The Story behind the Book

It's tempting fate to write a Conclusion at this early stage. The book is yet to be released as I write this so who knows how it will sell. I also haven't included any of the details of the process of creating this web site. That is a separate story and one that I hope will continue to unfold as a community is built around it.

Already people are asking me "What was it like writing a book? Would you do it again?". So far, at least, the experience has been nothing like as torturous as I feared it might be. Once you have a structure and plan in place, the words come easily. They come all the more easily if you are speaking from experience as you are essentially committing to paper what you have in your head. Would I do it again? Yes, I think I would. But first I need a little break from writing. I also feel I need to gain some more specific experience if I am to again write authoritatively on a new subject. I already have an idea what that book might be.

The whole process from initial proposal submission to publication (in my case, 1 year, 3 months) takes too long in my view. When you are living on the much fabled 'internet time' there is clearly a concern that by the time you have published something, it will be out of date. You realise why all books always seem to be behind the market. The editorial process adds a lot of value and it would be foolhardy to short-circuit it. However, I am sure that the web itself could be used to accelerate the process: editorially by using the web to get reviewer feedback quicker and in production by moving towards digital (e-book) as well as print publishing. The contractual and due diligence times could be significantly shortened using digital contracts and an existing online community from the target market would provide feedback for the due diligence process very quickly.

I expect to see more books (particularly trade publications) written collaboratively in the future, with members of an online community all inputting to its creation and the author bringing it together. Books will be released first as e-books (sometimes only as e-books). Buying the e-book will cost the customer less and mean he or she can get it many months in advance of the printed version. Authors currently typically get around 15% of the wholesale price of the book, which in itself is typically 7.5% of the retail price you pay in the shops. It will be tempting for authors, especially established authors, to go direct (as Stephen King and others already have) to the customers and cut out the publishers. You could sell 5 times fewer books and still make significantly more money. That said, I don't think the publishers need worry too much for a while as they still have 2 key advantages: editorial skills and, most importantly, marketing and distribution strengths that a lone author, unless very well known, is unlikely to match.

So that's where I'm at now: a great experience and one that I will no doubt repeat at some point but a process and industry which I think could benefit hugely from exploiting the power of the internet.

17.10.00