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» Just pray that you never have a day like the one we had recently.
"Hi Sis, how's it going?"
"Hey, just wanted to call you two to say that I saw your book in the discount pile at our closeout books store!"
Let me slash my wrists now...
(thankfully, it was an old edition)
– Dori { 11.19.01 @ 11:42pm }
» derek, I know what you mean about time. my interpret site hasn't been updated in almost a year, mainly because I now run two sites regularly, plus work long hours, live in london, oh and I'm also working on my first album.
spare time? what's that, then?
– clive { 11.20.01 @ 1:17am }
» Derek, your babies are doing just fine over here! We have already given away a couple of copies, and today I visited our local bookshop again to get one more. Next week, we'll be attending the retirement party of one of our clients, who will be dedicating himself to growing the community he is very passionate about and for which we have built the site. He will get a copy of your impressive book, naturally, to help him further along. The bookstore didn't have one in stock anymore, so I had to order one from an online store. But they will be stocking it again!
Also, in January I will be giving a presentation to another client on implementing (or not implementing) chatting facilities in their site, mainly based on the points you make in the book.
And just this morning, our office copy was pulled out of the closet to make several points, one of which was that we were going to do something 'like Derek would handle it'.
I would say your babies are happily leading productive, well loved lives here in Utrecht.
– marrije { 11.20.01 @ 5:16am }
» I, too, know what you mean about time. I was *this close* to getting my site back up and running for the first time in a year, and my PowerBook died an untimely death. I took it as a sign.
Anyway, that's what holiday weekends are for, right?
– Geoffrey { 11.20.01 @ 7:42am }
» It's "whoever."
Used bookstores have depressed the hell out of me lately. Writing a book is such an awesome, magnificant accomplishment, the world's surest path to immortality, but to be surrounded by so many books -- unsold, unread, unwanted -- is at once intimidating and depressing. I'll never have enough to say to fill an entire book, and yet in every used bookstore are thousands of noble books, the life’s works of so many beautiful men and women. And nobody wants them. They gather dust. Someone has looked at their bookshelf and said, "I no longer want this one." And it winds up in a cardboard box near the entrance, two for a dollar. A life’s work: 50 cents.
Everyone goes unsold eventually, Derek. Regardless of the two homeless copies you speak of, DfC is a fantastic book, and it's no wonder it sold so well online. Besides, I would much rather have author's remorse than the remorse of the eternal reader. Better to have written and gone unsold than to never have written at all.
– Pedantic goob { 11.20.01 @ 12:16pm }
» Pedantic Luke - Bless you. I haven't laughed so hard all week. :-)
– Derek M. Powazek { 11.20.01 @ 12:48pm }
» Great story Derek - don't let it get you down. I just finished selling out my first (small) run of my book after two years, and yet the two unsold copies sitting in my local bookstore (Elliott Bay Book Co.) still mock me daily. You find your audience where you can.
– AT { 11.20.01 @ 1:50pm }
» Heh, I'm glad. I should also point out, however, that authors should not know these things. If they did, there wouldn't be a need for editors.
Oh, the horror.
– Young Luke { 11.20.01 @ 6:10pm }
» Just picked up the last copy at the Barnes & Noble in Lynchburg, VA. Can't wait to start reading it . . . .
– V { 11.21.01 @ 3:32pm }
» I have been doing what I can to help move your books in the DC area. I had a wonderful time reading your book and have strongly suggested that some of my clients buy a copy to understand their sites a little better. Two clients have bought the book and are reading and getting ideas.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
– vanderwal { 11.23.01 @ 1:32pm }
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