Comments on: seth on publishing books

By: owen

owen — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 05:28:01 +0000

Seth is on target here.
I recently set up a small independent publishing company — mostly because I have long wanted to and mostly because I had finally found a book I was passionate about and thought had a reasonable chance of not losing me too much money (note the realistic goal here).
The book is Digital Dish: Five Seasons of the Freshest Recipes and Writing From Food Blogs Around the World.
it is a GREAT book — the food and writing in it from the 24 contributors kicks food magazine ass. It was a lot of fun to put together and I will lose several thousands of my own dollars doing it. (Actually I have already lost several thousands — if sales really kick into gear then I will lose fewer of those thousands). To get an idea what food blogs are all about check out mine http://www.tomatilla.com and then (they are mostly better than mine) click on the links to other blogs on the right — especially food porn watch — it’s an aggregator of sorts.
Anyway — I am proud of the book, glad I did it, would love to do a follow up (I have close to 200 food blogs to potentially contribute this time around) and am unlikely to actually do the follow up since I can’t afford it. I would if I broke even — I don’t care about making money but reality forces me to care about losing money…

By: seth godin

seth godin — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 01:16:48 +0000

Guys,
At least in the US, people hate to read. True stats:
1. Average tv viewing, per adult, per day, more than 4 hours.
2. Number of books for pleasure purchased, per adult, per year: 1.
It’s not about time. It’s about skill and smarts and gratification (instant).

By: Bruce DeBoer

Bruce DeBoer — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 23:49:19 +0000

I agree with Ulrich, although, there are “readers” and then there are “READERS”. The lower case readers fall short of time and skim ’til they find the best 3 chapters. The upper case readers reserve time in their day to immerse themselves in reading.
Mr. Godin makes a good point though. His books are great examples for his point: he writes books that sell to a relatively small target. He writes about marketing in a way that resonates with his target.

By: Ulrich Hobelmann

Ulrich Hobelmann — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 20:58:25 +0000

People don’t hate to read. They are simply short on time. I only skim most stuff I see on the web. If something looks *really* interesting, I bookmark the book, sometimes I buy it. But then I read the whole book, usually. If a book only makes me read part of it, I don’t buy it in the first place, maybe get it a the local library.
I think lots of people out there prefer dead trees to reading stuff on their laptop or office screen.

By: Is there a PC Doctor in the house?

Is there a PC Doctor in the house? — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 20:15:09 +0000

On publishing … “A book agent I know tells me that at leat half the people he meets who are writing the first book, are doing so not because they have anything particualrly interesting to say, but because the idea of “the writer’s life” appeal...