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

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#501

Post by bluGill » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:07 AM UTC

Rerarom wrote: post #366

bluGill wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Closer to the later for most authors. Though every few dozen years there is another Harry Potter that everyone in the world buys and reads. For most you need to target those voracious readers and what they are willing to pay for - but be ever on the lookout as to how you can jump to the Harry Potter world where everyone buys your books. Harry Potter was good (in the first few anyway), but if you like that type of thi…

Please name one.

I enjoyed the fableHaven series. But YMMV, tastes are different.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#502

Post by JKCalhoun » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:08 AM UTC

munificent wrote: post #396

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.

I look at the question of money and art at two levels: 1. As an individual, what is the right mindset to have about my creativity? At this level, I agree with you. Looking at the economic trends, the only sane way to create and feel good about it is to do it in my free time, focus on the intrinsic reward and have some other job that pays the bills. I'm very fortunate in that my other job takes good care of me. But th…

Agree.

It's why I love indie films, indie games, garage rock, zines....

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#503

Post by NumberWangMan » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:17 AM UTC

PeterisP wrote: post #426

sltkr wrote: post #149

> There are thousands of paid fiction authors on Patreon but only 25 earn more than $1,000/month, only six earn more than $2,000/month, and only one earns more than the $5,000/month (and she’s already a bestselling author). I think she missed a few authors in other categories. Examples: - https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow (over $6,000/month) - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3814558 ($8,203 per chapter, roughly 1 chapte…

Wildbow is amazing. Her "Worm" series is literally 20 full novels sized, and works like this are (or was? read it many years ago) free competition to any would-be writer who would want to require - as the article suggests - $5 per chapter of an unfinished novel. I mean, all these Patreon examples illustrate that it definitely can work, but IMHO it's more accurate to treat it as "patron" sponsorship/charity/support ou…

I love that Wildbow writes the female point of view that you assumed he was a she (assuming that wasn't a typo). He's still going strong--current work is Pale (https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/about/) which I can highly recommend.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#504

Post by emodendroket » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:20 AM UTC

CapmCrackaWaka wrote: post #254

Unlike movies/TV shows, books tend to 'age' relatively slowly. Many books that were written 30 years ago are still immensely enjoyable today. Not only that, but there are a literal ton of books out there that have been read by hundreds of thousands of people and reviewed extensively. I have found my personal enjoyment of a book to be loosely correlated with the goodreads / B&N scores. This gives me at least some sign…

That indeed does seem to be something of a challenge. I don't really find the Goodreads/other ratings that likely to predict whether I'll enjoy something, but there are countless famous works of fiction I mean to read which I know are, even if not necessarily to my taste, proven worthwhile to many people for a long time. Then there's a giant grab-bag of stuff of unknown quality with little way for me to sort through it. Unless I read a review of it that stirs me I'm unlikely to pick it up.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#505

Post by emodendroket » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:22 AM UTC

dale_glass wrote: post #297

CapmCrackaWaka wrote: post #254

Unlike movies/TV shows, books tend to 'age' relatively slowly. Many books that were written 30 years ago are still immensely enjoyable today. Not only that, but there are a literal ton of books out there that have been read by hundreds of thousands of people and reviewed extensively. I have found my personal enjoyment of a book to be loosely correlated with the goodreads / B&N scores. This gives me at least some sign…

It depends a lot on what books. Many technical books age extremely quickly. You definitely don't want a 30 years old C++ book except for some sort of historical research purpose. But even in literature there is timing, themes, references and fashion. You'd have a hard time writing Don Quixote today, because hardly anyone reads chivalric romances anymore, so the vast majority of people wouldn't know what you're even p…

Yeah, but doesn't that make the point? Don Quijote has outlived the works it's parodying and people still want to read it, even if they need a lot of footnotes to get all the references.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#506

Post by emodendroket » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:24 AM UTC

gnulinux wrote: post #281

CapmCrackaWaka wrote: post #254

Unlike movies/TV shows, books tend to 'age' relatively slowly. Many books that were written 30 years ago are still immensely enjoyable today. Not only that, but there are a literal ton of books out there that have been read by hundreds of thousands of people and reviewed extensively. I have found my personal enjoyment of a book to be loosely correlated with the goodreads / B&N scores. This gives me at least some sign…

When I read books, I enjoy it a lot more when I read a "known great" book. It's easier to just pick up a Dostoyevksy, Kafka, Saramago, or Murakami or whatever. Chances are I'm gonna like it, or it'll be entertaining enough. When I try to explore my own likes, it ends up being frustrating because it takes a lot of trial and error. Consequently, I have no insensitive to read books that are recently published. It makes…

It is interesting to note that even with these there are fashions. Abe Kobo was once casually referred to as Japan's most famous writer and now the name will get you a lot of blank stares, while Murakami was unavoidable for a while but is probably on his way out (I get the sense someone ten years younger than me is far less likely to be a fan).

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#507

Post by tima101 » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:40 AM UTC

I encourage all authors to self publish. I self published two books, prices are $99 and $199. I only sold 2500 copies in 3 years but it's a nice supplement to main income since there is no publisher and only fee is Stripe's. I often read online about authors who sold 50,000 or 100,000 copies with big-name publisher but made less money than me. Which is ridiculous.

I recommend having some knowledge for free, for example, open source project. Charge more per copy and expect lower number of sales. Continuously improve project and book. Collect reviews in respectful way.

I am happy to answer any questions.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#508

Post by LdSGSgvupDV » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:43 AM UTC

tima101 wrote: post #507

I encourage all authors to self publish. I self published two books, prices are $99 and $199. I only sold 2500 copies in 3 years but it's a nice supplement to main income since there is no publisher and only fee is Stripe's. I often read online about authors who sold 50,000 or 100,000 copies with big-name publisher but made less money than me. Which is ridiculous. I recommend having some knowledge for free, for examp…

Could I ask which type of contain?

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#509

Post by tima101 » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:44 AM UTC

LdSGSgvupDV wrote: post #508

tima101 wrote: post #507

I encourage all authors to self publish. I self published two books, prices are $99 and $199. I only sold 2500 copies in 3 years but it's a nice supplement to main income since there is no publisher and only fee is Stripe's. I often read online about authors who sold 50,000 or 100,000 copies with big-name publisher but made less money than me. Which is ridiculous. I recommend having some knowledge for free, for examp…

Could I ask which type of contain?

Web development, building complete projects JavaScript and TypeScript.

Re: Writing books is not really a good idea

#510

Post by nemo44x » Tue, May 11, 2021, 1:45 AM UTC

ellegriffin wrote: post #202

KittenInABox wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The scariest part about the latter model is how the hell are we going to find any more Susanna Clarkes, J. D. Salingers, and any other author that doesn't want to or isn't able to buy into the parasocial nature of patreon and similar platforms? What if the author isn't hot, charismatic, or pleasant to listen to?

I used to be that way. I created social media accounts this year (and started writing this newsletter) because I realized it was the only way to get my work read. There are so many amazing books out there that only ever see a couple readers because they don't market. It's just a hard reality (unless readers decide to go all indie and hunt for obscure books on the internet, like I do. But I'm sure I'm in the minority)…

My biggest fear with that is the opportunity cost. It’s hard to commit to a total unknown as it’s likely their writing will be a waste of time to read unless there’s some assurance it’s competent, interesting, and novel writing.

Where does one even start to find the next Pynchon for example?