Round Final. Fight!
“A consistent man believes in destiny, a capricious man in chance.”
- Benjamin Disraeli
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Hi Nobody -
Thank you for doing the test essays for the Wood Egg writing project.
I liked your two answers enough that I'd like to move on to "Round 2" of the interview. I've narrowed it down to the top 2-3 people per-country, and need to make my final decision by next week.
But first, I need to tell you that this Wood Egg writing project just got a lot more interesting.
While reading everyone's test essays last week, I realized I was wrong. I thought the writer's job was just to take the info supplied by the researchers, and put it into clear wording for the book. But many of the writers did so much better than that. So I realized my mistake, and have re-defined the role.
Now instead of you needing to stick to the research, the research is just there to support you.
If you think the research is missing something, you can add it.
If you think the research is wrong, you can ignore it.
If you think the research is giving so much information that it's making a boring answer, you can skip it.
Your goal is to make the best possible answer to each question, by any means necessary. Do whatever you can to make it clear and helpful to the reader.
WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS?
Because not everybody realized they could do this! While reviewing everyone's test-essay submissions, it felt unfair to judge one over another because one person realized they could break the "rules" of the job definition as it was described last month, and another one didn't.
So... I'd like to do one more test essay, having said all this.
Please go back to:
https://woodegg.com/wt/
USERNAME: nobody@20ish.org
PASSWORD: xxxxxx
There will be one more question waiting for you there. Deadline by the end of this weekend (the 22nd) please.
Make sure to read the HELP link in the top menu bar, if you didn't before.
WRITING GUIDELINES:
Please aim to be clear, interesting, and insightful.
CLEAR: See http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Clear,_Concise,_and_Direct_Sentences.pdf
INTERESTING: Skip the completely obvious. Minds close when they read an obvious sentence like "Every business needs banking, and small businesses are no exception." or "In the end, the choice is yours. It depends on your needs."
INSIGHTFUL: There's plenty of free "Guide to Doing Business" information from governments and banks. This book should go beyond the basics, and get to the deeper insights that are usually not said, and often only learned from real experience and reflection.
I'm the target audience, so if it helps, pretend you're writing this just for me: semi-experienced entrepreneur, considering moving to a new country and starting a business there, but has probably never been there beyond a short visit. I (the reader) need to know what to expect, get advice on what to do, and ultimately understand it as deeply as I can, since it might be my new long-term home. (There are a lot of country-comparison questions because many of the target-market readers already have experience living in Asia, but just not this country.)
OK - any questions? Please ask! I really want to help you get this job.
- Derek Sivers
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Reading the email, I knew for sure that I am at least the 2-nd runner up. But there was only one champion who deserved the prize to put his name near Derek Sivers to become a co-author with Hong Kong Startup Guide 2014.
Getting to the final round of the interview means I was good, but not great. From good to great, experience counted. But that was not the single factor which would guide me to do a great show. To do a great show, I need to follow my heart.
Read the next chapter: Sorry - Wood Egg Writers Chosen
Or table of contents: Brick by Brick