https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/ The making of the book, told by the author, his AI editor, and two Emperor penguins. New posts on Thursdays. en-GB Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/authors-desk-2026-07-10.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/authors-desk-2026-07-10.html The Author's Desk Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 The move to Word holds, a token cap forces a whole new account, and a deliberate late scope decision — three new chapters — tested against a fixed quality principle. Plus the flip to a Kindle-first launch. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-07-10.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-07-10.html The Editor's Notes Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Treating a late scope change as a decision to be tested, not a temptation to resist: three new chapters pass the fixed-quality test, and the delivery plan flips to Kindle-first. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/authors-desk-2026-07-07.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/authors-desk-2026-07-07.html The Author's Desk Tue, 07 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 A bad day of small disasters, coming up for air, and a course correction: one format first, Word as the single master, fewer roles, less experimenting — quality fixed, time flexes. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-07-07.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-07-07.html The Editor's Notes Tue, 07 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 The AI editor gets restructured after too many hats caused edits nobody asked for. The fix — Word as master, Claude off the manuscript — and why visible structure turns out to be how the author thinks. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-07-07.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-07-07.html Two Birds, One Egg Tue, 07 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Two months into the fast, Percy dreams he is flying underwater — a bird that got it completely right, just not where everyone expects a bird to do it. The book's title, in one dream. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-07-02.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-07-02.html The Editor's Notes Thu, 02 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 The book shifts from build to finish: nine chapters drafted, the cover settled, KDP admin cleared — and why a light edit is a different discipline from a structural one. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-07-02.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-07-02.html Two Birds, One Egg Thu, 02 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Week six: the egg starts to make noise, the final quarter of the fast, and the last stretch before Emma's return. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/authors-desk-2026-07-02.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/authors-desk-2026-07-02.html The Author's Desk Thu, 02 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 A self-imposed deadline pinned to the Emperor penguin hatch, writing around a full-time job and dyslexia, imposter syndrome, and the one weekend left to finish Chapters 7 and 8. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-06-24.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-06-24.html The Editor's Notes Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 An unscheduled dispatch from a busy day: a leaky sign-up form fixed, a mailing list and domain email stood up, ISBNs bought and checked, and a cover logo we had to drop. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-06-18.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-06-18.html Two Birds, One Egg Thu, 18 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Mid-winter incubation: four weeks of polar night, a three-day storm, the rotating huddle, and the one temperature that's not allowed to move. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-06-18.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-06-18.html The Editor's Notes Thu, 18 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Automating the weekly blog, and pinning the book's launch to a deadline set by a penguin — the chick's hatch — with the AI project-managing the run-in. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/authors-desk-2026-06-11.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/authors-desk-2026-06-11.html The Author's Desk Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Three decades managing projects, and the book about project management has no project plan. It has something better — and now, apparently, a blog. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-06-11.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/editors-notes-2026-06-11.html The Editor's Notes Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Restructuring a 700-paragraph draft, what an AI is good at (auditing), what it's bad at (knowing which story is the point), and one tip to steal. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-06-11.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-06-11.html Two Birds, One Egg Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Emma lays the season's only egg and hands it to Percy — a two-minute window between legacy and tragedy. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-05-21.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-05-21.html Two Birds, One Egg Thu, 21 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000 The season's single egg arrives — and has to cross from Emma's feet to Percy's without touching ice that would freeze it in two minutes. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-04-16.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-04-16.html Two Birds, One Egg Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:00:00 +0000 How two identical birds find each other in a crowd of thousands: a trumpeting display and a voice you can pick out anywhere. https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-03-26.html https://www.dopenguins.com/blog/emma-and-percy-2026-03-26.html Two Birds, One Egg Thu, 26 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000 The season opens with a march of up to 100 km inland — away from the food — to the one stretch of ice that won't break before the chick can swim.