Intro: This isn't supposed to be here. By that, I mean this episode you're listening to right now isn't supposed to exist. Chew on that one for a minute. --- Body: Short episode today, folks. Why? Because the episode I was going to send out to you yesterday just didn't stand up. That is, it wasn't interesting to me and that, in my little podcast world, is a cardinal sin. These things don't have to be earth-shattering or relevatory, just... interesting. And what was going to be in the place of what you're hearing now? The content isn't the important part. It just fell short. So you know what? I scrapped it. Now, I talk a lot about podcasts, be it at conferences or workshops or what-have-you and one of the things I try to push as hard as I can is the notion of consistency. If you say you're going to put an episode out every week on Tuesdays at 10am, then you should be putting an episode out every Tuesday morning. Consistency is paramount and the sign of a reliable and professional podcaster. This podcast is scheduled to go out every other Thursday around noon. It almost always does. Sometimes, It doesn't. like today, which is Friday. If you're doing a podcast and you miss a release, it's not the end of the world. Chances are when people are looking back through your archive nobody is going to even notice that one episode was one day off from the schedule. That said, you should have a pretty good reason for it other than just, "I forgot" or "Meh, didn't feel like it." And ultimately, again, in the long run, the reason for it doesn't matter all that much. What matters is the fact that you might have some pretty loyal listeners who are expecting an episode on that Tuesday morning to that they enjoy listening to while doing their lunchtime walk and... well, you've disappointed them, basically. So this is really all about deciding if that kind of result is worth it. Which is why I'm talking to you about this on a Friday: I made the decision to not publish yesterday because, for a slew of different reasons, I wasn't happy with what I'd made. Podcasting is ultimately a creative venture, you know? I dislike quote-unquote "creators" as a word to describe what's almost come to seem like a social caste in a gig economy, but as purely descriptive, it's not wrong. When you record a podcast or sketch an illustration or produce a video, you're putting out in the world something that's a part of you. You're letting it go and hoping it can stand on its own, like some sort of baby animal wandering off into the wild. You won't be there to protect it should it run into a predator, you know? After you upload that video to Youtube, while you CAN look at the comments and respond to every one (though I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy), chances are you won't... and shouldn't. What you make should be polished and self-contained before it graces the hellscape we call the internet. Sometimes, you have to make the decision to keep that particular baby bird in the nest if you don't feel like it can fly. (Ugh, enough with the metaphors.) If you don't think what you made is good enough, don't put it out there simply because you think SOMETHING is better than NOTHING. Very often it's not. That said, there is value in giving your fans and colleagues a look into your creative process. Sharing a work-in-progress, for example. Or something you tried and utterly failed at (which is another episode altogether). Or, if you're established and have a style that you feel comfortable with, maybe letting out an early--perhaps embarrasing to the current you--work to demonstrate progress and growth. That's fine, even encouraged. But "I'll just throw this thing together so I don't miss my deadline" maybe isn't the best thing to tell yourself. Sure, some people can get away with it. I'm not one of them. So, what you're listening to right now? This wasn't suposed to be here. This was supposed to be something else but that "something else" didn't stand up. I didn't like it. So you got this, instead. --- Outro Once again, thank you for listening to this little podcast-thing of mine. If you found it entertaining or informative or useful, please do subscribe and rate it on the podcatcher of your choice, whether that's iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or however you listen. And, as usual, I'd love to hear from you. You can find me on Twitter at newprofcast. Show notes, transcripts, and more can be found on the website at thenewprofessor.com. Until next time.