Rejected Ruby book ideas by O'Reilly

ruby-talk
1

Hi all,

I'm curious how many people out there have had a Ruby book proposal
rejected by O'Reilly & Associates in the last three years, what your
subject was, when you proposed it, and the person whom you dealt with
(i.e. who specifically rejected your proposal).

This may seem a strange question - please humor me. You can email me
offlist if you prefer at djberg96 at n0spam at gmail dot com. Remove
the 'at n0spam'.

Please don't ask why I'm asking, either. I will say nothing at this
time. For now I'm just collecting information.

Thanks,

Dan

This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential or
privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication
in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the communication and any attachments.

2

<snip>

Let me expand that to the last five years (in case that matters).

Thanks,

Dan

This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential or
privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication
in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the communication and any attachments.

···

-----Original Message-----
From: Berger, Daniel [mailto:Daniel.Berger@qwest.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 8:54 AM
To: ruby-talk ML
Subject: Rejected Ruby book ideas by O'Reilly

Hi all,

I'm curious how many people out there have had a Ruby book
proposal rejected by O'Reilly & Associates in the last three
years...

3

[...snip...]

This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential or
privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the communication and any attachments.

lol

4

Berger, Daniel wrote:

Hi all,

I'm curious how many people out there have had a Ruby book proposal
rejected by O'Reilly & Associates in the last three years, what your
subject was, when you proposed it, and the person whom you dealt with
(i.e. who specifically rejected your proposal).

This may seem a strange question - please humor me. You can email me
offlist if you prefer at djberg96 at n0spam at gmail dot com. Remove
the 'at n0spam'.

Please don't ask why I'm asking, either. I will say nothing at this
time. For now I'm just collecting information.

Haven't you been reading the technical press lately? You are doing your
employer a disservice by seeming to use your QWest soapbox (your status as
a QWest employee) to criticize a book publisher.

I say "seeming" because you probably haven't given any thought to the
juxtaposition of your sig and your opinion. A reasonable person would
probably conclude that there was no connection at all, but corporate
attorneys are not reasonable people.

Also, most books don't make back their investment, so it is reasonable for a
book publisher to be ruthless in rejecting book proposals. There might be
too many Ruby book proposals right now, you may not have a track record
with publishers (I don't know), there could be any number of perfectly good
reasons to reject a proposal.

But I think it is a big mistake to air your personal grievance, from your
desk at work, on company time, over a QWest sig.

Take my advice. Post your opinions from home, not work.

Related topic. Barnes & Noble remainders * two-thirds of the titles in their
stores. Two-thirds! And their business plan works -- people are impressed
by the supermarket atmosphere created by all those titles, and they buy
more books as a result. There is more waste in a typical large bookstore
than there is at the local supermarket's produce counter. Both businesses
successfully market illusions.

* "Remainder" means rip the cover off the remaindered book and return that
to the publisher for credit. The book itself is tossed in the local trash.

···

--
Paul Lutus
http://www.arachnoid.com

5

Presumably you will also want a list of all those who made successful pitches, including those that then had to pull out for their own reasons.

Otherwise the numbers will mean nothing. I mean, just how many 'Ruby Cookbooks' can their be?

6

From my point of view you might be ruining your chances to ever publish

a book with O'Reilly. You are asking people to give fairly confidential
information here. Maybe you should rethink you business practices.

To say something about O'Reilly. I had one book proposal rejected two
years ago. The process was very friendly, professional, fast and I was
enthusiastic that they really called me. We discussed the idea and I
could understand 100% that the proposal didn't work for them.

ciao, Oliver

Berger, Daniel schrieb:

···

Hi all,

I'm curious how many people out there have had a Ruby book proposal
rejected by O'Reilly & Associates in the last three years, what your
subject was, when you proposed it, and the person whom you dealt with
(i.e. who specifically rejected your proposal).

This may seem a strange question - please humor me. You can email me
offlist if you prefer at djberg96 at n0spam at gmail dot com. Remove
the 'at n0spam'.

Please don't ask why I'm asking, either. I will say nothing at this
time. For now I'm just collecting information.

Thanks,

Dan

This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential or
privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication
in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the communication and any attachments.

7

Berger, Daniel wrote:

Hi all,

I'm curious how many people out there have had a Ruby book proposal
rejected by O'Reilly & Associates in the last three years, what your
subject was, when you proposed it, and the person whom you dealt with
(i.e. who specifically rejected your proposal).

This may seem a strange question - please humor me. You can email me
offlist if you prefer at djberg96 at n0spam at gmail dot com. Remove
the 'at n0spam'.

Please don't ask why I'm asking, either. I will say nothing at this
time. For now I'm just collecting information.

You think you can exploit this loophole in the Rules?
Ha! I will show you! There is nothing my simian minions
cannot achieve given sufficient oranges.

You may have dealt me an underhanded blow but the Puppetmaster
will be Asking Questions soon and your backers will start
disappearing. You will have to deal with Jones then and
there is a distinctive variability present whenever that
is the case.

In any event, the Yon Syndicate is onto you--if I were you,
I would watch my back. They have bought out all printer ink
cartridge manufacturers and are planning on inserting vampires
in them in their bid to seize control of the Eastern New Jersey
seagull mines.

Thanks,

Dan

This is not the communication you are looking at.

···

--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/\.

8

"Berger, Daniel" <Daniel.Berger@qwest.com> writes:

Hi all,

I'm curious how many people out there have had a Ruby book proposal
rejected by O'Reilly & Associates in the last three years, what your
subject was, when you proposed it, and the person whom you dealt with
(i.e. who specifically rejected your proposal).

Are you gonna write "Mastering O'Reilly Book Rejections"? Or
"Head-first Becoming an Unemployed Book Author"? :stuck_out_tongue:

Then, I'd be curious about the number of Ruby book proposals to
publishers myself...

···

--
Christian Neukirchen <chneukirchen@gmail.com> http://chneukirchen.org

9

<rant snipped>

What in the world are you talking about? Qwest is a telecom. We do not
publish books. There is no conflict of interest here. And there was no
criticism in my question. It's just a question. I think ORA is, on the
whole, a very good publisher.

Please, don't try to guess why I'm asking - it won't work.

Regards,

Dan

This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential or
privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication
in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the communication and any attachments.

···

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Lutus [mailto:nospam@nosite.zzz]
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:01 AM
To: ruby-talk ML
Subject: Re: [OT] Rejected Ruby book ideas by O'Reilly

Berger, Daniel wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm curious how many people out there have had a Ruby book proposal
> rejected by O'Reilly & Associates in the last three years,
what your
> subject was, when you proposed it, and the person whom you
dealt with
> (i.e. who specifically rejected your proposal).
>
> This may seem a strange question - please humor me. You
can email me
> offlist if you prefer at djberg96 at n0spam at gmail dot
com. Remove
> the 'at n0spam'.
>
> Please don't ask why I'm asking, either. I will say
nothing at this
> time. For now I'm just collecting information.

Haven't you been reading the technical press lately? You are
doing your employer a disservice by seeming to use your QWest
soapbox (your status as a QWest employee) to criticize a book
publisher.

10

Fair enough. I'd be interested to hear about those, too.

Regards,

Dan

This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential or
privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication
in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the communication and any attachments.

···

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Hickman [mailto:peter@semantico.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:07 AM
To: ruby-talk ML
Subject: Re: Rejected Ruby book ideas by O'Reilly

Presumably you will also want a list of all those who made successful
pitches, including those that then had to pull out for their
own reasons.

11

"Berger, Daniel" <Daniel.Berger@qwest.com> writes:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm curious how many people out there have had a Ruby book proposal
> rejected by O'Reilly & Associates in the last three years, what your
> subject was, when you proposed it, and the person whom you dealt with
> (i.e. who specifically rejected your proposal).

Are you gonna write "Mastering O'Reilly Book Rejections"? Or
"Head-first Becoming an Unemployed Book Author"? :stuck_out_tongue:

How about "Writing a Book for O'Reilly (And Have It Rejected!) in a Nutshell"?

Also, someone should write a for beginners book about writing books
for beginners. That would be funny just for the meta-ness of it.

···

On 9/23/06, Christian Neukirchen <chneukirchen@gmail.com> wrote:

Then, I'd be curious about the number of Ruby book proposals to
publishers myself...

--
Christian Neukirchen <chneukirchen@gmail.com> http://chneukirchen.org

--
- Simen

12

You make it really sound like a spy plot. Can you at least promise to solve the mystery at some future point in time (say less than a year ahead)? Otherwise I might die from curiosity... :-))

Cheers

  robert

···

On 21.09.2006 18:07, Berger, Daniel wrote:

Please, don't try to guess why I'm asking - it won't work.

13

Berger, Daniel wrote:

/ ...

Haven't you been reading the technical press lately? You are
doing your employer a disservice by seeming to use your QWest
soapbox (your status as a QWest employee) to criticize a book
publisher.

<rant snipped>

What in the world are you talking about? Qwest is a telecom. We do not
publish books. There is no conflict of interest here.

Right. And George Bush is not a religious leader. It is all in how people
see things, not what they actually are. You are not paying attention to
appearances.

And there was no criticism in my question.

No one said or implied that there was. I called it a personal grievance --
that seems accurate.

Please, don't try to guess why I'm asking - it won't work.

Too late for that. You are far too transparent.

And you are posting on matters having nothing remotely to do with your
employment, on company time. Your argument that there is no conflict of
interest is a double-edged sword -- it means you shouldn't be spending
company time on it.

···

--
Paul Lutus
http://www.arachnoid.com

14

Berger, Daniel wrote:

What in the world are you talking about? Qwest is a telecom. We do not
publish books. There is no conflict of interest here. And there was no
criticism in my question. It's just a question. I think ORA is, on the
whole, a very good publisher.

Please, don't try to guess why I'm asking - it won't work.

Regards,

Dan

This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential
or
privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is
strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication
in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and
destroy
all copies of the communication and any attachments.

Berger, This is your boos.
You're fired for prattling on on company time.
I'll expect you out of the office by tomorrow !!!

···

--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/\.

15

Simen Edvardsen wrote:

How about "Writing a Book for O'Reilly (And Have It Rejected!) in a Nutshell"?

Also, someone should write a for beginners book about writing books
for beginners. That would be funny just for the meta-ness of it.

I wrote a couple of O'Reilly books. I'm not going to write a book about
writing books, but I'd be glad to answer some questions (or introduce
prospective authors to my editors there).

Bill

16

Certainly....offline. :slight_smile:

Regards,

Dan

This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential or
privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is strictly
prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication
in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the communication and any attachments.

···

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Klemme [mailto:shortcutter@googlemail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:20 AM
To: ruby-talk ML
Subject: Re: [OT] Rejected Ruby book ideas by O'Reilly
Importance: Low

On 21.09.2006 18:07, Berger, Daniel wrote:
> Please, don't try to guess why I'm asking - it won't work.

You make it really sound like a spy plot. Can you at least
promise to
solve the mystery at some future point in time (say less than a year
ahead)? Otherwise I might die from curiosity... :-))

17

Is it just me or does this seem like a discussion between the
Man in Black and Vizzini?

···

On 9/21/06, Paul Lutus <nospam@nosite.zzz> wrote:

Berger, Daniel wrote:

> Please, don't try to guess why I'm asking - it won't work.

Too late for that. You are far too transparent.

--
thanks,
-pate
-------------------------

18

Paul Wood wrote:

Berger, This is your boos.
You're fired for prattling on on company time.
I'll expect you out of the office by tomorrow !!!

Boos ?? Did I say Boos ? I meant boss :slight_smile:

···

--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/\.

19

Sounds harsh , till I read it came from boos.

S

···

On 9/21/06, Paul Wood <pwood22@gmail.com> wrote:

Berger, Daniel wrote:

>
> What in the world are you talking about? Qwest is a telecom. We do not
> publish books. There is no conflict of interest here. And there was no
> criticism in my question. It's just a question. I think ORA is, on the
> whole, a very good publisher.
>
> Please, don't try to guess why I'm asking - it won't work.
>
> Regards,
>
> Dan
>
> This communication is the property of Qwest and may contain confidential
> or
> privileged information. Unauthorized use of this communication is
> strictly
> prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication
> in error, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail and
> destroy
> all copies of the communication and any attachments.

Berger, This is your boos.
You're fired for prattling on on company time.
I'll expect you out of the office by tomorrow !!!

--
Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/\.

--

20

But how do you know the policies of anyone's company? Do you also work
for Qwest?
You are surely in the minority if you never post to mailing lists in
your work time!

Oh, are we arguing about silly things again?
:slight_smile:

···

On 9/21/06, Paul Lutus <nospam@nosite.zzz> wrote:

Berger, Daniel wrote:

/ ...

>> Haven't you been reading the technical press lately? You are
>> doing your employer a disservice by seeming to use your QWest
>> soapbox (your status as a QWest employee) to criticize a book
>> publisher.
>
> <rant snipped>
>
> What in the world are you talking about? Qwest is a telecom. We do not
> publish books. There is no conflict of interest here.

Right. And George Bush is not a religious leader. It is all in how people
see things, not what they actually are. You are not paying attention to
appearances.

> And there was no criticism in my question.

No one said or implied that there was. I called it a personal grievance --
that seems accurate.

> Please, don't try to guess why I'm asking - it won't work.

Too late for that. You are far too transparent.

And you are posting on matters having nothing remotely to do with your
employment, on company time. Your argument that there is no conflict of
interest is a double-edged sword -- it means you shouldn't be spending
company time on it.