With the work for the second edition of The Pisshead's Pub Guide stalled, I've come up with an idea for another "book", and I'd like to know your opinion about it.
It won't be a guide this time. What I want to do is to take the loose thoughts I posted the other day, expand upon them, link them to some of the stuff that I've written of the past year or so, with the intention of revisiting it within that context. And I don't discard the possibility of coming up with new thoughts and even changing my mind about what I've been saying so far.
I still don't know how long it will be, and there are no deadlines yet (it'll largely depend on my workload and mood), but before I start I'd like to know if there is anyone who'd be interested in reading something like this (and paying for it, of course) or, why not, if someone has any ideas about what shape it could take.
So, let me know.
In the meantime, I'll be having a (few) beer(s) to get some inspiration.
Na Zdraví!
Think you'd be better of producing a Pissup's Guide for the rest of the Czech Republic Mind you what the latest on Evans Book with Tim Webb's Company.
ReplyDeleteI also hear that 'Around Prague in 80 Beers' is being considered or acted upon at present time
David Hughes
Pissup's Guide for the rest of the Czech Republic, would be a great idea if someone was willing to pay me and advance for it. In my current financial, etc. situation that is impossible.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised at an 'Around Prague (or CZ) in 80 Beers' book. In fact, I'm surprised nobody has written it yet! :)
I do like that idea of around Prague in 80 beers,you could also maybe do and extention of the Bus+Beer+Bus article you did, or even combine it with the 80 beers to include how to get to the various places.
ReplyDeleteSure! I have an idea like that that I need to get at. Give it a go. But no one fronts real money for beer writing. Put it up on Kindle. Then tell me how to do that.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're describing a manifesto. If it's really angry, funny and snappy (as is your wont) it would probably do quite well on the Kindle store.
ReplyDeleteMax,
ReplyDeleteNot to make extra work for you, but here's what I'd consider if I were in your position:
1. Finish the second edition of the 'The Pisshead's Pub Guide.' This is the book I'm going to buy before my next trip to Prague, and I suspect I'm not the only one. There have been a lot of changes to the Prague beer scene over the last couple of years, and your insider perspective is invaluable.
2. Take the book you're proposing here and, as Bailey says, turn it into your manifesto. Aim to launch it on Kindle, and spray the world with your personality. Maybe don't say 'fuck' too much, but treat this book as an introduction to your take on beer and the its contextual landscape.
3. Mention your blog and the fact you're the author of 'The Pisshead's Pub Guide' (now in its second edition) on your manifesto's bio page.
4. Your blog has several overarching themes. Take some of these themes and use them as jumping-off points for subsequent Kindle titles. If you take this route, the books are pretty much already written, and you wouldn't be competing with yourself in Google's eyes, as Kindle is a completely separate platform. Also, don't assume that all of your Kindle readers will have seen the same writing on your blog -- most readers will probably be new.
5. Interlink all of your Kindle titles. Mention your blog and the fact you're the author of 'The Pisshead's Pub Guide' (now in its second edition) on all of your bio pages. This will increase overall sales, and several books to your credit will elevate your visibility and credibility within the beer world, in turn leading to more writing opportunities, etc.
This would all be quite a bit of work, but think of it as laying the foundation to take things to the next level. You're respected within the beer blogger community, so I'm pretty sure you'd get decent exposure for your efforts. Your income might not explode to '50 Shades' levels, as Alan suggests, but it could be a pretty good sideline.
I don't mean to suggest you haven't thought about any, or all, of this. Not sure if this is the sort of opinion you're looking for, as it deviates a bit from your specified mandate.
Duke
Duke,
DeleteThanks a lot for the advice.
Believe me, nobody wants to get the second edition of the Pisshead's guide more than me, but I'm afraid that, for a number of reasons, right now I am not able to do the research that is needed to do for the three or four new crawls it will have, plus doing some revisiting of the ones that are already included. There are a lot of pubs that have opened/changed (fortunately, mostly for the better) since the guide was published, and I want to do as good a job with the second edition as I did with the first.
Either way, the idea of this new book has taken a new shape, I will have some news soon.