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Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

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Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#41

Post by irishcoffee »

umvi wrote: post #22
atom-morgan wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can say the same. I self-published a 500+ page book last year and was so drained from the process I haven't even seriously thought about writing my second book. When your armchair fan is sitting back criticizing George Martin for not finishing his books, I empathize with him. I totally get it.

I allow myself to criticize Patrick Rothfuss though. The absolute arrogance he displayed after publishing the first book of the series was astounding. He claimed the series was "already finished" and that each of the other 2 books would be released a year apart, simple as that. He wasn't like other authors, he assured us. Here we are, 10 years later with Rothfuss literally doing everything except finishing the series…

I'm so bummed about this. I discovered (and inhaled) the first book over the weekend, couldn't put it down. Looked the author up, and I was so conflicted because I liked the book as much as I dislike what I read about the author. I hope he figures out a way to sort things out. I'm actually very conflicted about starting the second book after reading about him.

Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#42

Post by oceanghost »

derefr wrote: post #23
oceanghost wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an industry of writers providing advice to other writers about writing. Think of it like self-help but for writing. I used to attend some writers groups, but everyone was always looking for a method that would make writing easy, instead of just writing. Almost nobody knew what they were talking about. Figuring out what works for you is writing.

Presumably, the people who actually know how to "operationalize" writing, aren't writing self-help books, but rather are managing stables of prolific (if maybe schlocky!) writers. I would love to hear writing advice from the managing editor of a publisher of pulp serial-fiction books, of the kind where the writers churn out multiple new books per year. Those books might not be the greatest thing ever written, but cer…

That's the joke right? Even if you could tell me exactly what worked for you, it wouldn't work for me.

If there was a formula for success, we would all undertake it.

Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#43

Post by jamesrcole »

dangus wrote: post #2

At risk of sounding like a low-effort critic, I have to say I'm not sure what we're supposed to take away from this post. It's got about zero useful information or interesting insight. It really does come across as "How not to write a book" but without any sort of...life...to the writing. I say that with nothing but respect and admiration for what Kent has contributed to the world of software engineering. As for this…

It seems to me it's to let prospective authors know what they'd be getting into. To provide them with realistic expectations.

The post says "To help you quell the desire to write a book of your own, here are the steps."

Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#44

Post by thewhitetulip »

I've tried publishing a novel in India (English) and it is much more painful than the 80k limit.

A top editor told me, more like lamented, that they focus on historical fiction or romance because "that's what sells"

I wrote a decent thriller which my friends read in one day because they loved it. Granted, they are my friends so they could by lying, but the publishers just read the synopsis and saw that it isn't historical or romance and ignored. That's what Indian publishers do, they ignore!

And there was this one agent who asked me money so he could "represent me". He then wanted me to sign a contract, which meant that if I didn't publish book to publisher he would get then I'd have to pay him 10k or something. And his mother has a publishing house. I read online that he gets books published from his mom's house.

Which agent asks for money?!

I have 4 unpublished novels, one is about a guy who wakes up at a bus stop with 0 memories and tries to figure out his past, one long fiction about science fiction that spans 1000s of years and one is a satire on the new form of Authoritarian regimes. This satire is a 2 book series.

Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#45

Post by tcpl »

For those who write eBooks, what is the best output format? I am planning to write a introductory book on deep learning which is going to contain a lot of math and code. I find LaTeX as the best way to author math stuff but I don't know if I can generate .mobi and .epub files from it.

Are the .mobi and .epub formats even worth it?

Would it be simpler to just output an A6 format PDF that can be viewed alike on desktop as well as eReaders?

Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#47

Post by asicsp »

tcpl wrote: post #45

For those who write eBooks, what is the best output format? I am planning to write a introductory book on deep learning which is going to contain a lot of math and code. I find LaTeX as the best way to author math stuff but I don't know if I can generate .mobi and .epub files from it. Are the .mobi and .epub formats even worth it? Would it be simpler to just output an A6 format PDF that can be viewed alike on desktop…

I use pandoc+xelatex to convert GitHub style markdown to pdf [1] I've also noted down other options in the last section of the blog post, which I think should get you started.

I haven't yet been able to generate a decent looking epub/mobi for technical books with code snippets. And these also depend on which reader user has. I've been asked by a few to support these formats, but majority are happy with pdf.

[1] https://learnbyexample.github.io/tutorial/ebook-generation/c...

Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#48

Post by tcpl »

asicsp wrote: post #47
tcpl wrote: post #45

For those who write eBooks, what is the best output format? I am planning to write a introductory book on deep learning which is going to contain a lot of math and code. I find LaTeX as the best way to author math stuff but I don't know if I can generate .mobi and .epub files from it. Are the .mobi and .epub formats even worth it? Would it be simpler to just output an A6 format PDF that can be viewed alike on desktop…

I use pandoc+xelatex to convert GitHub style markdown to pdf [1] I've also noted down other options in the last section of the blog post, which I think should get you started. I haven't yet been able to generate a decent looking epub/mobi for technical books with code snippets. And these also depend on which reader user has. I've been asked by a few to support these formats, but majority are happy with pdf. [1] https…

Thank you for sharing your insights. Can you share more details about what issues you with epub/mobi for generating technical books? Do you have any experience with machine learning and math content? If generating epub/mobi for technical books is a problem I am guessing it would be even more of a problem to generate good looking epub/mobi with math content.

Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#49

Post by GCA10 »

This is a really accurate account of what it's like to go solo on a book project. It can be brutal.

I'm surprised and a little sad there isn't a full discussion of how to line up friends and admired colleagues to make the journey easier. They can help with the early brainstorming. The best ones are invaluable advisers on scope, pacing and cadence. They will remind you about the merits of your best ideas when you feel lost, and they will help you cull with a lot fewer tears.

I tried doing my first book solo and stalled out after a year. Rounding up an advisory circle let not only brought that book back to life -- it also created a trusty new process that has let me write four more books more quickly and with less stress.

Re: Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later

#50

Post by viraptor »

thewhitetulip wrote: post #44

I've tried publishing a novel in India (English) and it is much more painful than the 80k limit. A top editor told me, more like lamented, that they focus on historical fiction or romance because "that's what sells" I wrote a decent thriller which my friends read in one day because they loved it. Granted, they are my friends so they could by lying, but the publishers just read the synopsis and saw that it isn't histo…

Have you considered self-publishing? If the books are complete and would be wasted otherwise... may be worth a try.
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