Today I am an author

Today is a special day for me- my book is officially published.

 It's a maths textbook (applyingmaths.com/higher-apps-textbook/).

There's an episode of The Simpsons where Homer, the hapless father, gets invited to join a travelling freak show. His disheartened wife, Marge, explains "You don't have to join a travelling freak show just because the opportunity came along." Homer considers this, entertaining the thought for the first time, and then replies "You know, Marge, in some ways you and I are very different people."

I don't often relate to Homer, but I always enjoyed this scene as it does speak to me. Of course I'm going to write a book because the opportunity came along, there's not really a question about it.

The book came about because the head of maths and I took the unlikely decision to offer a new Scottish Higher course in its inaugural year. This was frankly a mad decision; teaching a new course is hard work, as resources (including textbooks) don't really exist. But I like a challenge, and would I really turn down the opportunity to teach a brand new course? I ended up making lots of free resources, spoke at a couple of conferences aiming to promote the new higher, and from there the publishers got in touch. This of course was very validating for me; I have a very messy 'say yes to stuff, get good-will and the good things will come' mentality.

I enjoyed publishing a book largely because it meant seeing a project through to the end. I have sometimes worried that I'm like Mr. Toad, obsessing over one project before hopping off to something else. I've had countless ideas and ventures which I've developed but ultimately ditched (a cornet-playing ghost Tamagotchi app - anyone?). But this isn't a fair take. A great book about this is Messy, by Tim Harford, which argues that creativity is best served by having a messy system, allowing projects to die, and see what sticks.

So, a bucket list item ticked off. What next?

"Everyday I write the book..."