# Could you write a book? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429 "2016-04-17T01:19:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/41 "2016-04-18T01:02:32Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Thanks. Where can I write short fiction stories where someone will read them? [Wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/) seems to be a good place for that right now. Get in early and you’ll get more eyes on it. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/42 "2016-04-18T02:14:16Z")
I’ve played with the idea of writing a book. But the problem is that a book is very long compared to the many articles that I’ve written and had published. Basically, I would rather spend my time doing research/developing expertise and then writing terse papers in “scientific style” than have to pull ideas out of my imagination day after day. However, scientific research actually does start with the imagination of “what does or how come…” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/43 "2016-04-18T12:54:48Z")
Pretty sure I could. I am 3/4 of the way on a screenplay that a small part of me still wants to finish someday. I don’t think I’m that good of a book writer from a technical point of view, but my ideas/story/characters/dialogue would be good. Give me an editor and I’m sure I’d be fine. (p.s. anyone know what to do with a screenplay once it’s finished?) ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/44 "2016-04-18T13:36:44Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > WOW – Great! I can not write long novels. They took about 2 or 3 years each. I wrote the first two back in the early '90’s, and left the third one about 3/4 done in 1996 when I got too depressed about not being able to get a publisher to look at the first two. Come along to 2007, when I did find someone who liked and wanted to publish the first two, and wanted me to finish the third one. I had to pull up old notes and partially done scenes (in WordPerfect, to give you an idea how long ago this was) to try and remember how I was going to end it. I did have to make some changes from my original intentions–for example, I had a note that “X dies here” but couldn’t remember at all how I meant to kill her off. So the character got to live. ---
**Author:** ![escaped](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@escaped](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/escaped)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/45 "2016-04-19T00:46:35Z")
No i could not.i would like to however. ---
**Author:** ![Parthol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@Parthol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parthol)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/46 "2016-04-19T02:04:52Z")
I provided a definitive answer to this question when I published my first fantasy novel just this January. 😃 (It’s probably against board rules to specify the book in this forum, but there’s a thread about it in the Marketplace forum.) So far it’s been selling decently on Amazon. It’s the first in a planned series of 5 books, and I’m about 100k words/75% through the first draft of book 2. That means I’m on track to publish it in early 2017, since the rewriting and editing process takes just as long if not longer than finishing the first draft. It’s been a dream of mine to write fantasy novels since I was 10 years old and devouring Tolkien, Alexander, Lewis, Brooks, et al. So, I’m pretty psyched. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/47 "2016-04-19T02:10:36Z")
I could probably put together a few dozen short stories from real life–I enjoy writing these and working over them carefully to get the tone just right. Since I limit myself to about six pages and one tight subject they are easy to pass around to friends and nobody has yawned while reading one. Ten years ago I very carefully translated a collection of short stories written by a Brazilian author named Osman Lins from Portuguese into English. At the time I was considering whether it would be possible to publish the collection, but I realized that all of the various copyright hurdles and such would be more than anyone would care to deal with in order to publish a translation of a forgotten Brazilian book from the 1950s. I enjoyed the process though. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/48 "2016-04-19T02:28:47Z")
To everyone saying they couldn’t take the rejection: I spent the night up with my five year old, who is having her first bout with a real stomach bug. I caught vomit. I washed sheets. I hugged, sang, rocked, and kissed away tears. I tried medicine. Around 3:45 she fell asleep, and I went to bed too, until 8:30. Except for the part at 6:45 where she crawled into bed with me because she had thrown up again. Anyway: I got up at 8:30, got my coffee, and before I could take a sip, I opened my email. Four rejections. Frankly, I was a sack of wet cement by that point. You couldn’t hurt me with a sledgehammer. Rejection reasons include “too genre,” “not genre enough,” “plot is too linear,” and “meanders in places.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/49 "2016-04-20T12:32:22Z")
Yes. I’ve had two nonfiction books published. I’ve written two more, one of which has (unfortunately) just been rejected. On to the next publisher. I’ve written one fiction novel, which hasn’t been published, and am now writing a YA novel that I have high hopes for. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/50 "2016-04-20T16:01:53Z")
I wrote a research paper many moons ago for an IPE class which engaged my interest to the point that I kept researching and writing on the topic long after the report had been turned in and graded. It has become a book of about 400-500 pages, painstakingly researched and frequently updated as I’ve found additional sources and information over the years. Were there any kind of market for it, I’d probably test the waters. But there isn’t much out there on comparable topics, so that clearly indicates to me that the interest level is low. It will remain my own private labor of love. So, if the question is COULD I write a book, the answer is yes, I have done so. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/51 "2016-04-20T16:31:24Z")
At one time I thought I probably could, but didn’t know how to start. Nowadays, I’m not sure I have the patience. Perhaps a novella or short story would be doable, but again, where to start. I can do commentary fairly well, and was asked at one point some years ago to do a weekly op-ed in a local paper, but turned it down. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/52 "2016-04-20T16:39:28Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I have written or cowritten three books. The first was cowritten between about 1980 and 1984 and published at the end of 1984. The second, with the same coauthor, between 1986 and 1989. The third, I started writing in 1990. I taught a course based on it around 1995. Answering a couple questions asked by a student resulted in my rethinking the subject entirely and I tore up most of what I had done and finally published it in 2002. All three advanced mathematics. Was one called “Tropic of Calculus” starring Beyonce as hypotenuse? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/53 "2016-04-20T16:42:55Z")
Two sf novels, the first of which is just beginning revision 3. One user manual, and lots of chapters in books. But I’m also a book reviewer which is a lot easier. My wife is at the stage where she doesn’t quite remember how many she has done - somewhat more than 10 and all traditionally published, with one making back its advance and now paying royalties. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/54 "2016-04-20T17:33:18Z")
My eleventh is coming out next year if I can get the revisions done in time. Plenty of people have ideas for books or have always wanted to write a book but never do it, so just finishing the damned thing is admirable. Congrats. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/55 "2016-04-20T20:37:37Z")
I tried to write a novel once. It was called _The Lamb_ and it was about a whisky priest who has a nighttime encounter with a godlike figure that inspires him to renounce his worldly possessions and travel the globe in search of truth. Turned out William Blake stole my title (200 years ago) and I could never figure out how the novel should end, so I gave up after three chapters. I’ve written a couple of published academic papers (one 15,000 words, the other 12,000). I suspect I could turn the longer one into a book if it was the sort of thing anyone was interested in reading (it’s not). ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/56 "2016-04-20T21:04:01Z")
I suppose most of us have had people tell us, “You should write a book.” Being Dopers, most of us are interesting or witty enough to hear that now and then. The people who tell us that stuff are not in the book biz, and they wouldn’t know what publishers want. So, we smile and politely say, “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/57 "2016-04-20T22:33:33Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > I suppose most of us have had people tell us, “You should write a book.” Being Dopers, most of us are interesting or witty enough to hear that now and then. The people who tell us that stuff are not in the book biz, and they wouldn’t know what publishers want. So, we smile and politely say, “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Happens to me all the time, based on nothing more than the fact that I’ve traveled a lot. Not exactly a good premise. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/58 "2016-04-20T22:37:26Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > They took about 2 or 3 years each. I wrote the first two back in the early '90’s, and left the third one about 3/4 done in 1996 when I got too depressed about not being able to get a publisher to look at the first two. Thank you. I should have majored in writing. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/59 "2016-04-20T22:41:20Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Two sf novels, the first of which is just beginning revision 3. One user manual, and lots of chapters in books. But I’m also a book reviewer which is a lot easier. > > My wife is at the stage where she doesn’t quite remember how many she has done - somewhat more than 10 and all traditionally published, with one making back its advance and now paying royalties. WOW! I only wrote two books. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429/60 "2016-04-20T22:41:32Z")
I’ve written two (both fantasy novels, though not related to each other), and I’m working on my third (sci-fi). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-write-a-book/752429.md?page=4)