance)
