Five years ago today, I launch a project called More Space.

The project was a response to the prevailing view of the day that bloggers where second class media citizens, that they were writers who didn’t anything important to say. This view is still held by some, but there are now countless ways that this point of view has been disproven and disregarded.

In January 2005, I asked nine bloggers to write about some aspect of business they were passionate about removing the constraints of the several hundred word format of blogging. I wanted to see what would happen if you have these thought leaders room to write 5,000 to 10,000 words. Hence the name More Space.

It is still amazing to look at what people wrote. Lisa Haneberg’s piece on Breakthrough Experiences led to a book. Marc Orchant wrote some of the most succinct material on time management and running a meeting that I have read. Johnnie Moore wrote about improv in business. Jeremy Wright wrote a fable. Everyone brought their wonderfully unique perspective to the project.

We used distribution and marketing strategies that are still being debated today. The material was made available free as text, pdf, and author read audio versions in exchange for an email address. The paid version of the book cost $24.95.

I learned alot about publishing on this project. Anthologies are hard to sell. Offset printing is expensive. Cover art matters alot. And paying people gets work done faster than if you ask for their help as a favor.

We sold 250 copies, but I stopped using that to measure the success of the project a few years ago. I got to work together with my wife on a project that she is still proud to have been a part of. We created an awesome book trailer with footage taken during the print run. And I learned about publishing in a way that you only can by being completely responsible for the entire project.

If you are interested in reading or listening to the material from More Space, the essays are still posted on the More Space site under each author. If you want a copy of the book, drop me a note. We still have a few copies.