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Let your next career move come to you.

People you know reasonably well, who have published books.

What were the books about?

Were you given copies?

We saw good friends for the first time in a couple of years last night, very long overdue, and I was presented with a book he had co-written, and it got me thinking.

Outside of my work environment, I have 4 friends who have written low print run books. 3 have given me copies. None are the sort of thing I would ever contemplate buying. Two are about religion, one is fantasy.

With low print run, low demand titles it's understandable that there are copies left unsold, but if you are going to end up giving them away, it does to a degree beg the question why publish them in the first place? And none of these people are remotely vain, so not quite vanity publishing.

Does a Belgian grammar book count? Co-wrote one with some other teachers that was in print and in use with schools for about ten years. Made me about £10k overall so quite reasonable.

All books count Jim. Nice. 

I was quite intrigued that the subject matter of the books was god/fantasy (much the same might say) when there was clearly no commercial driver. 

‘Voices’ that need to be heard?

 

Mate who won the Waterstones 11 award for his debut novel. It was a critical and commercial success. He named a character in his second book after me - in fact my name is the first word of his second novel. 

It's weird to reconcile our immature friendship group with one of us doing something successful outside of the usual trappings, although he was certainly the smartest of us by quite a long way. 

He didn't give me a free copy, annoyingly. I bought it while on a first date as  we just happened to be passing a Waterstones, much to the annoyance of the lass I'd just met for the first time. 

"if you are going to end up giving them away, it does to a degree beg the question why publish them in the first place?" 

Because people have things they want to say.

A couple of these, one is about driving a rally car across South America, the other is about riding a Triumph motorcycle across the UK. Different authors, both are entertaining and well written.

I may be stretching reasonably well but one of my closest mates back home married into a family which has a well known author (fiction, New York Times Bestseller) amongst its ranks. I’ve met him on a handful of occasions (stag weekends, weddings, birthdays etc)

He’s a top bloke and frighteningly sharp.

I’ve got a mate who is a freelance travel writer and has published a couple of very well reviewed books.   He doesn’t make loads out of it which is why he isn’t going to be giving books away for free and I’m not even sure he gets freebies from the publisher.

I can’t think of anyone who has, but i’d love to write a book. It’s actually something I keep thinking about. That said, I actively avoid social media, so someone may have written something and I have no idea! 

“What was your contribution Jim?”

The vast bulk of it. I did all the grammatical explanations, the introductions and the editing/compiling plus some of the exercises. 1 of the others wrote a significant number of the exercises. Another sent me exercises they already had, most of which were crap and didn’t fit in and the last was utterly useless and didn’t contribute.

As a result I got paid a lot more than the others but still felt I’d been slightly done over,

Unfortunately it’s out of print now. Wrote it 20+ years ago and got royalty cheques every year until about 2014. Was a nice surprise when they turned up as I’d forgotten about them but makes my tax return a lot easier not having them.

I had the unfortunate experience of being taught using a textbook my mother had written to some degree.  Urgh. She's done a few. 

Been given copies of books where friends or acquaintances have written and I have helped edit for process/structure on some technical bits.  They were all fiction.  I have been given copies but no idea where they are.  

As for the low print runs, those are the books I really enjoy. Someone just had to write and rewrite that thing that wouldn't leave them alone. Sometimes they take known issues with a new eye. Sometimes half a thought might lead to an entirely new thought. Sometimes art for the sake of art. Innit

Not quite what the OP is asking but my v good friend is in publishing and she has forged friendships with a fair amount of very well known writers of fiction. She also gives me inside goss 👀. 

I’m generally very envious when she tells me about her latest lunch with [insert Booker winning author name] or attending a wedding with [insert Pulitzer Prize winner name]. 

I went through a phase of writing during my midlife crisis. (You think I’m bad now?). 

I joined an online writing group and signed away copyright but never bar one piece, showed any of it to anyone. My son managed to bring a virus onto our computer and it wiped everything else. 

Some of the online stuff was picked up and published in an anthology which is sat on my book shelf and will probably end up in a skip when the time comes. 

I know someone who wrote a biography about someone famous and a novel both critically received; someone who had a book of poetry published,  more than a couple who have had books on legal subjects published. One gave me a copy. 

One prep school friend who has always considered himself superior has written some high brow book about South American history but can’t find a publisher.  Another friend from the same school published a chick lit book and has written a number of sequels and travels all over the US to book fairs.  Easy reading soft porn for housewives seems to sell remarkably well.

I have written one book myself which makes me a decent amount of money.

I also know plenty of authors.  They are mostly talentless but with some kInd of hinterland e.g. gorgeous + posh, successful journalist.

Their books are dog shite.

My example above makes me laugh as the unpublished one has a mother who wrote for a literary magazine and was well connected so if he can't get his book published it must be spectacularly awful.

A long time ago I wrote a chapter for a banking textbook (a proper hard cover one). I have a copy of it on my bookshelves but I doubt if anyone else does.

I've written some book chapters - one on EU law in a particular sector, one on an international law subject and one (awaiting publication) on arbitration.

I know two people who have published fiction.  One used to post here in the early days of rof.  He was a trainee at somewhere like HogLove.  His book was sort of a take on Bridget Jones for men.  And Mr Nex's cousin has written a book.  I don't know what it's about as apparently it's dreadful so I have skipped reading it.  All I know is that it is set on an island off the coast.

My aunt has written a series of novels, a few of which have actually made it into printed versions. I have a copy of one here, never read beyond the first chapter which confirmed it was, as expected, shyte.

The only others I;ve know to have written books have been self-published Amazon only e-books. One 95% written by a friend of 'zzettes who died before being able to finish it.  It was finished off by her husband after her death and then published.  He then, still overcome with grief, topped himself about a year later.  The book is shyte tbf.  

 

 

I know a few, one is a best seller (Sinead McCoole) in the History genre.  

Another writes thrillers set in the horse racing world (E.H. Ward)

Then there's Regina Sexton who writes on the history of food and cooking

Some relatives have done Auto Biographies.

I've two old friends who are playwrights, Stewart Roche is one, he had a play on Radio 4 last year (Shard).

My sister has had a few published. I've even bought a couple of them. They are about something I am interesting in and are more reference/guide material so useful to me.

Used to proof-read a mate's novels.  They were awful but they got published!  Never got a penny or even a "Dedicated to Quips".  We're lucky we're still friends really.

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