This is a semi-regular update on my progress to document the history, perspectives, and narratives of the metaverse.
Current book word count: 176,164
Writing
I have reached the final section. I am really happy with how the model turned out. My current plan is to finish the draft of the book and hand it off to editing and then cut out the chapters relevant to the model and publish it on this blog separately. Maybe also turn it into more like a paper. I think there is a lot of value in the model itself and I would love to see it circulating and being discussed separately from the book.
But now, after showing all the history and establishing a model how to analyze and interpret metaverse narratives, I am applying all this to a large sample size of different metaverse narratives to identify clusters based around a common perspective or assumptions. The result is a landscape of narratives, from which a several prominent narratives stand out, each with their own distinct visions, ideas and hopes for what the metaverse was, is, or can be.
I really want to slice this landscape into seven distinct narratives and talk about them in detail, but I’m not sure if this will work out. Two of them are rather similar from their shape and form – they want to achieve similar things, but for very different reasons. Do I focus on the people behind the narrative and separate them based on goals and ideology? Or do I focus on the narrative itself, in which case I might only end up with 4 or 5 narrative clusters?
My current plan is to write it out first and see how I feel during writing. I have a lot of content already, some of it in the form of notes and unorganized snippets, others are already finished paragraphs, so it will be more about structure and flow than actual writing.
Also, can we please talk about the insane number of words? My original goal for the book was something like 80.000. How did I ever end up here? And the 176,164 words currently sitting in the document don’t even include the interviews!
Hey, Claude, how many words does an average textbook or popular sciences book have?
The word count varies significantly depending on the type and level of book:
Textbooks:
- Undergraduate textbooks: typically 150,000-300,000 words
- Graduate/professional textbooks: often 200,000-400,000+ words
- High school textbooks: usually 100,000-200,000 words
Popular science books:
- Most range from 60,000-90,000 words
- Some shorter ones: 50,000-70,000 words
- Longer, comprehensive works: 90,000-120,000 words
Ok. Guess I’m Doing Fine.