出版与作家生涯2011jamesaltucher.com编辑精选
为什么我写的每本书都亏钱，却依然坚持写书
Why I Write Books Even Though I’ve Lost Money on Every Book I’ve Written
导读
这篇文章讲一位作家明知每本书都赔钱仍坚持出书，中间穿插与经纪人、编辑交涉受挫、家庭财务告急乃至一度想自杀的经历，结尾转向温情。值得写作者读，因为它是一篇典型的"失败叙事"：既示范了如何用具体细节和对话推进自我剖析，也暴露出这类写作最容易翻车的地方——当数字与叙述对不上时，读者的同情会瞬间变成质疑。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
写个人经历时，收入、开销这类硬数字要经得起读者核算，一处对不上就会毁掉整篇的可信度。
- 02
写失败要写清"我自己做错了什么"，而不只是怪经纪人、怪编辑、怪市场，读者才愿意跟着你走。
- 03
把关键的对话原样引出来（哪怕是自己被挂电话的难堪场面），比抽象总结更有叙事推力。
- 04
结尾留一个情感落点或转折，能让前面的狼狈有一个值得读下去的落点。
HN 评论精选
具体数字与叙述自相矛盾，会削弱读者的同情与信任。
我不理解。他每月生活费要花四万美元，却又担心买不起孩子的尿布和食物？这人是怎么把日子过成这样的？是维持那套卖不掉的纽约金融区房子就要这么多钱吗？我们该同情他吗？
littledanehren查看英文原文
I don't get it. He was spending $40,000/month on his living expenses while being afraid that he wouldn't be able to afford diapers and food for his baby? How was this guy running his life so wrong? Did it somehow cost him that much to maintain his unsellable house in the financial district of New York? Are we supposed to feel sympathy for him?
作者把挫败归咎于他人，但细节反而暴露了自身与经纪人的失职。
作者写经纪人挂他电话那段，第一次读觉得是经纪人的错：如果每个编辑都拒了提案，他难道不该去问清楚原因吗？后来作者自己写信给编辑 Hollis 解释这本书为什么适合她，对方才同意见面，还说"这份提案像是维基百科写的，你得给我们一套真正的末日应对方法论"。所以这些活儿本来是经纪人该干的，最后是作者自己补上的？
gwern查看英文原文
> He called me back one time. We had known each other forever but had never had an issue where someone didn’t want one of my books. So now I saw what happened when someone didn’t want one of my books. “If you are going to tell me how to do my job,” he said, “this relationship is over.” I mumbled an apology and he hung up. When I first read this, it seemed to me that the agent is at fault. If every editor rejected the proposal, shouldn't he find out why? > So I wrote an email to Hollis and explained why the book would be good for her. She agreed to meet me. She said to me, “this proposal seems like it was written by wikipedia. You need to give us a real methodology for what to do when the end of the world hits.” So our author had to do the agent's work for him?
结尾的情感转折是这类文章留住读者的关键。
一定要读到文章最后一段，结尾很暖心，我看的时候都"啊"了一声。
pamelafox查看英文原文
Make sure you read that article until the very last paragraph. It has a heart-warming ending. I awwww'ed. :)
自我牺牲式的叙述若缺乏铺垫，读者会质疑其情感逻辑而非被打动。
对开头那段的一点观察：有些人把钱看得这么重，真让人不安。他宁愿自杀给家里留钱，也不愿穷一点把孩子养大？我没有孩子，不知道这算不算正常想法。你们觉得这现实吗？为了不做一个失败者、为了给孩子留点东西而去自杀，这算把烂局面处理到最好吗？
coryl查看英文原文
Just an observation on the first bit: Wow, kind of concerning how money centric some people are. He would rather kill himself to leave his family money, than try to raise his family poor? I don't have kids so I don't know. Is this a realistic thought for any of you? Would you commit suicide in lieu of being a failure, to try and leave something for your kids? Is that making the best out of a bad situation?
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