The Book of Kindle: Amazon Kindle Sold Out For Holidays
I'm lucky I ordered mine when I did - which was a couple of days before the Oprah discount expired. I ordered next day shipping but it actually took five days - but that's better than the 11 - 13 weeks now being quoted!
If you have a Kindle, you can download a sample of my book Nano-Plasm - just visit http://NanoPlasmBook.com. And if you like it, you can buy it with just a couple of clicks!
I worked on my book for over seven years. Why did it take so long? Because I didn't work on it very much! Just a few weeks each summer. Finally, earlier this fall, I ran off some copies at LuLu.com and gave them to friends for feedback. I made some revisions based on their comments and decided to declare the book done.
The first few chapters are the roughest, in spite of the time I spent polishing them. I noticed I was really anxious to get the story going and so I think the early chapters move too quickly (although I improved that a lot). Once I got to chapter 10 (the chapters are small, so that's relatively soon for most readers), I think I started to hit a certain stride.
One problem with taking seven years to write a book is that other people also write books. Some of them are good writers like Michael Crichton, who wrote Prey. Prey had the same basic concept - nano-technology and people. While the books are quite different there was one problem - Mr. Crichton had used the ending I had planned! So I dropped that and made up something which I think is better.
In fact, as much as I love Michael Crichton, and in spite of my first (slightly) rough chapters, I like my book better. I'm sure Crichton is a better writer, but I like my story a lot more. And I like how fast it moves. And I like the clever things I came up with nano-tech wise.
The most rewarding feedback has been that most readers have read the last third of the book in one sitting.
Now that the book is declared done I'm pretty excited at what I accomplished - even if it took seven years. I've ordered a bunch of copies to give away as gifts, and I've even sold a few - mostly on the Kindle.
So, all in all, writing the book was a pretty good experience.
I probably won't have time to start on another one for a year, because I expect to be quite busy as the project I am on at work gets closer to shipping. But I already have a story idea and this time I won't be quite so impatient with the first chapters.
______________________________________
Read Nano-Plasm
© 2005-2008 Stephen Clarke-Willson, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved.
I have to agree, Doc. I wrote a review of your book where I even mentioned that Crichton would one day write a book about nano-technology (or would have had he lived). I didn't know then about Prey,which I read a couple weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteYou know what the difference was? Michael Crichton wrote a book, but you wrote a story. And wrote it without a lot of the exposition or padding. Give me a story any day!