The Bad News: End of Days
OK, first the bad news. By year end, the Cranky Product Manager is planning to shut down this entire show: blog, twitter, facebook, pinterest everything. *poof* gone, deleted. Even if the Mayans were wrong about that end of world thing.
Why? No time. The author of this blog has a real-life business to grow and a flesh-and-bones family to raise. Plus, since the author of this blog is not ACTUALLY very cranky anymore (though she was when she started this blog), it is pretty draining to get the “crank on” to write posts/tweets or whatever.
Likely, everything will deleted, not just left up in perpetuity without new activity. Why? Because the author has TOO often gotten her “real life” identity confused with the crankypm one and tweeted/posted/updated/pinned from the wrong account. Which causes panic and stress. Plus she feels CATHOLIC GUILT at having defunct identities all over the place. Plus the blog costs actual money to run, and defunct blogs don’t attract advertising.
(CAVEAT: Maybe she’ll keep the pinterest board, since that is so easy to maintain, and the author is not yet using it in real life).
The Possibly(?) Good News: A Book
The author of this blog is CONSIDERING writing a “Cranky Product Manager’s Practical Guide for the Product Manager” book. (that’s a “working title”).
If at least 50 people comment on this post (or email), saying that they’d do a kickstarter pledge for $20+, then I’ll proceed to the Kickstarter App (that thing is a lot of work!).
(The Cranky PM is not trying to get rich here or anything. It’s just that writing a book is a lot of work and she’d have to hire a babysitter (or pay Bumble Cafe a boatload of money) to free up some more time for writing. Plus, since the Cranky PM is anonymous, this book won’t be launching a lucrative speaking or consulting career.)
If not, well, at least I’ll know that this proposed MVP is a loser and I will try to pivot out of here some other way. (Maybe some nice company wants to buy this blog?)
Here’s the thinking about the book:
- About 150-200 pages.
- Snarky with plenty of attempts at humor
- Full of REAL, PRACTICAL advice, tips/tricks, do this, don’t do that, …
- 15ish illustrations/comics
- Available as Ebook and a self-published REAL BOOK.
- MAYBE: stories of how real PMs (anoymized) dealt with real-world sticky situations
- MAYBE: interviews with 2 or 3 luminaries, if I can line them up (Geoffrey Moore? Steven Blank? Eric Ries? Guy Kawasaki?)
- About 75-80% of the blog would be recycled content from this blog – restructured and updated to fit within the structure of a book.
- At LEAST 20% new content: 4+ new articles, 4+ new illustrations/comics, plus new introductory text and transition text to existing content.
- It would NOT just be republishing all the posts. It would be structured to actually give you ADVICE.
==> 1. SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK? Is this at all worthwhile? Would you pay at LEAST $10 for this? How about $20?
==> 2. Should I do a Kickstarter, considering that the Kickstarter application is a lot of work (pain in the a$$)?
For Kickstarter, you can create high-value rewards for people who make big pledges.
==> 3. What type of Kickstarter reward would appeal to YOU?
==> 4. What Kickstarter rewards would appeal to your company’s Head of Products, so he/she would be inspired to buy a copy for everyone in Products?
What about “rewards” like learning my real identity, meeting me in person, having me speak to your group, etc.? Worth anything?
{ 86 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Yes. I would pay $20.
2. Yes.
3. eBook
4. Speak to team
I say do it, Cranky. I like supporting people making stuff, so I’m in for $50 on Kickstarter. And I think you should do it there, so I can promote it. The rewards generally don’t mean much to me, but dinner with Cranky and some other fans sounds fun. Also consider “rewards” that are just specific ways of helping. E.g., an afternoon’s babysitting. A chapter’s worth of editing from a pro. That’s more interesting to me than a lot of the rewards people offer.
Yes, in for $20.
nope. why? (1) already read your blog, i get it, don’t need to read it again (2) there are new blogs to read (3) luminaries already have blogs (and they are way too far away from the real life of a PM to be helpful (4) i believe PMs need to get over the cranky thing. it was a phase we all went through but is inappropriate in these times – count your blessings (5) most importantly, i applaud your new attitude, family, business, etc. and think a book will be a distraction.
thanks for the crankypm, i enjoyed it very much. time to move on, get some skinny jeans, write a blog and share what you are learning now.
wishing you great success!
Thanks, Lynn, for the feedback and the honesty. I just want to wrap up this chapter of life in an appropriate way. Perhaps fading out will be best.
1. Abso-frickin-lutely!
2. Ummm… YES!
3. Dead-tree version of the book. Maybe autographed as a more expensive option? How about autographed in sales drone and/or coder boi’s blood?
4. Hell freezing over, unfortunately :(
(me again) – yes, please keep your pinterest. a quick laugh is always welcome.
Will Kickstarter print/e/kindle for t-shirt.
you bet I am in for $20. Do it!
$20 – I’m in.
1. I’d pay $20
2. Kickstarter rocks and is totally worth the hassle of setup
3. Autographed copy or autographed picture!
4. I bet our head of product would buy it for us if he thought the content was different enough from the website or the 20-25% new content was valuable enough.
I think a book version of the blog would easily be worth between $10 and $20. For those of us who currently live and work in the gray lands of product management, it will remain a great way to share our perspective with sales, support, and administration – especially if the site itself will be no more.
“See, its in a book. There must be some validity to the thoughts behind it, not just the grumblings of malcontents here.”
The application for Kickstarter fundraising might be a pain in any number of body parts, but anyone who has worked as a product manager for any length of time has dealt with far worse, and in many cases probably with no reward.
Let us know what your threshold would be, and chances are we can make it happen.
Hi,
The book is a great idea, the kickstarter twist even better.
20 USD Book
35 USD Book with signature
50 USD Mentioned in the thank you
100 USD Picture in the book
250 USD Invited to the launch party
500 USD Honorably mentioned as a avant garde investor in weird ideas =)
Yep, i’d buy it. Go for it!
Sad to read that the @crankypm is retiring from crankydom… http://t.co/SJg4L0AF
Help convince @crankypm to write a book! I'm in for $50: http://t.co/y1uA7zNE
@ehrenreilly But she may be writing a book: http://t.co/JhtmgqF9
RT @crankypm: #prodmgmt – New Cranky Blog Post! : A Cranky Book? (and sunset time) http://t.co/FDIDVbR4 <– we'll miss her!
I'd buy the book. Wld you? MT @crankypm
#prodmgmt -: A Cranky Book? (yes please!) (and sunset time) http://t.co/jFqluj9Z
I’m totally in. I’d pay at least $20 of my own money for that on Kickstarter.
Yes, you should totally use Kickstarter or something similar.
An incentive that would appeal to me is a shirt that says “Cranky Product Manager”
And I’ll bet I could get my boss to kick in for real dead tree copies of this for our PM team if there were shirts that say “Cranky Product Manager” on them.
A Cranky Book? (and sunset time) http://t.co/ZziL4Ck6 #productmanagement
#prodmgmt – New Cranky Blog Post! : A Cranky Book? (and sunset time) http://t.co/i9O8gRVX
1. Write the book if it is going to offer the readers something that isn’t on your blog already. Otherwise, you are just transferring the blog to a book and deleting the blog. Based on your blog, I’m sure you’ll do a good job. Go for it.
2. Kickstarter is usually worth the hassle but if you are finding it too much of a pain then have you considered self-publishing it as just an e-book? If its a hit I’m sure a publisher would get it printed for you later.
Yes I’d be interested in a book form and would be in on the kickstarter thing for $20.
So far, only 20 people have said yes. Looks like we got a ways to go…
I will kick in for the book. I’ll throw in a bonus $50 for the sealed envelope package with your real name written in it, if only to prove once and for all time that you’re not my old boss
I’d pay $20 for a hard copy version of your blogginess.
Sad to read that the CrankyPM is hanging up her spurs. It’s understandable though, and it sounds like it’s happening for “good” reasons and not something like “I’ve gotten terminal finger-cancer and I can’t type with my tumor-ridden hands anymore”.
So to answer your questions:
1. Yes, and I’d pay $20.
2. Sure or if that doesn’t work out, just do PayPal.
3. Autographed printed copy of the book. And sweet-baby-jebus, don’t do one of those self-published coil-bound atrocities.
4. Invite-only webinar on managing PMs with a cool title like “Ultra Ninja Product Management Secrets for Lucky Happy Family Time”.
Other advice:
Skip the “luminaries”. As someone already pointed out, they have their own schlock that’s already out there. Besides, it would be waaay more entertaining if you put in little vignettes that are stories from total un-luminaries about the worst stuff they’ve done or happened to them as PMs.
Oh, and one more idea – how about a couple of bucket-list topics to wrap up the blog with? For example, two related questions that I’ve often wondered and would love to see your readers respond to:
1. Of your colleagues who have left Product Management, what did they decide to do instead?
2. Given the cliche about being the “CEO of your product”, does ANYONE actually know anybody who rose from being a PM and ultimately became a CEO?
I just found your blog and now you’re retiring?? I find the blog to be quite true and humorous…i’d be willing to contribute to that!
I would love to kick in $20 to the book project. – I love your practical advice and sense of humor. As a relatively new follower, it’s worth it to me to make the investment to have you make something that would live past the lifespan of your blog. E-books are easy to buy, but printed books are easier to pass around and share or give as gifts (and my product manager so desperately needs a good kick of reality, imho). Since we’re being honest, budget constraints would keep me from kicking in $50 … maybe $40, though.
#prodmgmt – A Cranky Book? – Would you want @crankypm to write a book? I would. http://t.co/KA1Bh1hq
Dear Cranky..
I’d be happy to take over this project for you – lock stock and barrel..
perhaps we could come out to an arrangement – and utilize this channel to promote your book?
Ping me – jason@identitor.com
The book sounds like the way to go in the end. If you do choose to do Kickstarter and plan to go through the effort to write the book I would be more than glad to pledge $20. If that comes with a copy of the book (autographed?) even better.
And yes, I would keep the Pinterest because it is so passive and easy.
I’m in for $20 for the book and would contribute to kickstarter.
Count me in for $20 to a kickstarter fund or other mechanism to help support the book. Reward-wise, I’d just want the book itself. I’m a senior product development person at my organization so a book with the kind of practical advice and humor of your blog would be an incentive for me to buy it for others who do this work. Since I no longer do product management in the tech sector, but now in healthcare, it would be great to hear stories/advice that aren’t exclusively tech-industry based. Not a deal-breaker though.
I’ll miss the blog and your writing — good luck with everything!
Please do a book.
We need more. We need more real-life-product-management experience books.
Thanks!
Please point me to a Kickstarter project.
FYI – I think that’s a great way to say goodbye to it all!!!!!
$20
yep.
$50: book + a quickie rant-summary of your saga on kickstarter (how much a pain in the a$$ it is and how you would make it better) …
$100: a Carly Simonesque “you’re so vain” reveal
my PM may not be into it, but my up and coming PM wannabe B-school colleagues will be, fer sher
… and I like paco’s ideas too, with vignettes and stuff
I’ll pay $20 for the ebook.
I’ll pay $100 if you let me write the forward.
And no, for the last time, I’m not the CrankyPM!
Steve, you are the original cranky PM.
1. Yes, I’d pay $20
2. It’s really up to you. It’s easy for me but I’d buy the book if it was available through another channel.
3. Cranky Product Manager T-Shirt would be cool for work. You could consider a Cranky PM Advice Column…
4. No clue what appeals to our HoP
Sad to hear about the shutting down, but I completely know how you feel.
I am in for $20 to kickstart this, and probably for more later.
Count me in for $20. Crank it up!
Yep – I’d pitch in at least $10 for the book. Especially would like to have it on my Kindle…
Count me in for $20! :)
Are you the @crankypm? http://t.co/qXsomZQv I bet you are…
Yes, I would definately pay $20 for the book.
#prodmgmt – A Cranky Book? – Would you want @crankypm to write a book? I would. http://t.co/Us5o1WwS
#prodmgmt – A Cranky Book? – Would you want @crankypm to write a book? I would. http://t.co/Us5o1WwS
Yes please! “@sjohnson717: #prodmgmt – A Cranky Book? – Would you want @crankypm to write a book? I would. http://t.co/3kRlG9u7”
i’m in for 5 books @$20 each. Maybe more.
RT @sjohnson717: #prodmgmt – A Cranky Book? – Would you want @crankypm to write a book? So I would. http://t.co/D8qTxwUf