
Why Every Entrepreneur Should Self-Publish a Book - coolrhymes
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/28/why-every-entrepreneur-should-self-publish-a-book/?grcc=88888Z0
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kevinpet
Missing from this article: you have something worthwhile to say. Honestly, I
don't think I have anything to justify a book length treatment at this time.
Okay, I'm not an entrepreneur, just an engineer at a startup, but I don't see
the founders having all that much time to be sitting around writing books
either.

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LearnYouALisp
Oh, if editors and publishers would apply this to submissions more often!

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chrisacky
I _knew_ this would be an article by Altucher by looking at his title. He's a
great writer too, always great reads.

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ColinWright
As a contrary opinion, I nearly didn't read this exactly _because_ it's by
Altucher. I almost always get to the end of something he's written and think -
well, there's 5 minutes of my life I'll never see again, and which gave me
absolutely nothing.

This, however, actually has useful, actionable information. It's the first
thing I've (knowingly) read by him that was worth the time it took.

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batista
_there's 5 minutes of my life I'll never see again, and which gave me
absolutely nothing._

This reminds me of the following story: Euclid of Alexandria, when asked by
one of his students of what use was the study of geometry, asked his slave to
give the student a threepence, "since he must always make gain of what he
learns".

~~~
ColinWright
Except that I've tried, _really_ tried, to find something of value in his
writings, and while it's well-written and possibly entertaining in a
_schadenfreude_ or car-crash way, it adds nothing of worth to my life.

Maybe it's me, but after years of clicking on the links, reading carefully,
trying to find anything vaguely relevant to me, and then rueing the wasted
time, I'm giving up.

Please, if you think I'm wrong, point me at stuff you think is worth reading,
not just as a way of spending time, but as a way of profiting from that time.
At least the study of geometry gives problem-solving and analytical skills in
return for the time spent.

~~~
batista
_Please, if you think I'm wrong, point me at stuff you think is worth reading,
not just as a way of spending time, but as a way of profiting from that time._

Well, from James stuff what I got was a glimpse of how (at least some)
business deals (investing, selling your company) are done in the raw, what the
other side might bluff about and in what ways, etc. Things you don't easily
find elsewhere as candidly.

As for the stories about his childhood, affairs etc, those are not "to profit
from" in the way you want, but are fun in a more "literary(-ish)" way.

 _At least the study of geometry gives problem-solving and analytical skills
in return for the time spent._

Sure, but note that the point of Euclid (in the story above) was that it is
beneath someone to want to always profit from what he studies.

He wanted one to study math for the "fun of knowledge" itself, so to speak,
not as a means to gain problem-solving and analytical skills.

~~~
ColinWright
Thanks for your response - I appreciate the insight.

 _... a glimpse of how (at least some) business deals ... are done in the raw,
what the other side might bluff about and in what ways, etc. Things you don't
easily find elsewhere as candidly._

I've read several of those and never learned anything. I've never played in
the stakes he talks about, but I've had sufficiently similar experiences, so I
guess I'm just the wrong audience.

 _As for the stories about his childhood, affairs etc, those are not "to
profit from" in the way you want, but are fun in a more "literary(-ish)" way._

Each to his own - I find them less than entertaining, amusing, engaging, or
interesting.

 _... the point of Euclid (in the story above) was that it is beneath someone
to want to always profit from what he studies._

I disagree. I believe the point is that the profit is not always in the
immediate use of the learning, nor in the direct application, and if you can't
see that then you might as well go do something you're better suited to.
Studying geometry has the potential to make you better, to give you skills. I
did a Ph.D. in Pure Math, and I certainly didn't do it for the direct profit.
I did it to make me better, and because it was interesting. I learned, I grew,
I gained skills. There was value.

I find James' stories uninteresting, and I don't feel that they're making me
better in any way at all. I don't demand that what I read is instantly
actionable, or immediately applicable, but I like to feel that I'm learning
something, and that somehow it's making me better.

And I don't. As they say - "À chacun son goût" - each to his own taste. I'm
pleased you get something out of them - I just wanted to point out that there
are people who feel differently. He is not "my taste."

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motxilo
Related to this, what are good book authoring tools? Or at least the ones you
use for writing stuff that can be exported to pdf, html or printed out. I'm
talking things in the line of Tex, Docbook, etc.

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bennesvig
I love Scrivener. You can export to mobi, epub, PDF, Doc, and a bunch of other
formats.

