Do you think you would be able to write a book? What would it be about? (Would you suggest me writing on Substack?)

[noname223]

I will write "6 years of Sanctioned Suicide - an inside story by a survivor" Jokes aside except if the BBC, NYT or VICE wants to acquire the rights for it. I want half of the money in cash in advance to finance the production of the book. Maybe 60 grand. I can adjust the content of the book depending on what is the best version to market it. for an international audience...

Jokes aside. Honestly, some people on here wrote me private messages saying to me they find it astonishing I can come up with all the writing and topics for over such a long time period. I am not sure whether I would be able to write a book though. I think it would not be as fun as to posting in on here. As DFW writing is often lonely. And you don't get immediate feedback. I think good writers also have to read a lot. I use apps to read aloud political articles. That's not the same. I read almost all DFW stories/books but I was a very slow reader. I made it through Infinite Jest though. Very proud of that fact.

I think shitting out my brain farts on here on a daily basis is not the same as writing a book. You need structure, planning, discipline, a common thread. Nowadays you can sell the book on Amazon. Though, there is a lot of competition on the book market due to AI slop literature. Honestly, if I had to sell a book I would probably use AI for that. A fantasy or child book where contradictions and logical flaws don't matter. I think though many many people have the same idea. And in most cases you will lose money.

I think the better option for me would be writing a substack. Someone on here asked me whether I had a substack account. I don't have one. I would also prefer to write in my native language. My friends often criticize me how bad my English was when I sent them text I posted on here. I often lack the time and energy to correct all mistakes. The AI chatbots often say my English isn't flawless. When I was in school my English was so much better. But it is not the same English that I use on here. I write more jargon and vulgar. Which makes my writing more funny. I could theoretically write the texts in German and then translate it with AI. But not all idioms would fit and it would change my language a lot.

Overall, I think I would be way better in publishing frequent articles on Substack than publishing a coherent book. If I had to write a book I would not write about politics. I read so many political texts but most of them about the contemporary politics and when I comment on them my analyses are not that insightful. I think the best book I could write would be a biography. It would be dark, heavily psychological, I had many interesting stories to share, I would write under a pseudonym the stories on here could otherwise doxx me. I think overall my account isn't that known on the internet though. Far more in the US/UK than in Germany I assume. I think I could be pretty deep about myself. Though, I think the result would be way too much self-absorbed and sound like look at me this poor victim of so much abuse that chooses its abusers and writes hundred of pages about it without making any progress in processing it. I think something like that wouldn't sell well. And writing needs training. I think it would be way better for me to write the book in German. I am not used to write in my native lanaguage though. I sort of translate the German into English way too literal when posting on here but it is not the same. I think I had to write a lot about child abuse and my mother would be deeply hurt. Maybe I had to hide the content of her. And honestly if I wrote a biography I would probably lose a lot of money. And I would feel so bad about it. I need resonance and feedback to keep me going. A book is a longterm project and the chances to succeed are way too small.

I think I missed something. Maybe I will add it when I can remember it.

What about you?

Edit: As I often elaborated I use AI chatbots quite frequently. And they want me to become productive. I think they have an optimism bias when someone is clearly not able to hold a job. But when I want feedback they try to nudge me in the direction of journalism, substack writing or Youtube content creation. I think they want me to become dependent on the AI technology. Or I wonder whether they fear that I will lose my income and won't be able to afford them anymore. Or a combination of both. I think I lack the mental stability for projects like that though. And I don't really see a realistic chance of success. I have to say it would be an interesting experiment. I think my writing would be way better on German. And for you I would use an translator. Lol. I think I will abstain from doing it but at least I can dream...)

 

[Pluto]

 

[xXiloveyouXx]

A political and philosophical manifesto.

 

[Skallagrim]

I've got two published. One even got some decent reviews (self published).

I've written one that is currently being hocked around publishers (though it's unlikely to be picked up at 289023 words, so it'll probably go on Amazon KDP after a year or two).

I've just done one and polishing it up (getting rid of duplicated similes, dodgy copy/paste scars, and other crap). It's more modest at 125k words so it might get some traction. Still gotta do some work with it but the testers have enjoyed.

noname: Try this...

Get Scrivener.

Create some files in it, that's all. Just some blank pages. (if you need help with Scrivener just let me know).

Your posts? Your writing? Those moments when your brain is a volcano and needs to spew out your pain and feelings? Write them into a new text page on scrivener.

After a while, you have something. Call it "Messages from a Tortured Soul."

You've created something.

 

[troubled_puppet]

I think shitting out my brain farts on here on a daily basis is not the same as writing a book.

I like reading your brain farts here, haha. Some books before and after the AI boom are sometimes a huge hit or miss, and you're very coherent compared to those books.

I think i posted in some of your threads and sorry if i forgot to reply back. ive lurked and read a lot of your threads. i havent responded to a lot of them. but it's thought provoking and helps me calm down, even if i might not always agree. long or short posts, it feels like im reading someone's blog posts back in the old days, thought pieces and such like.

I fully agree with the poster before me, Skalligrim. Scrivener was 100 percent worth it for me at the time (I paid in USD). it ran ok on a thinkpad laptop.

I also use Obsidian a lot, it's free, and much faster. I use web clipper to save reddit threads into offline notes sometimes.

Im sorry. My post is gonna wander around confusing tangentially related topics.

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A book is a longterm project and the chances to succeed are way too small.

i resonate with this statement. i have had dreams to self publish for sixteen years. I managed to hit 125,000 words once in a story draft 2018, a slice of life runaway fantasy drama.

publishing was a fruitless pipe dream, for me. I think im coming to terms with the fact im giving up this year. I held onto the hope I'd publish someday. it's not happening.

Spoiler: me whining about my excuses

Anxiety: I cant even check my own emails or handle social media notifications. i think if i tried, the rejection letters or getting ghosted from publishers would crush me. if i self published, i would be crushed if people stole my ideas or characters or if i got bad reviews on amazon. i thought i'd get better at this but it hasn't. i've just been taking everything personally.

Copyright and ai bots: i already had to deal with the feelings of loss that every AI company probably absorbed all my writing in my google docs, emails and social media, and that my voice, characters and ideas were stolen. it's hard for me to believe the market i was aiming for (fandom culture that grew from deviantart, tumblr, wattpad) will ever come back to shitty rom com ebooks. i'm worried they all went to ai roleplay chat bots. im not sure how much of this is me projecting. i dont care for what ive heard about the booktok crowd.

I would write under a pseudonym the stories on here could otherwise doxx me.

I relate a lot. Point below:

Family: the stuff im passionate about writing are the stuff im terrified of my family seeing. i have ideological differences with extended family, and id be scared for the safety of my parents. id also be afraid of employers searching up my name and finding my crappy mellow drama dark romance ebooks.

Scary politics stuff: i feel like i fucked it up and missed my chance. im too paranoid about privacy and security concerns. i won't ever have full anonymity but there's too much BS happening in my region right now and it's hard to believe trying now would make any difference. ive been very afraid of just everything going down hill with age verification laws.

so yeah. those are my whiny excuses as to why i dont know if i have it in me, after sixteen years. i could be selling myself short and i could be wrong, but im too tired and drained to use my brain right now.

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other rambles.

Gig and free lance writing. it felt impossible to get anywhere on certain freelance sites. i got a bit of money once as a ghost writer! maybe i wasn't cut out for it, i had to let go of the project early. ive seen other writers thrive in their niche and i'll mention more about it below.

what people mean about niches.

• im gonna use me as an example, i was thinking of brushing up on basic technical skills in game engines, and marketing myself as a dialogue writer for visual novel games or those phone roleplay apps.
• i've seen ai users offer hand written roleplay chat bot scripts on certain platforms through kofi. (not my cup of tea.)
• I saw somebody on youtube shop around on a freelance platform, and there were a few people writing up Dungeons and Dragons character sheets for people.
• I also saw a publication website for publishing custom Dungeons and Dragons campaign settings.

the idea i like to think is take one thing you're good at, passionate about, or can fake it till you make it through, and frame writing around that.

for me, i want to stop ghostwriting outright because im selfish and i dont want to write a whole book for someone else. i limited the scope to the things i found most fun, which was dialogue and characters.

there's people who still don't like writing and would pay money just to have the writing done.

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Though, I think the result would be way too much self-absorbed and sound like look at me this poor victim of so much abuse that chooses its abusers and writes hundred of pages about it without making any progress in processing it. I think something like that wouldn't sell well.

You come across as thoughtful, and I'm sorry about all you suffered through. I won't argue with how you feel. I just want to share that I don't think a book has to sell well to be meaningful or matter to someone.

I won't talk you into anything, so no worries there. but i have something to share.

When i'm wondering if my writing is cringe or bad or something...? I remember I'm writing straight from the heart, I'm writing to decompress and get the hurt out out of me. I safe guard my writing a lot and i don't share a lot. and i'll be honest, so much of my writing from 2025 is abandoned, and my writing from 2024 is abandoned. but it was because writing is the easiest way for me to channel intrusive thoughs and disrupt my bad spiraling.

i have two writing spaces.

one writing space just for me that never gets published. full of my edgy self inserts and stuff like that. i had one draft where some character started each chapter unpacking from moving or packing up because they were moving, cuz that's what i was stresssed about, lol.

i have a separate writing space for my marketable ideas. or ideas im not scared or shy about sharing online with others.

there are days where im too drained to do either of them at all. im just going with the flow day by day.

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closing thoughts.

Before i got interested in game dev and brainstorming mystery games, i was going to write dramas and fantasy adventures. i like world building, interpresonal character conflicts, and fantasy worlds. so i dunno.

just wanted to engage with these topics. good luck everyone. cheers.