The book–tentatively titled, An English Major at NASA–continues to iterate. On the plus side, I have a lot of content on the blog I can use to fill the book. On the down side, I have a lot of content on the blog to fill the book.

One thing I will absolutely admit has been helpful has been the input of a friend or two when it comes to the content and focus. I’ve got a LOT of stuff, over 150,000 words since 2011, and it can be challenging to decide what to include.

However, in the end, a comment by a friend from elementary school helped return me to my own advice: focus on audience, situation and outcome. Rather than making the book a general advice book on the business of technical writing–that might be a sequel–I’ve chosen to focus on my readers who have a hankering to work for NASA. Admittedly, it’s a small niche, but I think concentrating on liberal arts/English majors who want to work for a specific agency will help me hone my content. It has certainly allowed me to cut back on the amount of “fluff” in the text and concentrate on the basics my specific audience needs.

We’ll see how it goes, won’t we? Meanwhile, my lessons learned as I write will continue to provide fodder for this blog as well. Blog feeds book feeds blog. Far be it for me to complain.