The story of one author
Recently, the first serious book ( GPU Pro-3 ) was published, where I was a co-author. Meanwhile, another one is being printed ( OpenGL Insights ), in which there will already be two of my articles on computer graphics. It is time to summarize the experience and share it.
It all started, as expected, with Habra. I had in the engine implemented one complex and interesting idea for transferring and counting wool from Blender , as well as displaying this dynamic in the real-time window. I thought where to go with the idea to get glory and to conquer the world, and came across Habr. After painstaking material design in a collapsible article, drawing pictures and honing the engine, my tech post went into the sandbox ... But either the topic was too specific, or the cards simply did not go down, but I never received an invitation.
')
At this, your humble servant did not despair and decided to pick an apple higher. The material was carefully translated into the language of Shakespeare, slightly modified and sent to the notorious GameDev.Net. Those guys, perhaps, just did not have enough fresh good, and they gladly accepted my offer. After 2-3 parcels and improvements of the material, my creation got out to the public. Unfortunately, until today, it did not live in its original form, because at the end of 2010 the GameDev portal decided to remake its interface, at the same time making up some of the material ...
Inspired by the success, I raised the bar even higher and aimed at the GPU Pro 3, which, in the person of Wolfgang Engel, was just inviting the authors of the articles . Fortunately, the idea of an article came to mind, which turned out to be strong enough and original to live up to the present day. By inertia, applications were submitted for two more articles to the book on OpenGL. Only then did I realize what I was doomed to ...
Let's move on to the technical process of creating an article in the context of computer graphics.
Idea
In psychology, philosophy and other pluralistic knowledge, you may get away with a good idea. In programming, as in mathematics, everything is harder. Get ready for large-scale criticism from editors, other authors, and then the readers of the book. The idea is the foundation of your article, and a building with a good foundation can be forgiven for the wrong color of paint, and even flaws in the design. How to find an idea? It’s easy if you are really doing something good, and sometimes it’s enough just to look around ...
Request
The process of receiving applications was 3-4 months, so do not rush. The main thing is to briefly talk about the idea / problem, answering the questions " why is it needed? " And " how do you solve this problem? ". It is necessary to show as vividly as possible that your decision is material, and it really copes with the task. Pictures with graphs and tables of figures of performance look especially convincing. In addition, the application determines the first impression about you, so try an annoying grammatical error not to spoil it.
Content
So, let's say you can be congratulated, and your precious application has been approved. Now you are familiar with the section editor, and you have been given about six months to write the content of the article. Cut half of this time into polishing and tossing the article back and forth with your editor and other authors. In the content, in fact, they are expecting the same from you as in the application, only much more extensively: with code, formulas, screenshots and plans for the future.
Language (especially alien ...)
The requirements for this case may be different, depending on the organizers' laziness to find normal inspectors. Efforts to raise the language skills for a couple of months is not what you signed up for when submitting an application, but without it in any way. The solution I found is load distribution: find all your friends who are fluent in the language and at least understand something in technology. I never cease to wonder how much new information one can overlook and get from outside.
Completion
You have successfully sent the final version of the article. You can relax, but not for long, because you have the most important thing: to provide a demo of your technology. When filling in the code, do not forget about the license. When sending a demo archive, consider all possible dependencies on third-party libraries. After 3-4 months, the editors will send you a pseudo-end version, in which you need to check what kind of firewood they broke in the layout. Somewhere at the same time, you will need to draw up a contract with the publisher for the rights to print your article for a modest fee. The latter is calculated as 5% of the conditional revenue, divided into all authors, so do not roll your lip.
The final
One day you will receive an author’s copy of a solid book, in the content of which your modest name flashes. It remains only to embrace her, remember all the past trials, and then put under the pillow before going to bed and dream of the very conquest of the world, for which everything was intended. Do not forget to update your resume and find a better job, if your old talent is not appreciated.
Personal conclusions. First of all, the author's business is hellish work! A good idea only makes it possible to break through, but does not reduce the amount of work on the article. Try to find a common language with the editors: their subjective comments can be invaluable in the early stages of the masterpiece. And, of course, never give up.
PS After those articles, I did not write anything serious - I had enough adventures. The project, during the development of which all these ideas arose, is on the shelf. Instead, this miracle is actively developing, preparing the ground for new creations.
Supplement . The publisher site collapsed at the first hour of the article. I apologize for the inconvenience.
It all started, as expected, with Habra. I had in the engine implemented one complex and interesting idea for transferring and counting wool from Blender , as well as displaying this dynamic in the real-time window. I thought where to go with the idea to get glory and to conquer the world, and came across Habr. After painstaking material design in a collapsible article, drawing pictures and honing the engine, my tech post went into the sandbox ... But either the topic was too specific, or the cards simply did not go down, but I never received an invitation.
')
At this, your humble servant did not despair and decided to pick an apple higher. The material was carefully translated into the language of Shakespeare, slightly modified and sent to the notorious GameDev.Net. Those guys, perhaps, just did not have enough fresh good, and they gladly accepted my offer. After 2-3 parcels and improvements of the material, my creation got out to the public. Unfortunately, until today, it did not live in its original form, because at the end of 2010 the GameDev portal decided to remake its interface, at the same time making up some of the material ...
Inspired by the success, I raised the bar even higher and aimed at the GPU Pro 3, which, in the person of Wolfgang Engel, was just inviting the authors of the articles . Fortunately, the idea of an article came to mind, which turned out to be strong enough and original to live up to the present day. By inertia, applications were submitted for two more articles to the book on OpenGL. Only then did I realize what I was doomed to ...
Let's move on to the technical process of creating an article in the context of computer graphics.
Idea
In psychology, philosophy and other pluralistic knowledge, you may get away with a good idea. In programming, as in mathematics, everything is harder. Get ready for large-scale criticism from editors, other authors, and then the readers of the book. The idea is the foundation of your article, and a building with a good foundation can be forgiven for the wrong color of paint, and even flaws in the design. How to find an idea? It’s easy if you are really doing something good, and sometimes it’s enough just to look around ...
Request
The process of receiving applications was 3-4 months, so do not rush. The main thing is to briefly talk about the idea / problem, answering the questions " why is it needed? " And " how do you solve this problem? ". It is necessary to show as vividly as possible that your decision is material, and it really copes with the task. Pictures with graphs and tables of figures of performance look especially convincing. In addition, the application determines the first impression about you, so try an annoying grammatical error not to spoil it.
Content
So, let's say you can be congratulated, and your precious application has been approved. Now you are familiar with the section editor, and you have been given about six months to write the content of the article. Cut half of this time into polishing and tossing the article back and forth with your editor and other authors. In the content, in fact, they are expecting the same from you as in the application, only much more extensively: with code, formulas, screenshots and plans for the future.
Language (especially alien ...)
The requirements for this case may be different, depending on the organizers' laziness to find normal inspectors. Efforts to raise the language skills for a couple of months is not what you signed up for when submitting an application, but without it in any way. The solution I found is load distribution: find all your friends who are fluent in the language and at least understand something in technology. I never cease to wonder how much new information one can overlook and get from outside.
Completion
You have successfully sent the final version of the article. You can relax, but not for long, because you have the most important thing: to provide a demo of your technology. When filling in the code, do not forget about the license. When sending a demo archive, consider all possible dependencies on third-party libraries. After 3-4 months, the editors will send you a pseudo-end version, in which you need to check what kind of firewood they broke in the layout. Somewhere at the same time, you will need to draw up a contract with the publisher for the rights to print your article for a modest fee. The latter is calculated as 5% of the conditional revenue, divided into all authors, so do not roll your lip.
The final
One day you will receive an author’s copy of a solid book, in the content of which your modest name flashes. It remains only to embrace her, remember all the past trials, and then put under the pillow before going to bed and dream of the very conquest of the world, for which everything was intended. Do not forget to update your resume and find a better job, if your old talent is not appreciated.
Personal conclusions. First of all, the author's business is hellish work! A good idea only makes it possible to break through, but does not reduce the amount of work on the article. Try to find a common language with the editors: their subjective comments can be invaluable in the early stages of the masterpiece. And, of course, never give up.
PS After those articles, I did not write anything serious - I had enough adventures. The project, during the development of which all these ideas arose, is on the shelf. Instead, this miracle is actively developing, preparing the ground for new creations.
Supplement . The publisher site collapsed at the first hour of the article. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/143254/
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