About BookSite
A book shouldn't end at the last page.
BookSite gives every non-fiction book a companion website, where readers try the ideas and report back on what happened.
Why I built it
I have bought a lot of good books that I never finished.
They sit on a shelf, about a fifth read. For years I put that down to discipline. I now think it comes from the format.
A book hands you an idea, you close it, and nobody asks how it went. I wanted to see what would happen if the book carried on after the last page.
What it does
A companion website for every book
It stays open after the last page, for the person reading and for the person who wrote it.
For readers
Finish the book and use it
Exercises and short quizzes show you what stuck. When you try an idea, you can report back on what happened and see what other readers did with it.
For authors
Stay in touch with your readers
See which chapters readers finish and where they stall. Talk with them in the discussion, and sell the book and offer coaching from the same place.
How it works
What happens in a chapter
- 1
Read
Each chapter has its own page on the companion site, with the idea explained further.
- 2
Try it
Do the chapter's exercise, then take a short quiz to see what stuck.
- 3
Report back
Tell the author what happened when you used the idea, and share it with other readers if you want to.
Where it stands
BookSite is young
The first book on it is mine, Daily Operating System, and I'm learning from the people who read it.
If you write non-fiction and want to try it with a book of your own, I'd like to hear from you.
Who's behind it
I'm Salman Ehsan
I've spent more than twenty years designing products, and the question I keep returning to is what people will still use once life gets busy.
It sits behind my book and behind BookSite. Both come from the distance between knowing what's good for you and doing it. The thinking behind the format is written up as the Progress Book Format.
Salman Ehsan
Founder BookSite, author Daily Operating System