How you can write a book - without actually writing a thing...

Hi Simon,

Thanks for your post - but I think on this particular issue we may have to "agree to disagree"....

Actually there are two things you touched on in your post.

One of the things which you said at the end is that you can be like Ralph Leighton. Know someone who IS a "Somebody" and - like him - associate yourself with that person, and be someone who "facilitates" their writings....

You may or may not know, but it seems almost all (if not all) of Feynman's books are "co-written" with someone. For example, his book of "adventures" - "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman" - was "co-written" with Ralph Leighton. That's because Ralph Leighton did the recording, and I presume he did the editing too....

That's good advice, and that surely is one way to get in on a winning product.

In fact, it's a form of a JV (joint venture). JV with someone who is a "Somebody". It could mean recording their speeches, recording talks you have with them, and so on, and (with their permission, of course), turning these into products....

The other thing you said is that you have to BE someone to make this work, if these are your own original writings. I certainly disagree with that....

Sure, Feynman was a "Somebody". But how many people are not a "Somebody" before they gain publishing success?

Plenty....

And you don't have to necessarily make it to the bestseller lists to make it worthwhile....

Of course, it has to be a product that will help make people's lives "happier" in some way - whether it is through entertaining stories, or by sharing pieces of wisdom... And ideally, it should also be "unique" in some way too. Since we all have a slightly different perspective on life, I don't think making it your own "unique" product is too difficult.

I am NOT saying you should (necessarily) record a book of "adventures" like Feynman did. The point is that you can use this technique to "write" any book - simply by "speaking" it, transcribing then editing it....

Perhaps a good way to do it is to record a series of talks you may give, like Feynman did. That's exactly how his book "QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter" got written. He gave a series of public lectures in New Zealand, and the book is essentially the (edited) transcript of those public lectures.

Of course, I'm not saying you should give a talk on quantum electrodynamics if you know nothing about that topic! BUT ... If you know something about how to do convincing magic tricks - then talk about that. Or if you know something about how to toilet-train a child quickly - then write about that. Whatever it is you know about.... That's what you talk about.

You don't have to fill a huge auditorium. Give a talk to a local club. Hold a weekly class and record those. Even just have one student, and record that. (Having an "audience" - even if it is just of one person - will probably make it easier to do though, rather than talking into empty space, in my opinion....)

Of course, make sure that your talk will make some people's lives "happier" in some way as a result. If you're talking about "How I snore in my sleep no matter what position I lie in" - I have trouble imagining anyone being interested in that topic.... Now we're getting into the topic of "marketing" which wasn't the real point of my post (since of course that's another topic in itself).

Do you have to be a "Somebody" to succeed? I don't think so - everyone who is a "Somebody" today was an "anybody" yesterday.

Otherwise, it becomes a "chicken and the egg" situation.... Don't do anything unti you are a "Somebody". Yet you can't be a "Somebody" until you do "something". It's circular logic....

I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're saying, but that's what it sounds like to me anyhow...

Well, that's my two pence (as they might say in England).... :)

- Dien Rice