Hi there. My name is Scott Duffy, and welcome to my book writing log. I have documented the process of writing my last two books on this site, and have started my third. This book will be called Visual Studio Team System In Action, and should be available in 2005.

What To Expect When You Write Your First Book

I was recently asked for some advice from someone who is thinking of writing a book (this was a business book, not a computer book). This is what I told them.

The overall process can be broken into two parts: (1) making the proposal and (2) writing the book. Before you sit down and write the entire book, you should write up a two- or three- page proposal to send to different publishers. In the proposal, you outline your overall idea for the book, why it will be different/better than other books in the same category, who you are (a brief resume), etc. Essentially, the first part of the proposal convinces the publisher why they should publish your book. The proposal also usually contains a book outline: the number of pages, and the "table of contents" listing of chapter titles and subtitles.

I would suggest that you find books (using Amazon.com or other places) that are similar to your book, and send the proposal (via email is OK) to those publishers. The reason you want to look at other business books is because there are only a handful of publishers that specialize in that category, and you do not want to send your business book idea to a computer book publisher.

Assuming you find a publisher willing to talk, they're probably going to want you to make some changes to your proposal. Shorten the book length, change the style, rename some of the chapter titles, etc. That's normal. If they want to proceed, they will make you an offer. Usually, you'll get some money upfront (called an advance) and a percentage of net sales (royalties). For instance, you might be offered US$6,000 advance and a 10% royalty rate.

Finally, there is writing the book itself. There is no getting around this. I find this the most difficult part. You might find it easier. The publisher and you agree to a schedule up front. That is, you have to submit Chapter 1 on this date, Chapter 2 on this, etc. You might get 3 months to write the entire book. You have to negotiate this. This is important: make sure you give yourself enough time.

So the question is, how many pages of text a day can you reasonably expect to write? I find that 5 pages a day is my average. Some nights I can write 20 pages (like this email I suppose), but some nights I can only write 2. And sometimes I get half way through a chapter when I decide that I don't like how the first few pages sound and decide to rewrite them. That's just me. But don't overestimate how many pages a day you can write. So for a 250 page book, at 5 pages a day, you'll need 50 days to write it.

Once you're done writing, you're not done. There are reviews and edits. The editor will send back each chapter marking things that need your review -- spelling, grammar, technical facts. You also then need to review the pages one more time for any last corrections (these are called page proofs).

That's the process. It takes a good 3 or 4 months (end to end) to write a book. In the beginning, you'll have lots of time (you think). And in the end you'll have so many things going on at once (writing chapters, reviewing previous chapters, re-reviewing the first few chapters). But there is nothing like the feeling of walking into a book store and seeing a book with your name on it on display. Your mother will be so happy. ;)

Another Review

Stumbled across this today:

One of the more powerful Web scripting languages gets a simplified approach to learning by a lean, no-nonsense writer. Scott Duffy takes non-programmer Web designers and developers along the JavaScript trail with patient, clear explanations. Chapter two, particularly, lays out an understanding of variables and constants in such a way as to encourage those who fear the abstraction of even simple programming tasks. By mid-point in this book, you'll have enough confidence to begin using JavaScript for very powerful functional development.

From North Bay Multimedia Association.

Yay!