Copyright Declaration

This work is copyright © Charles Stross, 1996-97, all rights reserved.

You may copy the documents provided on this web site for personal viewing via a web browser. You must not republish, edit, or otherwise alter this material, or represent it as your own work.

If you have some specific reason for wanting to reprint a chunk of this work, or mirror it on your web site, you should get in touch with Addison-Wesley Longman (the publishers) and ask permission. Alternatively, ask me in person.


A short sermon

Writing a book takes a long time. You put a lot of effort into it; it hurts. So while there's a grain of truth in Dr Johnson's dictum that "none but a fool rights for anything but money", it's not the whole truth. Even if you're paid to do it five days a week, nine-til-five, you don't write a book unless you have somthing to say. And I'm not paid to write books nine-til-five -- at least, not these days.

I've got something to say, and I want to reach as many people as possible. Hence the book, and this web site. Don't feel bad about it if you use this web site and don't buy the book. It's not just a bare-faced advertisement; it's an act of communication and, as long as you're using it, it is serving its purpose.

On the other hand, if you do buy the book, it will encourage me to write more books, and maybe add more useful stuff to this website or its successors, and it will send a signal to my publishers: "look, there's someone out there who's interested in this stuff!".

I hope what you find here makes you want to send that message.


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