Well, I stumbled into this thread today and I thought it would be a good idea
to give a behind-the-scenes tour of the book.
First of all, thanks for everyone who showed excitement for the book.
Writing a book is much like having a baby. The sign-up with the publisher
that starts the process is fun. Then all the hard work begins... it takes
a lot of time before you have something ready. You're proud to show it to
the world, and at the same time a bit apprehensive, wondering how it will
be received out there. Will it be good? Will people appreciate it?
Now let's get to the economics. As saner heads have been advising
artists, writers, and others who mostly work for labor of love, "Don't
leave your day-job yet." And I'm in no hurry to do that either. The
initial print run of the book is a modest 10,000 copies, not half-million.
The book is listed at $15 but with steep discounts that you can see in
online stores the actual selling point is much less and the author's
royalty would come to somewhere less than a dollar a piece. There are
better ways to get rich than writing a book for the same amount of time
and effort.
It was around two years between the time the editor at the publishing
house first approached me and the book's release. It was an intense effort.
By the time the final version of manuscript is submitted, you're so sick
of all the writing, rewriting, editing, revising, cutting that you just
don't want to even hear a word about it. Many months after that when
I wondered aloud about a sequel my then four-year-daughter Ananya howled
in protest, "Daddy, no more books!" That's how much she felt deprived of
me during all that time.
What does the book have? Yes, it's based on the AWAD, but much of it
is new. The themes have been revised, the definitions are fresh, usage
examples all come from my quirky mind, and it is sprinkled with the
anecdotes, stories, and tidbits from AWAD subscribers. And you don't
need to be in front of a computer screen to be able to read it.
I hope you'll be pleased with it.
