Writing books is not really a good idea • Hacker News Board

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#181

Post by lurquer » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:38 PM UTC

We’re getting very very close to the point where a group of amateurs can make a ‘major motion picture.’ Not quite yet... but it’s getting closer. CGI can create sets and even characters; AI tools to assist with rotoscope and backfill are becoming quite incredible.

These tools are still packaged in relatively inaccessible environments (such as Blender and AfterEffects and others.)

But, that’s changing too.

In short, it’s going to become increasingly tempting to a creative type to ditch the book he’s writing and, instead, make a movie.

Sounds silly.

But, what occurred in the musical realm (where rank amateurs can simulate an entire orchestra on their PC if need be) is going to happen with Movies.

Books — as a vehicle for drama — may not be coming back.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#182

Post by marcus_holmes » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:39 PM UTC

sidibe wrote: post #62

AS_of wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As you get older, you should read fewer new books, and revisit the ones that have you the most joy. Vacation sounds like a great place for that! Edit: why? Because you believe in the leverage algorithms can provide https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Live-Computer-Science-Deci... There are probably a lot of single people here that would benefit from that book as well (the stopping problem) We all "know" the algos. But…

I'm always surprised when people talk about rereading books. I get absolutely nothing out of books I've already read. Do you also rewatch TV series?

I always find something I missed the first time around. Or I feel differently about the story. There's always something different.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#183

Post by yoru-sulfur » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:39 PM UTC

The writer of this article seems to be unaware of existing communities of exactly what they are taking about.

They mentioned Jemisin's patreon as if she's invented the idea or is the only one who's had success doing it, which is simply not true.

Go to https://royalroad.com, view top rated stories, click on basically anything and you'll see patreon links of authors making thousands of dollars per month/chapter.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#184

Post by michaelt » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:39 PM UTC

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #47

It would be interesting to have a timeseries plot of this sort of information. Did it used to be easier to make a living as an author? Presumably there was some point at which the ease of making a living as an author peaked. This article suggests that time is in the past, but how far in the past? Has the absolute number of people who can make it as an author decreased, or just the relative fraction of the human popul…

> Did it used to be easier to make a living as an author?

I suspect there is now a middle ground that didn't exist before: In the 1970s you were either selling >10,000 copies, or you weren't a published author. 'Self-publishing' had a reputation as a scam to extract money from naive would-be authors. (I'm not sure what the academic book market was like at the time)

It's only with the rise of ebooks and print-on-demand that niche, low-selling authors have become a thing.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#185

Post by [deleted] » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:40 PM UTC

psyc wrote: post #166

JKCalhoun wrote: post #91

> perhaps it’s time to face the music and realize that writing books—like knitting or playing the harp—is nothing more than a hobby I've approached every creative endeavor in this way. I see no reason writing should be any different. I'm not trying to be overly cynical, I'm just not surprised that writing is any different than music, painting, etc.

As someone with many lifelong creative outlets, I can think of 3 reasons to create. 1. You love doing it for it’s own sake 2. You can’t help it 3. You believe in your heart you have something to say that must be said. You may well be delusional about the last one, but I still consider it a good reason.

[deleted]

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#186

Post by lacker » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:41 PM UTC

kpwagner wrote: post #99

In the month it will take me to finish reading Storm of Swords, I will watch ~10 movies. Plus, I'm reading Storm of Swords, which needs no additional support from readers to be discovered or validated--though I still want to read it. Plus, I digitally loaned it from my local library. I own a number of books (~200) and have probably owned x4 that total in my lifetime. Maybe 1/3 of those I paid full price for new. The…

how many people like me does it take to support one professional writer?

Back of the envelope, I would estimate authors get 1/4 of book sales as royalties, so you've sent $1000 to authors in your lifetime. I don't know how old you are, maybe that's $100/year since you were at book-buying age. If an author gets by on $30k/year then it takes 300 people like you to support a professional writer.

That's not bad, really. If you watch 120 movies a year then you're probably supporting the movie industry more than the book industry but it sounds like you prefer movies to books anyway so that's fair.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#187

Post by leephillips » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:41 PM UTC

ssully wrote: post #124

sidibe wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm always surprised when people talk about rereading books. I get absolutely nothing out of books I've already read. Do you also rewatch TV series?

Rereading (or "reexperiencing") something can be very valuable. Since you already know where the destination is going to be, you get to focus your attention on more of the little details you might not have picked up on the first time through. With that said, I only occasionally do it for books because of the time commitment. I have a large list of books I want to read, and only read about 25 books a year. So if I am…

When Vladimir Nabokov was teaching literature, he instructed the students to read each novel twice, to get over the plot suspense so they could concentrate on the details. When they appeared for the final examination, they encountered questions like, “Describe the wallpaper in the Karenins’ bedroom”.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#188

Post by paulpauper » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:41 PM UTC

lacker wrote: post #173

I feel like the article glosses over a key point: Even on the high end, there were only 11 books that sold more than 500,000 copies. If I can spend two to three years writing a novel and my best case scenario is having it sell a couple hundred copies Isn't the best case scenario here that you are the top -selling author, selling over a million copies? I feel like the author of this post is just assuming that they are…

a great book can have much more social impact than any movie, tv show, or other medium. Books allow for detail and development that is unrivaled by other mediums

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#189

Post by FirstLvR » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:41 PM UTC

kpwagner wrote: post #99

In the month it will take me to finish reading Storm of Swords, I will watch ~10 movies. Plus, I'm reading Storm of Swords, which needs no additional support from readers to be discovered or validated--though I still want to read it. Plus, I digitally loaned it from my local library. I own a number of books (~200) and have probably owned x4 that total in my lifetime. Maybe 1/3 of those I paid full price for new. The…

when i was young and poor i wouldnt mind being a pirate

but now, being a professional i wouldnt mind paying ... i would gladly pay $50 for winds of winter if GRRM could finish the book!

look at the expanse saga on primevideo, the books were selling ok but now is a hit box world wide

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#190

Post by majormajor » Mon, May 10, 2021, 4:43 PM UTC

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #47

It would be interesting to have a timeseries plot of this sort of information. Did it used to be easier to make a living as an author? Presumably there was some point at which the ease of making a living as an author peaked. This article suggests that time is in the past, but how far in the past? Has the absolute number of people who can make it as an author decreased, or just the relative fraction of the human popul…

100k isn't what it used to be.

I often suspect we haven't noticed the inflationary effects on this as a "high" salary as much as we otherwise would because of the psychological effect of the change from five to six figures. Yeah, the median salary is low, but that's been well-covered elsewhere about how it hasn't risen in line with costs or upper-percentile income - so think of this as just another example of "here's a field where you can't make a comfortable income anymore."