Watch This Author Use A Google Document To Write And Edit A Book In Real-Time

I can’t imagine someone being able to watch every keystroke as I write a post like this, but author Silvia Hartmann is writing a novel and is welcoming you to watch her progress. Live and in real-time.

Using a public Google Document, Hartmann is typing away on “The Dragon Lords,” and the whole idea absolutely fascinates me. It’s unlikely that I’ll sit at my computer and watch her type, but I’ll probably check in from time to time on how she’s doing.

Here’s what the Google Enterprise team had to say about it:

Fantasy author Silvia Hartmann is reinventing the editorial process by letting her readers follow along as she drafts her new novel – The Dragon Lords – in a public Google document. Hartmann started writing last week, and has already drafted 20 chapters.

Read the story so far and follow along to find out how it ends: http://goo.gl/Bb6bF

Of course you can’t do your own editing with the document, but it is quite an experience to feel such a bond with an author. I have never read Hartmann’s work, but this is something that definitely got my attention.

You might get a chance to read the book before it’s ever available for purchase. It’s like being in a recording studio with your favorite band.

[Photo credit: Flickr]