Blog Standard Stuff

This weekend I had my own first sighting of my own book in the wild. This is a truly momentous occasion, one that people who haven’t slogged for months to complete some weighty tome or other will probably never understand. For me, that moment came in Bath (the town, sill – I wouldn’t read in the bath. I mean, that would involve having to wash myself, pff!), specifically in the dungeon level where the books for nerdy people are generally hidden. Here is that moment:

You’ll just have to take my word for it, of course, but check out the ‘old man’s hands’. Yep, that’s my hand alright!

So, while I was enjoying the moment, I glanced around the shelves and spotted one of Rachel’s books, then another. Along the shelf a bit further was Andy’s CSS book, while Stuart’s and Dan’s books were nestling nearby. I could carry on, but you get my drift. And if not, it’s this – in that small section of that bookshop I could count many books, certainly more than I had fingers to count on, written by people who I would call friends, not just mere acquaintances or ‘know-the-name’ type people; there were probably loads more people there who tech edited books whose names are not visible on the front cover too. This got me thinking:

• Is that experience of knowing the other people on the shelves atypical?
• Do people who operate in other spheres of interest not only know the ‘competition’ (not that I think we truly are) but count them as friends?

I guess asking the question here won’t give me the answers, as most readers of this blog (other than family) are likely the very same tech type people whose books I see on the shelves. But if you have an opinion on this, and even better if you are a writer on another topic, please do let me know if what I experienced here (and will no doubt continue to) is typical or a complete anomaly.