The Version of You That You Do Not Control

The moment anyone is watching, a second version of you exists. You do not control it.

What attention does to a person, where the line between the two of you belongs, how to keep the work honest once the audience arrives, and the cost of the whole arrangement, stated plainly.

Inside

• The two of you — three properties of the second version, and why merging them is the specific mistake to avoid
• What attention does — five predictable changes, including the one that quietly degrades good work
• The line — four things to decide in writing before you need them, and the one topic you always answer honestly
• Keeping the work honest — six practices, in order of usefulness
• The people around you — the three ways old friends respond, and why deference is the worst of them
• When to answer and when not to — and why a correction repeats the accusation
• The cost, stated plainly — including the loneliness people do not expect
• The hours of speaking and withholding, and the numbers of the public name
• The four bodies of the known, and the character underneath all of it
• The Thirty Days — ending in a count that cannot be argued with

Format

• 15-page illustrated PDF, 7 × 10in
• Two plates from a 1603 star atlas
• Instant download, delivered the moment payment clears

Digital product. No physical item is shipped.