From where I’m sitting, I can see 5 separate dry erase boards, a wall planner bigger than my desk, and a bank of post-it notes that follow a system only myself and Columbo could understand. That’s how I run my office. There’s notes on my phone, notes in my notebooks, and huge files of notes on my computer, but anything tenacious or currently vital gets thrown up onto the walls.
Right in front of me, just underneath a nearly-haiku about writing while drunk, there’s this burning missive:
It Never Has To Be Right First Time. I strongly believe that if the work you’re doing isn’t the best you can do at the time, it isn’t worth doing. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be perfect, hit the right mark, or sell millions. (I’ve talked about dealing with failure before, which is something you can read about in the archive.) More importantly it doesn’t mean that the first “best” thing you write or build is going to be the same as the final work.
What exactly am I dancing around here? Well, despite it still being pretty early days, I’m dropping the name of The Inside Room.
But why Nick? We loved “The Inside Room”! The name meant so much to us and gave us such a sense of belonging!
Yeah I’m not convinced that anyone, myself included, has a strong attachment to the name or even knows exactly what it means. Here’s a little explanation of my original intent, according to a draft of an email which I never sent to you:
“The idea of The Inside Room is that little private room at the centre of your home, the one with no external windows or doors. Maybe you keep your hobbies there. Maybe it’s a library or studio. Maybe it’s the bathroom where you retreat for privacy and long soak. Or maybe your home is just one room, and everything you have and everything you are is inside it. Maybe you live on the road and carry the room inside you the whole time.”
That’s a whole lot of maybes, and quite a bit of waffle. The idea is nice, so why am I getting rid of it? Two words. Brand recognition.
There’s an ongoing joke in the Ricky Gervais sitcom “Extras” where Ricky’s character and his agent struggle to maintain clarity between When The Whistle Blows, When The Wind Blows, and The Wind In The Willows.
Beyond “Nick Sheridan” and “No! I do NOT have too many books!” I don’t have a whole lot of brand strength. The Inside Room and 500ish Days In The Quiet Room might be two obvious and distinct properties to me, but they’re way too similar to keep separate and memorable when asking people to get onboard with something new.
So what am I going to call this instead? Right now… nothing. Referring to “my members community” or “my subscribers club” is much more effective and relevant for the time being than promoting yet another named property. Everybody knows where they are with a members community, and rejected alternative titles like “Sheridan’s Sharing Den” and “The Inside Tribe” ask more questions than they answer.
What does this mean for you? Right now and forever… nothing. The only thing that will change about this community is the banner that the emails go out under. You’ll still have access to all the freebies and discounts I’ve promised, and be party to exciting behind-the-scenes developments, just like this one!
After all, what’s in a name?
Nick
xx
P.S You’ll always get to say that you were OG members, that you were “there” back in the glorious The Inside Room days.
P.P.S I’m also dropping the title 500(ish) Days In The Quiet Room in favour of 500ish Days In The Quiet Room. Why? Well, it just looks nicer.
P.P.P.S. Remember, as a member of whatever this is called, only you will get the opportunity to pick up 500ish Days In The Quiet Room at a scarily low introductory price, and after launch only you will get a digital copy of the companion collection All Better Now for absolutely free!