# I finished my book this morning! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 26, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957 "2010-11-26T05:35:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/1 "2010-11-26T05:35:04Z")
I typed the last sentence at about 9:50 am. 94,790 words, 231 pages. I’ve been working on it for almost two years. (And thinking about it longer than that.) It’s about the aesthetics of play – what makes play fun, and how it manifests itself in a variety of different cultural and artistic contexts. Next comes a final editing pass through the whole thing. I want to tighten up the prose in a few spots, check my references, and make sure I haven’t left anything out. But by the end of next week I should be ready to start contacting publishers. Wish me luck! ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/2 "2010-11-26T05:48:19Z")
Yay!! Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/3 "2010-11-26T05:52:08Z")
My first though was, “Heck, I finish about a book a week - what’s the big deal?” 🙂 Congratulations, you writer, you. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/4 "2010-11-26T05:55:13Z")
Wow! Even though I have always thought that everyone has at least one book within their self, I have also known that most will never be able to give birth to it. Congrats and I hope to see your name (even though I do not know it) on many best seller lists very soon. Hootie ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/5 "2010-11-26T09:24:52Z")
I’m not wishing you luck, I’m asking for a PM giving me the title when it’s published 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/6 "2010-11-26T11:54:23Z")
Well done! Now put the manuscript down, open the window to let some fresh air in and go out and celebrate! ---
**Author:** ![Bibliovore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bibliovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bibliovore)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/7 "2010-11-26T13:32:07Z")
That’s awesome news, and you have my utmost respect. That kind of self-drive and determination is hard to come by these days. Go you! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/8 "2010-11-26T14:03:10Z")
Good on you! Here’s hoping the first publisher you show it to snaps it up! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/9 "2010-11-26T14:08:13Z")
Woohoo! Good luck, let us know when it is published. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/10 "2010-11-26T14:38:24Z")
Congrats! ---
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/11 "2010-11-26T14:38:57Z")
Reaching through the monitor to give you a pat on the back. Way to go! ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/12 "2010-11-26T15:16:12Z")
Congrats!!! > [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > It’s about the aesthetics of play – what makes play fun, and how it manifests itself in a variety of different cultural and artistic contexts. I already like it. Would love to read it. Just curios if you used any examples throughout - Shakespeare (hope not), Brecht maybe, Beckett? - or is it more of an academic conceptual read? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/13 "2010-11-26T16:50:08Z")
Congratulations and good luck. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/14 "2010-11-26T17:35:57Z")
Congratulations!!! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/15 "2010-11-26T18:58:48Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Next comes a final editing pass through the whole thing. I want to tighten up the prose in a few spots, check my references, and make sure I haven’t left anything out. But by the end of next week I should be ready to start contacting publishers. For starters, well done. I hope it was all good fun. Not wanting to be a dickhead but really you think you can do an edit of a 231 page book in one week? That’s faster than editors edit. And editing something you just completed doesn’t work. It needs to sit around so that when you read it again you can’t even remember writing it Send us all a soft copy and I’ll bet my liver that someone, or several someones, will find errors. All for free. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/16 "2010-11-26T20:26:28Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Not wanting to be a dickhead but really you think you can do an edit of a 231 page book in one week? That’s faster than editors edit. And editing something you just completed doesn’t work. It needs to sit around so that when you read it again you can’t even remember writing it. I’ve been editing as I go, so it’s not that big of a job. Mostly it’s a final double-check to make sure I haven’t missed any loose ends and to flag the handful of references that I still need to track down. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/17 "2010-11-26T22:23:03Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > I already like it. Would love to read it. Just curios if you used any examples throughout - Shakespeare (hope not), Brecht maybe, Beckett? - or is it more of an academic conceptual read? It \*is \*more conceptual – I don’t do much close reading of texts, although I do use particular works as examples to illustrate particular points. For example, I build my discussion of closure around the drawn-out ending of the final _Lord of the Rings_ movie. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/18 "2010-11-27T00:18:55Z")
Congrats !!! ---
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/19 "2010-11-27T01:23:16Z")
Way to go, **Hamster King**!! Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![KevinShi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c57346/32.png) [@KevinShi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KevinShi)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957/20 "2010-11-27T14:03:33Z")
good work buddy, i tried to write a book but ceebsed after a week xD [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-finished-my-book-this-morning/561957.md?page=2)