Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270
Logwood Offline OP
enthusiast
OP Offline
enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270

Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Either that or be born Ray Bradbury.

Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
This is a rather delightful essay and all the more funny because of the (many) grains of truth embedded in it. I passed it along to all of the fantasy-fiction nerds (there are many) in my cyber address book. Thanks, Woody.

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
heh.


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
D
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
As the country's most resoundingly unpublished writer, I can testify that it's a lot easier to write a "best seller" than it is to find a publisher who agrees with your assessment

Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" was rejected by 12 pubs. But with the advent of the word processor, I estimate it's 25 times easier to write a book; and using the Internet it's 25 times as easy to address a potential market. Given those figures, a typical publisher probably gets 625 times the input load. To find one that liked her book enough to publish it, might today require 12 x 625 = 750 queries

If the book occupied, say, 200 written pages and typing at the time cost, say, $2 a page, then you had to submit a $400 MS to one pub at a time, with return postage

Even today, in order to discourage overloading of its hard drives, a pub showing any interest might ask for a printed copy. You will be very lucky if your 750 queries result in 75 such requests

Postage notwithstanding, that's 75 x 20 = 150,000 pages

Don't write a book


dalehileman
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 19
F
stranger
Offline
stranger
F
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 19
Eh, for me mildly amusing, far less than delightful.

Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
Why does the author give away all that advice for free?


Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 442 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5