re:
no d/a needed all tachometers that are electronic look for pulses... 1 pulse = 1 rpm.
A couple of minor details...1 pulse, measured from the spark plug, = 2 revs in a four-stroke engine. 1 pulse in a two-stroke = 1 rev. But there haven't been any two stroke cars in a long time (Saab was the last, I think), and two-stroke dirt motorcycles are on their way to being outlawed by the EPA...
Of course, REAL tachometers are mechanical.
I wrote two mainframe books in the early 1990s, and got the boilerplate contracts. However, I had researched it a little - there are several good books out on getting published, contract negotiation, et cetera - and got a couple of things changed. (Both books are out of print now.)
You should approach writing as a completely different business. Bad or exploitative contracts happen in every business if you aren't careful. The Writer's Digest is a good source of info.
If you are dealing with a blockbuster property, an agent makes sense. There usually isn't enough money in technical books to interest an agent, though, so I suspect that you can still negotiate it yourself successfully.
I enjoy writing, but I do not plan on supporting myself by it. With some effort, one can make $20-30K per year writing. Not enough for many/.ers.
However, my experience was that writing a technical book or two makes you an expert...and a little more competitive in employment or contract positions. So the real payback is not from the publisher, but from organizations who want to employ an expert.
Before writing, also consider the odds of getting published in various genres. I think that something like nine non-fiction titles are published for every fiction book. Non-fiction covers everything, like recipes, travel, self-help, history, coffee table picture books, as well as computer books.
However, if you poll people who say they want to write, or those who take writing classes, the ratio is reversed. IMHO - and there are no real numbers to back this up AFAIK - there are ten would-be fiction writers for every non-fiction writer, and they are competing for a tenth of the contracts. As a result, contract negotiations - and the whole relationship - for fiction works are definitely one-sided.
If you do decide to write, plan your time management first. Then, for nonfiction, write a query letter to the publisher. Then, with skill and luck, you will have the problem of having to negotiate a contract.
Slashdot Mirror
re: no d/a needed all tachometers that are electronic look for pulses... 1 pulse = 1 rpm. A couple of minor details...1 pulse, measured from the spark plug, = 2 revs in a four-stroke engine. 1 pulse in a two-stroke = 1 rev. But there haven't been any two stroke cars in a long time (Saab was the last, I think), and two-stroke dirt motorcycles are on their way to being outlawed by the EPA... Of course, REAL tachometers are mechanical.
You should approach writing as a completely different business. Bad or exploitative contracts happen in every business if you aren't careful. The Writer's Digest is a good source of info. If you are dealing with a blockbuster property, an agent makes sense. There usually isn't enough money in technical books to interest an agent, though, so I suspect that you can still negotiate it yourself successfully.
I enjoy writing, but I do not plan on supporting myself by it. With some effort, one can make $20-30K per year writing. Not enough for many /.ers.
However, my experience was that writing a technical book or two makes you an expert...and a little more competitive in employment or contract positions. So the real payback is not from the publisher, but from organizations who want to employ an expert.
Before writing, also consider the odds of getting published in various genres. I think that something like nine non-fiction titles are published for every fiction book. Non-fiction covers everything, like recipes, travel, self-help, history, coffee table picture books, as well as computer books.
However, if you poll people who say they want to write, or those who take writing classes, the ratio is reversed. IMHO - and there are no real numbers to back this up AFAIK - there are ten would-be fiction writers for every non-fiction writer, and they are competing for a tenth of the contracts. As a result, contract negotiations - and the whole relationship - for fiction works are definitely one-sided.
If you do decide to write, plan your time management first. Then, for nonfiction, write a query letter to the publisher. Then, with skill and luck, you will have the problem of having to negotiate a contract.