I'm planning on writing a book; the usual woodworking techie stuff. I
have a plan for it already, but obviously I don't want to wave that
around too openly just yet.
I know a few of the locals have done this in the past. Does anyone
have advice they might wish to offer ?
My day job is largely technical writing and I've even worked as a
journo in the past, so the actual writing part doesn't faze me -
however I've never approached something the size of a whole textbook
before. I'm not expecting to make real money from it, but covering the
cost of the ink would be nice.
For those who've done it, would you do it again? With hindsight, would
you bother the first time? Is a first or second better? I can see that
"your first book" has a lot of attraction to it, but presumably the
second benefits from experience.
Thanks,
Have done it x 4. Would not do it again.
Reason: I don't have time anymore. A good woodworking book takes lots
of pix, dwgs, and fun text to read. For me that is 4 - 6 month
venture.
A noble thing for you to entertain, (spreading the word), not
necessarily a profitable one tho.
http://www.patwarner.com (Routers)
**************************************************************
> I'm planning on writing a book; the usual woodworking techie stuff. I
> have a plan for it already, but obviously I don't want to wave that
> around too openly just yet.
>
> I know a few of the locals have done this in the past. Does anyone
> have advice they might wish to offer ?
>
> My day job is largely technical writing and I've even worked as a
> journo in the past, so the actual writing part doesn't faze me -
> however I've never approached something the size of a whole textbook
> before. I'm not expecting to make real money from it, but covering the
> cost of the ink would be nice.
>
> For those who've done it, would you do it again? With hindsight, would
> you bother the first time? Is a first or second better? I can see that
> "your first book" has a lot of attraction to it, but presumably the
> second benefits from experience.
>
> Thanks,
Andy Dingley asks:
>For those who've done it, would you do it again? With hindsight, would
>you bother the first time? Is a first or second better? I can see that
>"your first book" has a lot of attraction to it, but presumably the
>second benefits from experience.
I've done it 40 or 41 times. Beats working for a living, or so I'm told. With
hindsight, I'd have kept pumping gas in someone else's service station and made
better money.
Don't know the Brit book publishing system, but if you want some words of
experience, if not wisdom, give me a yell on the back channel as ol' UA100
calls it. Just drop the nonsense stuff out of my email address.
Charlie Self
"When you appeal to force, there's one thing you must never do - lose." Dwight
D. Eisenhower
"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm planning on writing a book; the usual woodworking techie stuff. I
> have a plan for it already, but obviously I don't want to wave that
> around too openly just yet.
>
> I know a few of the locals have done this in the past. Does anyone
> have advice they might wish to offer ?
----------------
For what it's worth I'll give you my tuppence worth.
It's vital you identify with your likely readers and write the book for
them, not for yourself.
Determine what your readers can get from your book that they cannot get from
any one of the gazillion others available.
Determine if what you currently plan as chapters are not in fact seperate
smaller books in their own right.
Determine the optimum selling price then find out what that relates back to
in terms of pages and pictures.
Talk to some publishers and find out what they think the market will bear
and what they will support.
In my humble opinion I think you possess the skills to write a series of
small books on a number of subjects. Your posts here are always interesting
and the range of knowledge astounding. That is your strength.
I have a number of woodworking books. None are worth consulting. Yours could
be. I would buy your books if I could use them in the workshop rather than
clutter up the bookshelf along with the other gifts.
I wish you well Andy and I would like you to keep us posted as to your
progress.
[email protected] (Andy Dingley) wrote:
> I'm planning on writing a book; the usual woodworking techie stuff...
Just a thought: given what I've seen from your writing on the wreck,
you might consider E-Books, being self-published, and cutting out
the middle-monger.
Dan Appleman writes good technical stuff and I believe he does well
with it. And, because his writing is heads-and-shoulders above much
of his competition, I expect people follow the honor system associated
with those sales.
Good luck, and let us know what you do.
Gary
Fri, Jul 16, 2004, 3:41am (EDT-3) [email protected]
(Andy=A0Dingley)
claims:
I'm planning on writing a book; <snip>
Hi Andy, if you want it to sell, write porn. LMAO
Still in the midst of two books (on ly one porn. LOL), but haven't
actually written one yet. However, have sold a number of articles -
yep, for real money. LOL
Best i can say is, keep it interesting. Aside from that, I would
say don't write about someone that's been don 20,000,000 times. Write
about something you know Maybe a project you've done, with loads of
pictures.
An example. I've ben interested in steam for years, mostly boats.
Got a book off of eBay a few weeks bask, on steamboats. Good bookl,
lots of pictures, but lots of facts and figures too, history stuff. Got
another about a week abo, about same size and tickness. Still had some
facts and figures, the history stuff, but not near as much, and loads
more pictures. The first book had a lot more variety in boat types, but
the second also showed pictures of wrecks, interiors, and so on. I
consider the second book much better by far. I've got a stack of
technical books on how they were built, machinery, etc., so I want an
interesting book, not someting with all the facts and figures.
Pictures, I want pictures. LOL Come to think of it, those'd go ver
good in a porn book too. LMAO
Way i figure, you can make it technical as all Hell, but it's not
going to appeal to a large audience - just the specialists you might
say. Or, you can put in all the technical stuff, using simple words,
and lts of pictures. A lot of people would probably understand the
technical words, but would appreciate them not being used.
The items I wrote about were mostly not of general knowledge, but
certainly no secrets. Most of what it was just took a bit of research,
and resulted in only one, or two, page articles. Didn't make a fortune,
but it rounded out to about $30 an hour for my time, which I considered
decent at the time. At least one article was things people "shouold"
have know, but just never thought about. That one was steam associated,
and the most fun.
You don't need to abide by anything I've put down here. LMAO
JOAT
We've got a lot of experience of not having any experience.
- Nanny Ogg
On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 12:48:54 +0100, "gandalf"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> I'm planning on writing a book; the usual woodworking techie stuff. I
>> have a plan for it already, but obviously I don't want to wave that
>> around too openly just yet.
>>
>> I know a few of the locals have done this in the past. Does anyone
>> have advice they might wish to offer ?
>----------------
>For what it's worth I'll give you my tuppence worth.
>
>It's vital you identify with your likely readers and write the book for
>them, not for yourself.
>
>Determine what your readers can get from your book that they cannot get from
>any one of the gazillion others available.
>
>Determine if what you currently plan as chapters are not in fact seperate
>smaller books in their own right.
>
>Determine the optimum selling price then find out what that relates back to
>in terms of pages and pictures.
>
>Talk to some publishers and find out what they think the market will bear
>and what they will support.
>
>In my humble opinion I think you possess the skills to write a series of
>small books on a number of subjects. Your posts here are always interesting
>and the range of knowledge astounding. That is your strength.
>
>I have a number of woodworking books. None are worth consulting. Yours could
>be. I would buy your books if I could use them in the workshop rather than
>clutter up the bookshelf along with the other gifts.
>
>I wish you well Andy and I would like you to keep us posted as to your
>progress.
>
I agree with the suggestions above and would add that it is a good
idea to take your prospectus around to a few publishers to see if you
can even get it published when done. Publishers will let you know real
fast if they don't think that what you are doing will sell. BTDT
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
Tim Douglass responds:
>Publishers will let you know real
>fast if they don't think that what you are doing will sell. BTDT
Modfy that. Publishers will let you know. Fast ain't got nuttin to do with it.
Charlie Self
"When you appeal to force, there's one thing you must never do - lose." Dwight
D. Eisenhower
On 16 Jul 2004 18:14:53 GMT, [email protected] (Charlie Self)
wrote:
>Tim Douglass responds:
>
>>Publishers will let you know real
>>fast if they don't think that what you are doing will sell. BTDT
>
>Modfy that. Publishers will let you know. Fast ain't got nuttin to do with it.
Well, I was writing in the high-tech world where the entire life cycle
of a book from conception to out of print might only be 6 months.
Books about serious stuff like woodworking might take some more
thought. We usually got a return from the publisher within a week or
so about any prospectus.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
Tim Douglass writes:
>
>>Modfy that. Publishers will let you know. Fast ain't got nuttin to do with
>it.
>
>Well, I was writing in the high-tech world where the entire life cycle
>of a book from conception to out of print might only be 6 months.
>Books about serious stuff like woodworking might take some more
>thought. We usually got a return from the publisher within a week or
>so about any prospectus.
Man, I wish. I've got probably 12 ideas out now, some of them since last
February, a couple since a year ago February (I've written off chances with
that publisher).
Charlie Self
"When you appeal to force, there's one thing you must never do - lose." Dwight
D. Eisenhower
[email protected] (Charlie Self) wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Man, I wish. I've got probably 12 ideas out now, some of them since
> last February, a couple since a year ago February (I've written off
> chances with that publisher).
>
So what will happen now is that 10 of them will all come in with due dates
required within a three week period. ;-)
Patriarch
Patriarch responds:
>> Man, I wish. I've got probably 12 ideas out now, some of them since
>> last February, a couple since a year ago February (I've written off
>> chances with that publisher).
>>
>
>So what will happen now is that 10 of them will all come in with due dates
>required within a three week period. ;-)
Book contracts don't work quite that way. If you find a book you can write &
illustrate in 3 weeks, please let me know. More like a 3 month minimum if most
of the research is already done, to well over a year for others.
Charlie Self
"When you appeal to force, there's one thing you must never do - lose." Dwight
D. Eisenhower
On 16 Jul 2004 03:41:00 -0700, [email protected] (Andy Dingley)
wrote:
>I'm planning on writing a book; the usual woodworking techie stuff. I
>have a plan for it already, but obviously I don't want to wave that
>around too openly just yet.
>
>I know a few of the locals have done this in the past. Does anyone
>have advice they might wish to offer ?
1. Publish the book yourself. Create a web site...sell it there.
Just investigate the best way(s) to distribute and publicize it.
2. Make it simple to read...good sized print for the older
folks...and short, simple sentences. Don't use 50¢ words.
3. Gear your book toward the fairer sex. There's a large, untapped
market out there...for our spouses. If you go this route, get a woman
to edit it for you. Women think and speak differently.
4. Use a lot of graphics and pictures.
5. Set up a PayPal account. Don't forget to sell on Ebay.
>My day job is largely technical writing and I've even worked as a
>journo in the past, so the actual writing part doesn't faze me -
>however I've never approached something the size of a whole textbook
>before. I'm not expecting to make real money from it, but covering the
>cost of the ink would be nice.
You'll probably need Word, WordPerfect, and/or Paint Shop Pro.
Good luck.
Have a nice week...
Trent©
What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.
On 16 Jul 2004 03:41:00 -0700, [email protected] (Andy Dingley)
calmly ranted:
>I'm planning on writing a book; the usual woodworking techie stuff. I
>have a plan for it already, but obviously I don't want to wave that
>around too openly just yet.
>
>I know a few of the locals have done this in the past. Does anyone
>have advice they might wish to offer ?
Old Charlie Self just MIGHT have a tip or 2 for you. I think he's
close to having fifty books in print now. ;)
>My day job is largely technical writing and I've even worked as a
>journo in the past, so the actual writing part doesn't faze me -
>however I've never approached something the size of a whole textbook
>before. I'm not expecting to make real money from it, but covering the
>cost of the ink would be nice.
Charlie might have a line on someone who does limited instant
printing (I can't recall the actual name for that) vs. a 5k or
20k book run.
One thing is for sure: SAVE YOUR FILES ALL THE TIME. Make
multiple copies of the chapters and put them on various
types of media. Losing a week's worth of work is exceedingly
harmful to the spirit. I've seen it happen time and again.
BAKC UP YOUR WORK, Andy. Put a second drive in your computer
and save copies to both disks, then burn CDs and floppies.
Get a thumb (new 128MB ram drive the size of a human thumb
which plugs into the USB port) and save a copy to that, too.
>For those who've done it, would you do it again? With hindsight, would
>you bother the first time? Is a first or second better? I can see that
>"your first book" has a lot of attraction to it, but presumably the
>second benefits from experience.
I've written short (5 or fewer pages) articles for newsletters and
such and it's a lot more fun in the planning stage than it is in
the publication stage, and I haven't even had to deal with an editor.
;)
G'luck in the offing, mate.
-
DANCING: The vertical frustration of a horizontal desire.
---------------------------------------------------------
http://diversify.com Full Service Web Programming
Larry Jaques writes:
>I've written short (5 or fewer pages) articles for newsletters and
>such and it's a lot more fun in the planning stage than it is in
>the publication stage, and I haven't even had to deal with an editor.
>;)
With a good editor, it is much more pleasant. With a bad editor, you wonder why
anyone ever bothers.
Charlie Self
"When you appeal to force, there's one thing you must never do - lose." Dwight
D. Eisenhower
On 17 Jul 2004 00:12:23 GMT, [email protected] (Charlie Self)
calmly ranted:
>Larry Jaques writes:
>
>>I've written short (5 or fewer pages) articles for newsletters and
>>such and it's a lot more fun in the planning stage than it is in
>>the publication stage, and I haven't even had to deal with an editor.
>>;)
>
>With a good editor, it is much more pleasant. With a bad editor, you wonder why
>anyone ever bothers.
Yeah, I've heard the horror stories from clients who did
copywriting/authoring and had to deal with those Eds from Hell.
- This product cruelly tested on defenseless furry animals -
--------------------------------------------------------
http://diversify.com Web App & Database Programming
Andy,
As a member of the Pepsi generation, I have a few suggestions from a
younger reader. I wrote a book proposal as a final exam project for a
technical writing class. It was just a letter to (any) publisher, an
introduction and one chapter, the subject being saltwater aquaria
highlighting the "For Dummies" aspect. The prof gave me an A (sound
of my tendons creaking as I slap myself on the back).
To echo JOAT's comments, a conversational tone, rather than
instructional makes for a much easier and faster read. It was easy
for me to get caught up in a preachy milieu, and in keeping with the
intent of the project, my editor (the prof) called me out on it a
couple of times.
A la Gandalf, at least design, if not create line drawings, rather
than photos wherever possible to cut production costs. This can also
help illustrate particular aspects of, say, joinery than photos
sometimes.
I never shopped the proposal to a publisher (I was way too concerned
with drinking beer and having fun at the time), but my prof thought it
had real promise.
Good luck, and keep us updated.
This advice is worth what you paid for it :)
-Phil Crow
Phil Crow writes:
>A la Gandalf, at least design, if not create line drawings, rather
>than photos wherever possible to cut production costs. This can also
>help illustrate particular aspects of, say, joinery than photos
>sometimes.
Line drawings are great for...plans, etc. For other illustrations, today
publishers seem to prefer color photography. Almost all books that come out
from trade publishers are now done on a good grade of paper with full color
photography. If done properly, that is clearer than a drawing, though no easier
to do. It sure ain't cheaper, even digitally. But printing is less of an
expense these days, something of a shock to my system. Most books are printed
in China, though some are done in Italy and other parts of Yurp. I've still not
figured out how cheap it must really be to print a book in China: ship the CD
to China; get the blues back to check; return the blues; get the book back, and
have it landed, with duty, at a much lower cost than any U.S. firm can give.
>I never shopped the proposal to a publisher (I was way too concerned
>with drinking beer and having fun at the time), but my prof thought it
>had real promise.
Still a popular subject. You might want to resurrect your stuff.
Charlie Self
"When you appeal to force, there's one thing you must never do - lose." Dwight
D. Eisenhower
Larry Jaques wrote:
> One thing is for sure: SAVE YOUR FILES ALL THE TIME. Make
> multiple copies of the chapters and put them on various
> types of media. Losing a week's worth of work is exceedingly
> harmful to the spirit. I've seen it happen time and again.
> BAKC UP YOUR WORK, Andy. Put a second drive in your computer
> and save copies to both disks, then burn CDs and floppies.
> Get a thumb (new 128MB ram drive the size of a human thumb
> which plugs into the USB port) and save a copy to that, too.
I back up to the internet several times a day. Our company has an account
here.
http://www.ibackup.com/
It is easy "offsite" backup in case the house or office burns down.
It's a piece of cake to drag a .zip from Windows Explorer to an ibackup
WebFolder.
Just an ibackup customer...
Offsite backup for free:
- Yahoo briefcase
- Send email to an account you set for that purpose.
-- Mark
On 17 Jul 2004 06:42:54 -0700, [email protected] (Phil Crow)
wrote:
>A la Gandalf, at least design, if not create line drawings, rather
>than photos wherever possible to cut production costs.
I'm not so sure about this.
For modern printing methods, the cost of printing either is barely
distinguishable. Neither is expensive. If you use either in a book,
the increment of going to using them on every page isn't big. The old
days of plates being bound together have gone. Colour plates maybe,
but not B&W.
Secondly, the cost of producing drawings can be a lot more than
photographs. I can do photographs myself - decent lighting and anyone
can. Drawings however will need a graphic artist involved. It's not a
huge cost, but in this particular case it's in favour of the
photograph. Of course, I also need to produce the piece before I can
photograph it.
--
Smert' spamionam
gandalf wrote:<snippage>
>
> In my humble opinion I think you possess the skills to write a series of
> small books on a number of subjects. Your posts here are always interesting
> and the range of knowledge astounding. That is your strength.
>
> I have a number of woodworking books. None are worth consulting. Yours could
> be. I would buy your books if I could use them in the workshop rather than
> clutter up the bookshelf along with the other gifts.
<more snippage>
Andy, FWIW, I agree with Gandalf. I purchase quite a few books, and
appreciate the offerings which are focused, well-written, and sell for
less than US$20. If the book has what I need, I view it almost as a
consumable for a project, if the price is right. It needn't be a
reference series, although those have their place as well.
Consider also what the physical publishing medium has to offer that the
web-based world does not. What does Garrett Hack's 'Handplane Book'
offer that Patrick Leach's www.supertool.com does not? They both exist
in the 'market', and are well respected sources of information.
Patriarch
On 16 Jul 2004 13:09:43 -0700, [email protected] (Gary Greenberg) calmly
ranted:
>[email protected] (Andy Dingley) wrote:
>> I'm planning on writing a book; the usual woodworking techie stuff...
>Just a thought: given what I've seen from your writing on the wreck,
>you might consider E-Books, being self-published, and cutting out
>the middle-monger.
I agree about an Ebook being a second medium, but print is still the
top seller for almost everything. I abhor long files on the computer
even though I have a crystal-clear 19" CRT. I positively will not
read an entire several-hundred-page -book- on it, and it's very
inconvenient. I like to lie down to read, spending hours at a time
doing so. Some people like 'em and some sales will result, but most
don't and most sales will be in print format.
Try 'War and Peace' on a PDA reading a whole 2 sentences at a time on
a full screen. In a few years (once you've finished it) let me know
what you think about Ebooks. I believe you'll feel about them like I
do now. ;)
-
DANCING: The vertical frustration of a horizontal desire.
---------------------------------------------------------
http://diversify.com Full Service Web Programming
"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> Of course, I also need to produce the piece before I can
> photograph it.
>
Ah, this can be a big detriment to some books. I know an author that had
invested about $20,000 into ingredients to do a food book. His publisher
was not going to give him a big advance so he had to finance it himself.
He eventually recouped his cost but it took some time. He also has a bunch
of books stored at his house.
Ed
[email protected]
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
J T wrote:
> Fri, Jul 16, 2004, 3:41am (EDT-3) [email protected]
> (Andy Dingley)
> claims:
> I'm planning on writing a book; <snip>
>
> Hi Andy, if you want it to sell, write porn. LMAO
>
[snip]
Politics and religion are always big. You too can have a lifelong
career in religion if you invent some good dogma, come up with some
conspiracies that you can sell, and have a group that you can hate (e.g.
Jews, Liberals, Lutherans, tall people). Similar stuff with politics.
You will get a following, appear on some sympathetic talk shows, get a
bigger following, and boom, there you are. :-)
mahalo,
jo4hn