Robin writes a book (and you get a copy)

The $10,000 short-story throw-down in the sky

posted on October 5

So, I'm going to start with some meat-and-potatoes updates—but then there's a special pitch at the end.
I'm at 25,000 words, which means I'm right on schedule. (Whew.) There's only one section that is entirely undrafted—the very end. The rest has had the benefit of several coats of paint. The urgent and exciting next step is to share this rough draft with some first readers, which I'm doing this week.
Also this week: New York! I'm going to speak at a conference about the Google Books settlement. Why was I invited, you ask? On the basis of my legal scholarship? Er, no. Rather, on the basis of a familiar short story. (This might have had something to do with it, too.) How cool is that?

But the writing won't stop, can't stop, not with 26 days left, so look for a dispatch from a New York City coffee shop. (And let me know if you have any suggestions for good writing spots.)
Now, a nerd note.
At around the 8,000 word mark, I switched from Google Docs to a Mac app called Scrivener. I've historically been skeptical of these special-purpose book-writing apps; turns out that was just because I've historically not been writing a book. Scrivener is fantastic.

Here's how the story looks in Scrivener right now—a sneak peek at its structure, with just a few redactions:
Scrivener table of contents
(Now, that's just a working structure, not the final table of contents. Even so, there are clues to be gleaned by diligent digital/occult investigators...)

For the writers out there: This is, I'm convinced, the dream setup. Write in Scrivener with a doc saved to a Dropbox folder mirrored in a bunch of different places (including, of course, Dropbox's own servers). No stress.
Finally, the fun part.
As I'm writing this, I'm at $9,853—just a handful of backers away from $10,000.

So here's the pitch: If we get to $10K before midnight PST on Tuesday, I'll do the world's first digital/occult (super) short-story throw-down in the sky. Five hours, 2,500 miles—so let's make it 2,500 words. I'll write and edit the story entirely on the plane and post it as soon as I land.

So, if you are interested in a special in-flight snack to stave off hunger while we all wait for October 31 to arrive: tell a friend (or pitch in, if you're just discovering this project) and give me something to do up there.

It's gonna be me and the Lost Symbol on Kindle otherwise...
Update: It's on!

You must be logged in to comment.

Ray Aguilera says: Apparently, some folks have had problems with lost data, due to the way that Dropbox updates files & doesn't necessarily play well with OSX package files. Just a heads-up. http://www.literatureandlatte.com/forum/viewtopic.php...
on October 16

Robin Sloan says: Okay, it's on! Can't wait. This is going to be fun.

@Basti: Completely awesome. I love a super-curated delicious tag.
on October 6

Basti Hirsch ッ says: Have a good flight Robin! btw, you might get a kick out of http://delicious.com/MicrolearningOrg/skywriting
on October 5

Tim Maly says: I use Scrivener to manage blog postings, I love it for that and I don't think I even use most of the features. Which doesn't answer the Dissertation question directly but maybe gives you another data point.
on October 5

Bethany Keeley says: Scrivener looks like it might be a useful app for managing my impending dissertation project. Do others who use it think it might work for that?
on October 5

Gavin Craig says: Man, you need to start dragging me to these conferences on the Google Books settlement. . .
on October 5

Robin Sloan says: @Peter: Like a quantum computer, I exist in a superposition of states. Brooklyn yes. Manhattan yes.

@Micah: Whoah -- you have discovered/mastered features that I haven't even tried yet. (Now switching apps to Scrivener to investigate internal linking...)
on October 5

4o66 says: http://doctorfaust.us/ ... read the page source code...
on October 5

Saheli says: I thought you *slept* on planes? ;-)
Is it too late to advocate for shout-out to the dead email department?
I wonder if if the book inspired your recent investigations into numismatics.
I'll see whom I can recruit for this throw down.
on October 5

Peter says: Where are you staying in NYC???

(The correct answer is "Brooklyn".)
on October 5

Micah Saul says: I also just started using Scrivener for some longer form stuff I'm working on. The draft vs. research distinction is fantastic, as is the internal linking and media playback. It's made this new project a hell of a lot easier.
on October 5

Rachel Leow says: scrivener is the shiz! just so you know, I'm at present writing my PhD with it. also I am so intrigued by chapter called 'the impossible playlist'! maybe it will be a playlist in which the songs segue into one another seamlessly, and no matter how hard you strain and concentrate, you can never find the shadowline where one song changes into another - and yet, each time you listen, it's a recognizably different song - perhaps even always one you yourself recognize... but I'm running away with myself
on October 5

Dylan Beadle says: Haha - "Ritual not found", http://doctorfaust.us/

Really enjoying the glimpse behind the curtain of the writing process.
on October 5

Lyle Skains says: I've been using Scrivener for a while for longer projects (novels, my PhD thesis...). It is full of win. BTW, shared your project with an e-publishing class today. Generated some great discussion. Keep it up!
on October 5

Sarah Laskow says: Ninth St. Espresso in the East Village has good coffee and is quiet. A friend also recommended the Gramercy Public Library to me.
on October 5

570
Backers

$13,942
pledged of $3,500 goal

0
seconds to go

Funding Successful

This project successfully raised its funding goal on November 1.

Pledge $1 or more

ULTIMATE NINJA ALLY PACK. Get a PDF copy of the book. Join our movement to reinvent writing and publishing. (Ho hum!)

22 BACKERs

Pledge $3 or more

LIMITED REWARD 1 of 29 remaining

DIGITAL PACK. Get a PDF copy of the book and follow along with behind-the-scenes updates.

28 BACKERs

Pledge $11 or more

PHYSICAL PACK. All of the above, plus get a physical copy of the book. (The more people who choose this level or higher, the better the book is for everybody!)

100 BACKERs

Pledge $19 or more

SINCERITY PACK. All of the above, plus your book is signed, and it comes with a little surprise.

186 BACKERs

Pledge $29 or more

PATRON PACK. All of the above, plus your name (or secret code-name) is listed in the acknowledgments.

87 BACKERs

Pledge $39 or more

SUPER OCCULT VALUE PACK. All of the above, plus get three more copies of the book (for a total of four), so you can give one to a friend, donate one to the library, leave one in a coffee shop with a line of hexadecimal code scribbled across the title page...

122 BACKERs

Pledge $59 or more

INTERNATIONAL PACK. New addition! All of the above, but designed for international backers who want to help offset the cost of the trans-oceanic catapult launch. Thanks to Euan Mclaren for the idea.

10 BACKERs

Project By

Robin Sloan

San Francisco, CA

Send Message

Born in Illinois. Grew up in Michigan. Learned to write in Florida. Now I live in San Francisco.

I also blog at Snarkmarket (link below) with my pals Tim and Matt.

Kickstarter