Monday, July 18, 2005
Customers are Always Right (Even When Shooting Themselves in the Foot)
I have been writing technical books since 1992. (The first one and only one was self-published.) I have been fortunate that most signed books have been published. Occasionally I get my share of misfortune and a book project is cancelled. Boo hoo!
When a book project is cancelled it means that 500 to 1000 pages which takes me seven months to write will never see a book shelf at Borders or show up on Amazon.com. The reality is that compensation for technical books is poor at best. Having about a dozen books published in the same number of years and knowing many authors, I can tell you that writing technical books is not lucrative and only first time authors have visions of new Porsches or Hummers purchased with royalties. Well, apparently book sales continue to decline and publishers are scrambling to figure out what readers want. In fact, I talked to publisher/author Dan Appleman and he doesn't seem to be really sure either.
You ask: why write then? Good, question. I keep repeating in my head the philosophical phrase: the thread does not know its importance to the tapestry. This means that I write for the same reason some people climb mountains, because I can write but I can't climb mountains. I write because I am part masochist and partly because its what I do. Although, I spend a modest amount of time wondering if what I write really matters.
Like anyone that sets out to accomplish anything, whether profitable or not, I weep a bit when the endeavor fails. I blame others when the blame mostly resides with me, and I descry the short sightedness of editors and publishers who only seem to care about deadlines, as the cause of sluggish sales. When profit is king doesn't creativity suffer, naturally? I dunno.
I do wonder if a project cancelled 120 pages into a 1,000 page book simply means that there aren't that many wobbly tables left to balance or if readers and publishers have all finally realized that no one really reads War and Peace-sized books. Not really.
When a book project is cancelled it means that 500 to 1000 pages which takes me seven months to write will never see a book shelf at Borders or show up on Amazon.com. The reality is that compensation for technical books is poor at best. Having about a dozen books published in the same number of years and knowing many authors, I can tell you that writing technical books is not lucrative and only first time authors have visions of new Porsches or Hummers purchased with royalties. Well, apparently book sales continue to decline and publishers are scrambling to figure out what readers want. In fact, I talked to publisher/author Dan Appleman and he doesn't seem to be really sure either.
You ask: why write then? Good, question. I keep repeating in my head the philosophical phrase: the thread does not know its importance to the tapestry. This means that I write for the same reason some people climb mountains, because I can write but I can't climb mountains. I write because I am part masochist and partly because its what I do. Although, I spend a modest amount of time wondering if what I write really matters.
Like anyone that sets out to accomplish anything, whether profitable or not, I weep a bit when the endeavor fails. I blame others when the blame mostly resides with me, and I descry the short sightedness of editors and publishers who only seem to care about deadlines, as the cause of sluggish sales. When profit is king doesn't creativity suffer, naturally? I dunno.
I do wonder if a project cancelled 120 pages into a 1,000 page book simply means that there aren't that many wobbly tables left to balance or if readers and publishers have all finally realized that no one really reads War and Peace-sized books. Not really.
# posted by PaulKi : 3:00 PM
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I picked up your book Visual Basic .NET Unleashed (2002 version) and enjoyed it very much. I was your typical VB Classic programmer and wanted to move more toward OOP but never got around to it because my work has always been supporting VB applications. It took a future project in .NET to finally get myself into true OOP. In fact, after reading your book, I went and bought a C++ book and discovered that I understood it like never before because I now had a foundation of Class, Overrides, Inheritence etc. from your book. Even pointers, which .NET does not use, was simple because of arrays and addressOf stuff you mentioned.
I suppose the thing that helped me most is the samples that were available as a download. I am a very visual person (I still don't know the name of the cross-streets outside my neighborhood, but can tell you how many trees, color of houses, signs etc. on those streets). Those samples helped me greatly -- BTW, Chapter 16 -- ApplicationEvents has errors when loading.
Anyway, I am in some way relating to your philosophical statement about the thread and tapestry. I am sure you have influenced many people to enhance their careers or provided some self-confidence. I know I have been influence. I am now getting stronger in OOP programming and am not afraid to look at code written in C++ or other languages all because of the VB .NET book I purchased from a Half-Priced book store! So, the value isn't only in monetary means, but also the thread you provide in people's lives to go and earn a better living and to create their own "tapestry".
I suppose the thing that helped me most is the samples that were available as a download. I am a very visual person (I still don't know the name of the cross-streets outside my neighborhood, but can tell you how many trees, color of houses, signs etc. on those streets). Those samples helped me greatly -- BTW, Chapter 16 -- ApplicationEvents has errors when loading.
Anyway, I am in some way relating to your philosophical statement about the thread and tapestry. I am sure you have influenced many people to enhance their careers or provided some self-confidence. I know I have been influence. I am now getting stronger in OOP programming and am not afraid to look at code written in C++ or other languages all because of the VB .NET book I purchased from a Half-Priced book store! So, the value isn't only in monetary means, but also the thread you provide in people's lives to go and earn a better living and to create their own "tapestry".
I'm a simpleton. (sp?) (If I keep gaining weight I'll be a simple ton.) Anywhoo...You write so that your older brother has something to brag about. Don't go spoiling it by telling the rest of the world that me and that ty guy are the only ones who read them! Oh yeah, at least 19 other schmucks for the 19 languages your books have been translated into.
When I publish my first book I'm gonna buy me a Mercedes Bends.
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When I publish my first book I'm gonna buy me a Mercedes Bends.
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