Writing a book, still the same pain 15 years later • Hacker News Board

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

#51

Post by asicsp » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 4:39 AM UTC

tcpl wrote: post #48

asicsp wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Issues with epub/mobi: pandoc gives me error which I didn't put much effort to get it resolved. I tried a sample book generation using rstudio and the resulting epub was bland compared to pdf (no syntax highlighting for code, spacing isn't pleasing between code and text, etc) - I searched a bit and found that I'd need to know learn a lot about CSS to get better results. A book from another author on leanpub (the platform allows you to generate all types from single source) was remarkably poor to read on my desktop epub reader compared to pdf (again no syntax highlighting, spacing issues, etc). Do try to compare same book in pdf vs epub/mobi if you get the chance.

No experience with ML. Have read a bit of content for Python+Math, but only as pdf.

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

#52

Post by amayne » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 4:55 AM UTC

I’m a working novelist (I put out about two books a year, I’m a WSJ best-seller, Edgar nominee, blah blah blah) and the number one mistake I made in the past is the same as when I would sit down in front of a code editor or Photoshop and not have a plan. While we can all “seat of the pants” things to some degree, without a detailed plan your chances of getting derailed increase exponentially.

I’ve written best-sellers in week (for real) - not because I have any special skill (I’m not a particularly fast typist) but because I write very detailed outlines that break things down enough that I never stare at a blank screen yet always have enough room to have fun improvising.

Outlining for me is asking a series of nested questions about “What” and “Why” and always knowing where I need to go next.

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

#53

Post by mikhailfranco » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 5:03 AM UTC

oceanghost wrote: post #42

derefr wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There is No Silver Bullet.

Hey, maybe someone should write that book.

As in software, as in writing, as in life.

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

#54

Post by Red29 » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 5:48 AM UTC

I deeply regret writing my novel. It took an agonising 8 years when I was desperate to get it out as soon as possible. The issue was that I wanted a certain level of quality. I ended up self publishing on Amazon :/

I try not to think about what I could have done with the time: study math, programming, do stand up comedy etc. etc.

It is what it is I guess.

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

#55

Post by rahulkapil » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 5:56 AM UTC

This means writing a book is a creative endeavor.

Creativity does not get easier with time.

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

#56

Post by stakhanov » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 5:59 AM UTC

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'm doing a book project now and thought I should try to escape LaTeX and went with HTML/CSS paged media through weasyprint. Don't do it. The technology is not quite there yet. Go with LaTeX.

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

#57

Post by iliketosleep » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 7:16 AM UTC

Red29 wrote: post #54

I deeply regret writing my novel. It took an agonising 8 years when I was desperate to get it out as soon as possible. The issue was that I wanted a certain level of quality. I ended up self publishing on Amazon :/ I try not to think about what I could have done with the time: study math, programming, do stand up comedy etc. etc. It is what it is I guess.

I understand your pain, but I want to ask: did you put much effort into marketing it after publishing? A lot of writers put 99% of their effort into writing, and by the time they've finished the book they're out of energy to pursue the marketing aspect. This is compounded by the fact that talented writers are not necessarily good at the marketing side of things.

The key is to persist with marketing until it either succeeds, or you've got clear evidence that most readers don't like it enough. If you're not good at marketing, find people who are.

Sometimes, the key to success, especially if you've got a quality product, is to persist after most people would have thrown in the towel.

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

#58

Post by bubblewrap » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 7:36 AM UTC

amayne wrote: post #52

I’m a working novelist (I put out about two books a year, I’m a WSJ best-seller, Edgar nominee, blah blah blah) and the number one mistake I made in the past is the same as when I would sit down in front of a code editor or Photoshop and not have a plan. While we can all “seat of the pants” things to some degree, without a detailed plan your chances of getting derailed increase exponentially. I’ve written best-seller…

Just curious, how long does the outlining take? I've read a similar notion before (Doctorow claiming to write a book in a year by writing 20 minutes per day - but he also has a plan what to write beforehand).

I am curious if outlining doesn't really count as work in the minds of many writers?

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

#59

Post by seventhtiger » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 7:42 AM UTC

6gvONxR4sf7o wrote: post #32

umvi wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 hate all the criticism Rothfuss gets. He's had a version done for ages, but in his words it was “a book you would not have liked, because it was just discernibly bad.” He's spoken at length about the challenges and I find it hard to hold it against him. I'm sad Doors of Stone isn't out, sure, but he doesn't deserve any criticism.

He painted himself in a corner very clearly. The series is about the legendary chronicles of a kingkiller, but 2/3rds of the way through, the story was about a street urchin, then a magical academy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, but I feel closer to Harry Potter than the kingkiller. If he tries to get there in one book, I believe he will stumble. The tone and scale of the story so far has been much too small for a trilogy that promised an epic finish.

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

#60

Post by pja » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 8:13 AM UTC

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…

First rule of publishing: money flows towards the author, not the other way round. (Not necessarily very much money mind, but it’s the direction that’s the important bit!)

No reputable agent charges authors directly for their services - their income comes out of a cut of the money paid by publishers to authors.

If you have a stack of books that your friends actually like & can’t get published, do you have anything to lose publishing them yourself on Amazon’s Kindle platform?