Write a book?

102

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BTW,
Incase anyone is wondering, my power was off all day yesterday. You don't want to leave a wife with no power.

Trust me.

40 years...same woman!
 

TNReb

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Writing a book is one thing...

Getting it published is another...

Getting people to read it is a whole 'nother thing...

What demographic group is your book targeting? Does that demographic buy and read books?

If it were me (and I don't have enough sense to write a book anyway), I would be looking at creating a YouTube series instead. Video is simply more engaging and probably more likely to be viewed than a book.

Yes, there's already hundreds of YouTube channels about hunting. There's also hundreds of books about it and most probably haven't sold a half dozen copies recently.
 

DaveTN

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In all fairness, I think video in addition to the book as a follow-up would be the best bet. To do a book you need knowledge and a word processor, and then a publisher. To do video that would be taken seriously, you need not only knowledge but quality hardware for video and audio, location and lighting, and the ability to edit video. Then you need either hundreds of thousands of hits or paying sponsors to make money. I've seen plenty of good video information that wasn't taken seriously because the video or audio was terrible. But that's just my opinion and it's worth exactly what you are paying for it.

A lot of young people read books in addition to watching video and a lot of old people watch and make videos in addition to reading/writing books.
 

102

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Getting people to read it is a whole 'nother thing...

What demographic group is your book targeting? Does that demographic buy and read books?

If it were me (and I don't have enough sense to write a book anyway), I would be looking at creating a YouTube series instead. Video is simply more engaging and probably more likely to be viewed than a book.

Yes, there's already hundreds of YouTube channels about hunting. There's also hundreds of books about it and most probably haven't sold a half dozen copies recently.



THIS!

I'm guessing this is very accurate!
 

cowhunter71

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Here's a tidbit:

It seems these days there is a trend towards trying to put hunting whitetails "in a box".
In other words, many on social media platforms seem to be talking in general about how deer will do this or that, or behave this way or that way.

Here's a thought: whitetails are where you find them. Sounds simple but it is a VERY fluid concept. Always changing.

A greek Philosopher once said the only constant is change. I believe it was Aldo Leopold who applied that saying to Nature.

I tell you that deer are EXTREMELY adaptable and are constantly changing, adapting to their environment.
Food, cover, temperature changes, sex, human or predatory pressure, to name a few.

Consistently successful hunters understand the needs of the herd they are hunting. And these same hunters know when, where and why the deer on the property move or act the way they do.

And the BEST hunters are able to do this in MANY areas across a very LARGE and diverse geographic range with very little scouting.

Deer are different. Individual deer can be extremely different. Mature individual deer ARE extremely different animals than the general run of the mill deer. And ALL deer groups act different in different areas.

Too many hunters focus their efforts on hunting deer when they ought to be hunting what the local DEER are hunting!
Would love to meet in person these "best" hunters who consistantly kill 4.5 year old deer on public ground with "very little" boots on the ground scouting.
 

BSK

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Writing a book is one thing...

Getting it published is another...
True, if you want them to handle the editing, layout, distribution and sales. However, there are self-publishing systems out there that will print a single copy of a book. The biggest downsides to self-publishing are 1) having to know the layout you want; 2) finding someone to proof-read/edit for grammar; and 3) handling your own sales and distribution. But your profit margin is MUCH higher if you self-publish.
 

UCStandSitter

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Unsolicited offer of help here. I'm a bit of a grammar nazi and a spelling expert (useless skill these days). Be more than happy to offer up a proof read for you if you go the self publish route. I have to figure there would be a few other guys here willing to offer the same. While we aren't professional book editors, I have to think we're at least mostly literate and partially sentient. Take the offer for what it's worth. :)
 

BSK

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Unsolicited offer of help here. I'm a bit of a grammar nazi and a spelling expert (useless skill these days).
You and my wife would get along great! She has a Masters in English and does all the presentation/publishing editing for an international Engineering firm. I used to have her edit all my articles before they were submitted. She is brutal! But she taught me so much about grammar, proper sentence structure and writing.
 

TNReb

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Those of us throwing out warnings about writing a book are forgetting one thing...

RUGER wrote a book.
If he can do it... well... it must not be THAT hard! :D
 

UCStandSitter

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You and my wife would get along great! She has a Masters in English and does all the presentation/publishing editing for an international Engineering firm. I used to have her edit all my articles before they were submitted. She is brutal! But she taught me so much about grammar, proper sentence structure and writing.
I used to work with an exec early in my career that was even worse than me. When a new employee started with the firm he would stop by and hand out a copy of Strunk and White. He would buy them by the gross. Zero tolerance for poor grammar. Funny guy. Miss him often.
 

BSK

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I used to work with an exec early in my career that was even worse than me. When a new employee started with the firm he would stop by and hand out a copy of Strunk and White. He would buy them by the gross. Zero tolerance for poor grammar. Funny guy. Miss him often.
My wife also works in Human Resources, and she tells me horror stories almost every day about job applicants just out of college with PhDs in Engineering that can't write a simple sentence. She will read me some of their work, and as bad as I am at grammar, I don't see how these people graduated from High School, let alone an advanced degree from places like Purdue.

I tell young people all the time, the best thing they can do for themselves when it comes to getting a job is to learn to write. Even many blue-collar jobs require some writing. Human Resources Managers will put applicants who can write at the top of the stack.
 

UCStandSitter

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My wife also works in Human Resources, and she tells me horror stories almost every day about job applicants just out of college with PhDs in Engineering that can't write a simple sentence. She will read me some of their work, and as bad as I am at grammar, I don't see how these people graduated from High School, let alone an advanced degree from places like Purdue.

I tell young people all the time, the best thing they can do for themselves when it comes to getting a job is to learn to write. Even many blue-collar jobs require some writing. Human Resources Managers will put applicants who can write at the top of the stack.
It's a skill that has served me well. In what I do, the majority of communication is written. If I receive an email from you that looks like it was written with a crayon, I immediately dismiss. When I interview folks I always make them explain at least two solutions in email form. Very low tolerance for bad written comm skills…
 

Snake

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It's a skill that has served me well. In what I do, the majority of communication is written. If I receive an email from you that looks like it was written with a crayon, I immediately dismiss. When I interview folks I always make them explain at least two solutions in email form. Very low tolerance for bad written comm skills…
But geezeees fellers give us a break will ya ...:p
 

102

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UCStandsitter...

ME TOO!
I know NOBODY who consistently kills 4.5 year old bucks on pressured public ground with a bow (with little boots on ground) EVERY year. NOBODY!
Although there are several YouTube cowboys who act like they can!

But I do know several hunters who manage to klil MATURE deer year in and year out on pressured public or private ground with a bow. Sometimes they are nice bucks, sometimes rag horns (yet mature) sometimes does.
 

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