4 ms·

What's your advice to aspiring authors today? If you were writing your book for the first time today, would you self publish?

CliffStoll 5y ago
The literary world has changed enormously since 1989. I worry that many people simply don't read. Why write a book on Rust or Hadoop when the user-base is keyed into learning from the web or video education? Then, too, a story must be compelling to draw eyes away from video games and social media. Having said the obvious, yes I would publish in print (hey - my feet are firmly in the 20th century). Moreover, I didn't write to make money, nor to make a name for myself, and certainly not to become well known. At first, I simply wanted to teach. Computer security. After talking with Guy, I realized that I had a story to tell. Today, if I had the liberty to choose, I probably wouldn't self-publish. Partly because there's so very much to do: I don't want to become an expert in fonts, page-layout, paper, cover-art, distribution, promotion, and press-runs, etc. These are the important things that a publisher does. More important, I need the feedback that only an editor can give me. I see my editor as the one person who represents my audience. An editor wears many hats - most important is a quality meter: I expect my editor to say, "This chapter isn't any good. Rewrite it." or "These paragraphs confuse me" or "You've said this twice!" In short, I expect red ink all over my manuscript, just like in high school and college English classes. Yep, I may scribble STET in the margin, but I take every red mark seriously -- it's my editor speaking on behalf of my readers. Of course, for someone writing to make money, my comments probably are of little or no use. Warm wishes to all! -Cliff (under a starry sky in Oakland, California)
- boulos 5y ago
  Not that I disagree with using a traditional publisher and editor, but how would you feel about open-source / peer review of a manuscript?
  - 271828182846 5y ago
    How do you make money with this as an author?

CliffStoll 5y ago

The literary world has changed enormously since 1989. I worry that many people simply don't read. Why write a book on Rust or Hadoop when the user-base is keyed into learning from the web or video education? Then, too, a story must be compelling to draw eyes away from video games and social media. Having said the obvious, yes I would publish in print (hey - my feet are firmly in the 20th century). Moreover, I didn't write to make money, nor to make a name for myself, and certainly not to become well known. At first, I simply wanted to teach. Computer security. After talking with Guy, I realized that I had a story to tell. Today, if I had the liberty to choose, I probably wouldn't self-publish. Partly because there's so very much to do: I don't want to become an expert in fonts, page-layout, paper, cover-art, distribution, promotion, and press-runs, etc. These are the important things that a publisher does. More important, I need the feedback that only an editor can give me. I see my editor as the one person who represents my audience. An editor wears many hats - most important is a quality meter: I expect my editor to say, "This chapter isn't any good. Rewrite it." or "These paragraphs confuse me" or "You've said this twice!" In short, I expect red ink all over my manuscript, just like in high school and college English classes. Yep, I may scribble STET in the margin, but I take every red mark seriously -- it's my editor speaking on behalf of my readers. Of course, for someone writing to make money, my comments probably are of little or no use. Warm wishes to all! -Cliff (under a starry sky in Oakland, California)

boulos 5y ago
Not that I disagree with using a traditional publisher and editor, but how would you feel about open-source / peer review of a manuscript?
- 271828182846 5y ago
  How do you make money with this as an author?