Richard MacManus

This morning Apple announced its much anticipated smartwatch, called Apple Watch. It will be released “early 2015,” which I’m thrilled to say is also when my book about self-tracking will be released! My book, entitled Trackers: How Technology Is Helping Us Monitor & Improve Our Health, is about how technology is fundamentally changing how we track our daily health … Read more

My first book, due out January 2015, is about the Quantified Self movement. It’s called Trackers: How Technology Is Helping Us Monitor & Improve Our Health. One of the chapters is about a doctor who encourages her patients to use self-tracking tools, such as Fitbit or MyFitnessPal. Well now there’s a self-tracking company that caters … Read more

Earlier this month I announced that my upcoming book about self-tracking had found a publisher. The book is entitled Trackers: How Technology Is Helping Us Monitor & Improve Our Health (the final title may be slightly different). My book was completed at the end of 2013 and has just started the editing process, so it’s … Read more

An update on my book writing activities. As you all know, I completed my first book, about self-tracking, at the end of 2013. Today I signed a publishing contract for that book. It’s with Bateman Publishing, one of New Zealand’s top indie publishers. Just remember that last year’s Man Booker Prize winner was published by … Read more

Just in time for the new year, I have completed the final manuscript of my book about consumer health technology. Weighing in at 72,965 words, the writing and editing is done. Now I just need to get it published! But that is a task for the first part of 2014. I’m feeling proud that I … Read more

This week the world of consumer health technology got a rude shock, when the FDA warned personal genomics company 23andMe that its marketing was in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act). The FDA seemed most concerned about the potential for 23andMe customers to misread their DNA results and take unnecessary or … Read more

Today I completed the first, rough, draft of my book about consumer health technology. I’ve now got a 70,000 word document sitting inside my computer. 12 chapters. A friend suggested I print it out, so it feels like a real book. I think I’ll do that, to feel the weight of paper on my fingertips! … Read more

This morning I completed the ninth draft chapter of my book, on the topic of consumer health technology. I’ve now written 55,000 words, so I’m roughly 3/4 of the way there. I’m really pleased with the progress I’ve made since my previous Writer’s Log at the end of June. My goal at that point was … Read more

We’re halfway through 2013, so it’s a good time to update you all on my book project. My book is about how Internet technology is revolutionizing the health and wellness industries, by empowering you – the consumer – to take control of your day to day health. I’ve had fun researching and writing it. I’ve … Read more

It’s been nearly a month since my last Writer’s Log update, when I reached the 20,000 words mark in my book. Today’s update is focused less on word count and more on the work I’ve been doing interviewing people, editing, and iterating on the book’s structure. For those people who don’t know, I’m writing a … Read more

I just went past the 20,000 words mark in my book. It took me about 3 weeks to write the first 10,000 words, but just over half that (8 working days) for the second 10,000. And yes, I am tracking my daily book progress too, amongst all the other self-tracking I’m doing! I’ve now written … Read more