Sustainable Interest

Mark W. Schaefer puts this step first in Known because being known takes years, while many people who start publishing about their work stop within months. The usual reason is not a lack of skill but a topic chosen for the wrong reasons. A subject picked because it is fashionable, or because it seems to pay, runs out of energy once the early excitement fades and the audience is still small. A sustainable interest is different on two counts. First, you already return to it unprompted: you read about it, argue about it and notice it in your daily work. Second, it is deep enough to generate new questions for years, so the hundredth post is still something you want to write. Schaefer stresses that this is not a passion in the romantic sense. It can be quite plain, such as warehouse layouts or payroll rules, provided you care about it and know it from the inside. The interest is the fuel for everything that follows; the space, the audience and the opportunities all depend on your still being there in year three.