Yes, I started in earnest the very serious action of publishing my works. No more excuses, no more delays, especially as caused by writing a lot of software! Hey, nobody lives forever to write and compile one program after another!
Another obstacle in my starting earlier was my strong tendency towards perfectionism. I wanted my philosophical ideas to be intolerably perfect. I wanted every sentence to be undeniably precise. The second category of my work belongs to the mathematics/probability theory field. To the surprise of many, this category represents the easy side of my activity. My theoretical knowledge is complemented by a tremendous advantage: My ability to write software that implements my ideas. The computer software is a great tool in validating mathematical rules, or invalidating other rules. Moreover, the process of validation leads to discovery of new rules, laws, formulae, and the like. I am still the author of software that nobody else has duplicated (although there are serious attempts out there!)
I am trying an experiment now. I am working on both projects. Of course, the process can't be simultaneous in a strict sense. I can't do both projects daily, but I do the parallel act weekly.
The mathematical project has a quantitative head start. I have written many more mathematical/probability pages than in the field of philosophy. My website had one (one) page when I started in the year of grace number 1997. The top of the page dealt with Socrates and philosophy. The second half presented the Fundamental Formula of Gambling (the by-now famed FFG).
My web life came after my software childhood, as it were. I had written plenty of software between 1988 and 1997. My software was undoubtedly the best, compared to all other titles of lottery software of that time. Still, it was the age of childhood for my software. It will grow to full potential after my Internet endeavor. My software — lotto, lottery, horseracing, gambling, and especially scientific — has gotten better and better. It's not bragging, because I always back it up. The skeptics are kindly advised to ask around. Be askiomatic, it's a good thing!
It was as easy as a breeze to assemble the first chapter of my probability theory book. In fact, it was an edit of my main web page dedicated to probability theory. The title of the page: Theory of Probability: Best Introduction, Formulae, Algorithms, Software. It has been a top page in the corresponding category of the Open Directory (also employed by Google Directory) for many years.
An author needs book publishers for his/her works. The Internet has made the process of contacting publishers a whole lot easier and speedier. Not too long ago, an author had to painfully type and retype hundreds of pages for one copy of the manuscript. Then, make dozens of copies of the manuscript. Search for the addresses of any possible book publisher and send them, by registered mail, a big enveloped stuffed with your manuscript. Repeat the painstakingly labor for several publishers. Wait for the response — a rejection in a statistically overwhelming majority of situations.
I no longer follow that path today. I already found and contacted a number of book publishers. I only look for self-publishing companies. I avoid the traditional publishers for many reasons. One reason is my patience. I don't wanna waste my life waiting for answers, then ridiculous advice, and the like. Not to mention rejection!
Instead, I want my books in print as quickly as possible, because:
Hey you! Out there in the cold,
Getting lonely getting OLD…
(Pink Floyd)
Having a book in print helps a lot the cause of copyright protection as well. You get an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), registration with the Copyright Office, and registration with the Library of Congress. Usually, the self-publishing companies do that for you.
Do I look like I target big money from publishing my books? NOT! But I have the feeling that a couple of self-publishing companies smell money from my deal. I was already contacted, including by phone. Self-publishing is based on paid-by-the-author business model. I pay certain fees to have my book published. Yet, a publisher has offered me an attractive business plan. I can start with just a few hundred dollars in advance. It appeared to me that the representative had already checked my web site. The representative had the feeling that my book deal could lead to a good sales campaign.
I am not in hurry as far as striking deals with publishers is concerned. I will check a number of book publishers and, hopefully, get the best deal for both parties. As a test, I opened a free account with a company owned by Amazon.com: Create Space. They offer a feature named Preview. You don't offer a book for sale. You only publish a fragment of your book and offer it for public reviewing. The author can get useful feedback that way. There is the risk of copyright theft and the like. I don't fear that in my case, as the core of that fragment had been already published on my web site.
The book format (size) is 6" x 9". The fragment of my book (chapter I) is in PDF format. The viewers can download the file to their computers. I believe the same person can do that only once or twice. After that, this cryptic error message shows up: The Preview you are trying to access is no longer available. The viewer may add their comments and even rate the Preview.
I deleted the link at Create Space (February 5, 2010).
The Fundamental Formula of Gambling (FFG) is science alright. But FFG can be a source of inspiration for art creations as well. Look at two book covers I designed having FFG as my source of inspiration:
Hopefully, everything is going to work smoothly and at fast pace — and lead to great results. I deserve a place in history for my extraordinary efforts, courage, and discoveries.
My best wishes to everyone!
Read Ion Saliu's first book in print: Probability Theory, Live!
~ Founded on valuable mathematical discoveries with a wide range of scientific applications, including gambling, lottery, life, software. Are we alone in the Universe?
The book represents the most thorough introduction to the Theory of Probability, a branch of mathematics. The presentation is scholarly precise, but in an easy-to-understand language.
Probability Theory, Live! [Paperback 2010]
Probability Theory, Live! [Hardcover 2010]
Probability Theory, Live! [Kindle Edition]
Probability Theory, Live! [Paperback 2012] via Squidoo
The book is a lot more than gambling and lottery! The author, Ion Saliu, has made important discoveries in probability theory and mathematics in general. For example, the most natural way to calculate e (the base of the … natural logarithm).
Probability Theory, Live! [Paperback 2012]
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