Poll time, kinda pool related

Is Fatboys writing up to par?

  • yes

    Votes: 18 48.6%

  • no

    Votes: 9 24.3%

  • i dont know

    Votes: 10 27.0%
  • Total voters
    37
Fatboy

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If its ok please leave this poll up for a little while before its moved, its kinda pool related.

As some people here may know when I started on AZB I my writing skills were about like a 3rd grader, aqt best. I went to work hard for the past 3 years to teach myself how to write and communicate with a keyboard. I have always been a good talker but you couldnt tell when I came here.


I know I havent been posting much in the past few months so this isnt very timely, but for those of you who know me and seen my writing,


do you think i'm capable of writing a book?

Please be honest, You cant hurt my feelings. I should have asked this when I was posting more and in stroke writing. I have started writing again and this question popped into my brain, I'm not on any other boards to ask anyone.

Even if you hate me, please be honest, dont knock me cause you hate me, if you like me please dont say "Yes" to make me happy. I really am considering taking writing to the next level. Some input would be great

thanks
eric
 
Of course you can write a book. I wrote 5 of them and had 5 short stories published and I have a 7th grade ed. Looking forward to reading it. John
 
Eric, write your book and then hire a good editor. If the major publishing houses won't publish it, just self publish it. It is much easier now than it used to
be. Good luck.
 
Your writing skills several years ago were not very good. Your posts were painful to read.
But I have noticed a vast improvement since then.Some people speak better then they write,I am not one of them.
 
just hire an editor and all will be fine...good luck!

What is the nature of the book? if you don't mind my asking...

Gary
 
measureman said:
Your writing skills several years ago were not very good. Your posts were painful to read.
But I have noticed a vast improvement since then.Some people speak better then they write,I am not one of them.
Click to expand...

A bottle of world's famous hanks water will make you be one!
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
Fatboy said:
If its ok please leave this poll up for a little while before its moved, its kinda pool related.

As some people here may know when I started on AZB I my writing skills were about like a 3rd grader, aqt best. I went to work hard for the past 3 years to teach myself how to write and communicate with a keyboard. I have always been a good talker but you couldnt tell when I came here.


I know I havent been posting much in the past few months so this isnt very timely, but for those of you who know me and seen my writing,


do you think i'm capable of writing a book?

Please be honest, You cant hurt my feelings. I should have asked this when I was posting more and in stroke writing. I have started writing again and this question popped into my brain, I'm not on any other boards to ask anyone.

Even if you hate me, please be honest, dont knock me cause you hate me, if you like me please dont say "Yes" to make me happy. I really am considering taking writing to the next level. Some input would be great

thanks
eric
Click to expand...

Eric,

My question is: would this be for commerical purposes, such as a novel or an autobiography, you plan on publishing?

Writing is fun. It is a release for creativity and it's rewarding to write something that people find entertaining. That being said, it's more important to have a story to tell than it is to have strong writing skills.

While I truly believe you are an interesting person and have a book in you, if you plan on publishing it, you'll need a writer. I hope you take this as a compliment. It's a lot more difficult to be a story than it is to write one.

Chris
 
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Go for it. If you're passionate about your passions then step up to the old plate and belt one out of the park. Get yourself a couple of dozen legal pads, a handful of pencils, a dictionary, and a thesar..., thesor..., a synonym book, and have at it.
Good luck. :smile:
 
Tramp Steamer said:
Go for it. If you're passionate about your passions then step up to the old plate and belt one out of the park. Get yourself a couple of dozen legal pads, a handful of pencils, a dictionary, and a thesar..., thesor..., a synonym book, and have at it.
Good luck. :smile:
Click to expand...

...or maybe you should just use a good word processing program. You can do away with the legal pads, boxes of pencils, dictionary, and that mean old thesaurus. You'll be able to cut, paste, replace, and so on and so forth. All this and a dictionary, spell check, grammar check, and that mean old thesaurus should be included on the software.

But one thing that you'll definitely need to do is to continually back up your work. And don't just back up after you are done with your session. You should back up as you are going along. Oh, and don't back up only to your hard drive. You should also back up to an external medium; like a disc or a thumb drive.

Good luck on your endeavor!:thumbup:
 
Being a good "talker" does not translate anything to writing. A good speaker, on the other hand, definitely has something going.

I would say Jay Helfert's book was readable and entertaining, but I wish he had an editor to work on the timeline and whatnot. His writing was definitely acceptable for listening to a story. I could tell it would be fine by his posts on here, so I bought his book.

Your posts, on the other hand, are still hard to read and filled with errors. My father was a teacher when I was growing up, so I tend to skip over terrible grammar and word-choice. I have a high standard, and I make plenty of errors myself, so take that for what it's worth. I would definitely not read a book written/published by you, no offense.
 
It would depend entirely on what kind of book you plan on writing. Your spelling, grammar, and syntax are terrible but that's nothing a developmental editor or proofreader couldn't help with. As well, you come across as arrogant and self-absorbed. Ninety-eight percent of your posts here are attempts to shift attention from others and towards yourself. If that's what you plan to write about (you), feel free. I'm sure there's an audience for that but I would recommend self-publishing that story. Its true that self-publishing has never been easier than it is today. It just means that 100% of the marketing and sales push will have to come from (read: be funded by) you.

Still, in this day and age the publishing industry is changing virtually every day. And large publishing houses are racing (and often times struggling) to keep up with an ever-changing market, especially as the demand for print declines and that of digital increases.

But... if you do plan on writing more than one book, be cautious especially if you plan on going through a traditional publisher. A book that fails can be a scarlet letter for a first time writer. The poor performance of a book can follow you around like a bad rap sheet should you ever plan to publish again. If you're just looking to write, by all means write.
 
Fatboy said:
If its ok please leave this poll up for a little while before its moved, its kinda pool related.

As some people here may know when I started on AZB I my writing skills were about like a 3rd grader, aqt best. I went to work hard for the past 3 years to teach myself how to write and communicate with a keyboard. I have always been a good talker but you couldnt tell when I came here.


I know I havent been posting much in the past few months so this isnt very timely, but for those of you who know me and seen my writing,


do you think i'm capable of writing a book?

Please be honest, You cant hurt my feelings. I should have asked this when I was posting more and in stroke writing. I have started writing again and this question popped into my brain, I'm not on any other boards to ask anyone.

Even if you hate me, please be honest, dont knock me cause you hate me, if you like me please dont say "Yes" to make me happy. I really am considering taking writing to the next level. Some input would be great

thanks
eric
Click to expand...

Til now i enjoyed every post from you Eric :-)
But english is not my mother language- so be careful with my voting, lol^^

lg from overseas,

ingo
 
Hey fatboy... your writing's come a long way, and if you have something interesting to say, the book will be good. Just find an editor you can trust. I figure you can pay one but I'm sure several people on the forum would do it for free or a low fee. I'd volunteer. JAM would probably be perfect for the task.
 
It's more about what you have to say than how it looks on paper. From what I hear, you can afford a ghost writer, editor, publisher, and distributor if you want a book. Get a tape recorder and start talking. :p
 
Hierovision said:
Being a good "talker" does not translate anything to writing. A good speaker, on the other hand, definitely has something going on.
Your posts, on the other hand, are still hard to read and filled with errors. My father was a teacher when I was growing up, so I tend to skip over terrible grammar and word-choice. I have a high standard, and I make plenty of errors myself, so take that for what it's worth. I would definitely not read a book written/published by you, no offense.
Click to expand...

Don't listen to this guy, Fat Boy. If Jack Kerouac had listened to this guy we wouldn't have On The Road, Dharma Bums, or Desolation Angels.
Kerouac would not allow an editor near his work, either. :smile:
 
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I agree with most everything said. You have the stories. Someone else can fix the actual writing of it. I for one have enjoyed hearing from you on several forums, and second hand stories from people that know, and have met you.

best of luck to you Eric,

Justin
 
TATE said:
Eric,

My question is: would this be for commerical purposes, such as a novel or an autobiography, you plan on publishing?

Writing is fun. It is a release for creativity and it's rewarding to write something that people find entertaining. That being said, it's more important to have a story to tell than it is to have strong writing skills.

While I truly believe you are an interesting person and have a book in you, if you plan on publishing it, you'll need a writer. I hope you take this as a compliment. It's a lot more difficult to be a story than it is to write one.

Chris
Click to expand...


thanks Chris and to everyone for the vote of support. also thanks for all the advice I will take it to heart, I do have a long way to go, i'm just going to keep honing my skills, thats the best i can do, again thanks for all the input.

I'd like to write a pool book for fun and perhaps do something to make $$$ and well. The pool book would be first.

If I do this i'll sell the pool book for what ever the printing costs are, i dont need the $$. It would be fun to share some of the things i seen over the years and what's to come in pool for me and others I know. I dont have the experience of Cotton, or Jay because I started in 85 and took almost 10 years away from the pool scene, but I've still met lots of great people and have lots of ideas in mind for a book. And my perspective of pool.

There are pool story books of the past which are great, then the "how to play" books, good Lord I hate to mention it but a aiming system is a topic i will avoid as its well documented here. My pool book might be a combination of topics. Different from all other pool books. The books by great players on how to play better are what they have seen and normal players dont see things like they do-so i'd have a different perspective. For what ever reason as a player i'm starting to improve late in life, which is not to common. when I was young pool was much more difficult for me. So I believe I could write a very interesting book, and it will be what ever printing costs me. Its a contribution i'd like to make to pool. and if it sucks well it will be less than $5, so it cant be too bad. Or I could charge more and take 100% of the $$$ and post it up for a event. that would be fun. Put some $$$ in players pockets. Just a thought.


Thanks again to everyone, gotta roll, busy day.

best
eric:smile:
 
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rayjay said:
It's more about what you have to say than how it looks on paper. From what I hear, you can afford a ghost writer, editor, publisher, and distributor if you want a book. Get a tape recorder and start talking. :p
Click to expand...

LOL id wear out the tape recorder with my big mouth, Seriously I want to do the work. I dont want to "buy" a book and hang my name on it. Its like cooking for friends or family, putting love into what you cook is much better than hiring a caterer.

best
eric
 
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