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April 18, 2005

Books vs. Blogs

Steven Johnson makes a very persuasive case here for why he doesn't blog about his books as he writes them. On the other hand, as he acknowledges, other writers are experimenting with treating book-writing as an open-source project. Laurence Lessig, for example, has opened up his book Code to be collectively rewritten as a Wikki document. I haven't figured out yet exactly what relationship I want this blog to have to my books. Johnson points out that blogging and book-writing are very different activities: blogging is of the moment, while writing a book involves crafting a sustained relationship with a reader over hundreds of pages and hours of reading. But as I wrap up my first book, I feel like I could use a little bloglike urgency in my writing routine.

Academia's rhythms make Johnson's world of commercial book publishing look like a sprint. The oldest section in my book, on computer games, dates back to an essay I wrote in my first semester of graduate school, 13 years ago. I started the project itself as my dissertation in 1994 or so. I defended the diss in 1999. I took some time off, then revamped the whole thing and started sending proposals out to presses in 2003. Reviews and revisions for NYU Press have taken another two years. Now I'm finally at the stage of cover design and proofing copy edits, and it's still going to be another six months before the book goes on sale. Even after all that, it often takes years before academic journals get around to reviewing new books! As someone who's always leaned towards instant gratification over delayed pleasures, I'm amazed my head hasn't exploded yet. So forgive me if getting to see all my deepest musings on cats, gardening, and baseball posted instantly online makes me a little giddy.

Perhaps the most appealing model I've come across is the way Wired editor Chris Anderson is writing The Long Tail, the book version of his brilliant essay on how Internet technologies such as iTunes, Amazon, and Netflix encourage diversity and break down least-common-denominator culture by making less-popular music, books, movies, and so on financially viable and even lucrative. He's blogging continually about the writing process, getting feedback from his readers as he goes along.

That's what I'm hoping I can get going when I start gearing up for my next book, which will be on the politics of Hollywood movies. But first, I may need to get a few more random observations off my chest. Stay tuned for my feelings on this year's American Idol . . .

Posted by tedf at April 18, 2005 02:59 AM

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