Hey everybody, I have some news. I’ve alluded to it a few times in the past, but now I’m officially saying it: I’m writing a book. I am not going to share too much detail about it now, but here are the facts:
- It is focused on WordPress
- It is co-authored between me and Jeff Starr
- It is going to be awesome
We have been working on it for quite a while now and I’m very pleased with it. Both of us have some, but limited, knowledge of the publishing world. The fact is, we don’t have a publisher and we don’t really know how the best way to go about getting one.
So how about it folks? Any publishers out there interested in talking about this book? Any other folks have any ideas or advice? I can be reached at [email protected] or through the contact form.
You have built up quite a good reputation in the development community. I would start by contacting authors of existing books (especially if it is someone you know) and asking for a referral.
Quite agree with @Donna.
Current book authors will help you in better way.
I’ll circulate the link in my network,may be some one can help.
Regarding self publishing~
A good publishes promote the authors and book my several times and this is the only reason why publishers are very choosy in their authors. :P
its ‘alluded’
thanks, fixed.
According to Matt, Wiley is looking for WordPress authors:
http://ma.tt/2009/04/wordpress-authors-wanted/
Go the same route that Envato did: publish ebooks, and then use a print on demand service like LULU if people want printed books.
http://rockablepress.com/
How many e-books do you really read? Seriously? If “Don’t Make Me Think” was an e-book only, I don’t know if I’d read it. At all. There’s something about having it in your hands that makes it feel much more important.
If the content of the book is great, the book is great. But I do hope Chris will at least rent an editor to see through his typos:) (I’m not from an English-speaking country)
quote it at park. see how much it would be to go independant. sell from this site.
Let me know when I can pre-order it! Can’t wait!
one .. two .. three ..
.. I haven’t practiced counting for a while ..
Anyway .. i’m looking forward to the release
and btw: I want a picture of your self on that cover :-*
You owe us one from episode #41: WordPress as a CMS
Man I really should have brewed a cup of coffee this morning.
Self-publish an e-book, unless you specifically want a “real” hard copy for vanity/ego (which, hey, would be cool). Depending on sales, you’ll make more $ doing an e-book.
Also make sure you proofread the code 5x, if there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s books with wrong code, even little things like a comma where a semi colon should be. Get several sets of other eyes to proofread the code as well. Don’t just visually proof it, make sure it actually works, too. Have others make sure it really works. When you’re ready to “publish”, proofread it again.
The beauty of an e-book is you can catch/correct errors. Give people who bought the book the ability to download a correct version and ensure new peeps won’t get the old errors.
Make all the code available as a download – with the e-book.
Thank your mother.
How about Sitepoint?
Just another name to add to the list…
I do like Niki Brown’s idea of a PDF though.
Try sitepoint out, they have a huge name in publishing web development and graphic design books. :)
Although mainly UK based, the Freelance Photographers Market Handbook has a list of all the UK book/magazine publishers and is invaluable not just for Photographers but for writers of many subjects, just a thought..
Would be worth have a chat with Mark Boulton or looking at his website http://www.markboulton.co.uk/ as he has just release a book “Five Simple Steps” that he self published and it has been very successful. Here is an article he wrote about self publishing http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/why_self_publish/
I’d buy a hardbook copy of any WordPress book written by you, Chris! Please keep us Europeans in mind when publishing!
You and Jeff don’t need to wait on a publisher! Write that mofo, design it in indesign, and make it an e-book that you sell online. I’m sure publisher will soon follow, especially if you track the e-book link + conversion using Google Analytics.
Good luck and I look forward to it! :)
Don’t do Sitepoint. Try out Apress.
I look forward to your book, will definitely pick it up once it’s out.
Great stuff, Chris.
As a side note, loving the update to the design. Curious, though: Any reason you dropped your Twitter feed from your footer?
i think the trend might be moving away from the full twitter output on webpages.
on many sites you’ll see the obscure person to person messages popping up. now really that interesting for the rest of the world. certainly not important enough to get a prominent position on every page in a website.
Congrats Chris! I can’t wait to see the book! I’ve gotten such help from your posts here on designing for wordpress.
how about description of your book + a sample chapter to some publisher that you like …
Perhaps you should have a little chat with Mark Boulton of Five Simple Steps (www.fivesimplesteps.co.uk) about self-publishing?
I bet you could learn a lot from Mark, I agree with Lars here self-publishing for your first book might be the way to go then subsequent books with more experience may have publishers knocking at your door!!
Self-publishing is fine but there is nothing cooler than seeing your book on the shelf at Borders! You might make more money by self-publishing though — publishers take such a large cut of the royalties. Be sure to read the contract carefully or they may try to take all rights from you! Personally, I prefer a hard copy over an ebook any day (probably like most people).
“e-book” it up!
I suggest submitting it to kindle and sony reader and sell it on there. Also, you can sell it in the beginning as a regular ebook, and maybe raise the price a bit for the regular book when you do get a publisher. What you CAN do, is offer up a special for everyone who bought the ebook to upgrade, and pay only for shipping and a little over. If you get what I mean….
Email me, I’ll see what I can find.
Cannot wait until i can get one! Thumbs up!
I’m partial to the release-as-a-PDF-on-your-own model, since it keeps you in full control and, ideally, makes you a better percentage. It’s what I’m banking on, anyway.
And as someone pointed out above, Rockable Press is a great example. But I don’t think that’s the only way to go about it. In any case, you no doubt have enough of a following here that you could release it on your own and make a decent amount, for sure.
I’m looking forward to reading it!
Surely Packt have got to be worth a look? They already have some WordPress titles including a new one on plugin development, so its an established line for them.
Look forward to hearing more about the book soon.
I know this doesn’t help any but…
I’d buy it no matter which publisher it came from.
Although I am partial to Sitepoint. They usually have a good looking hardcopy and an eBook for sale which is a plus.
If your book is even half as good as the Rockable Press book (and I have every confidence that it will be as good or better) it will be great. I made the mistake of buying the PacktPub book just before Collis Ta’eed’s book (albeit a PDF) launched. Based on what I’ve seen of your posts and tutorials Chris, I know it’s going to be a killer.
Looking forward to it greatly.
Regards, Edward
Go to your local library or Borders and get a copy of “The Writer’s Market.” It’s the directory of publishers and agents, separated by category.
Write down a list of 10-30 possible publishers, their contact details, and any notes of interest. Then start sending query letters.
I second this suggestion.
looking forward to the book! I’ll buy it for sure. You’ve been a great resource, especially your screencasts.
Congrats, cant wait to check it out!
You will need a Literary Agent who will shop your book around to publishers who might be interested in putting out your book. I know some great agents who represent some very high profile books.
Though I can’t promise you anything but I can get your foot in the door.
How about asking Vladimir Prelovac, author of WP Plugins dev book? (as someone said above, asking an already published author is a good idea).
An ebook/hardcopy sale would also be good – I’m pretty sure I’ll get an ebook.
Besides, selling ebooks even at low prices (say, $25-40) will give you more revenue overall, unless the book deal is really good.
Good Luck on the Book Chris and Jeff, I know Apress is usually looking to bring on authors. I’m sure when you get published it will be worth getting.
Dave
I’m aware (being a writer myself) of the length of time it takes to get a book from written to printed to sales.
But dude. As soon as this book is up for sale. You are one dude that has an order!
Anything to do with the Internet and the web should not be in hard copy. It should be an ebook!
“CyberFox says:
April 15, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Anything to do with the Internet and the web should not be in hard copy. It should be an ebook!”
hehe, a little bit hard on the eyes for an ebook. Some of us are just that old fashioned.
Uh OH!. will you ship worldwide? Seems like a stupid question but what i meant is would it be available in retail stores? world wide at least in my country.
E-book format will be accessible from every one. Hard copy – the main issue is delivery or distribution, you can’t cover world wide. But everyone that has a computer and a printer can print out the e-version and have a simple hard copy :)
Chris,
I’ve sent you an email with a link to a company which i think you’ll find very useful.
Thanks,
Andrew Turner
Hey Chris,
I am a regular follower of css-tricks.
Great Idea. Self publishing is definitely the way to go. It is more rewarding experience. I would like to recommend Blurb which is partnered with Border books very famous and large network. They also provide free download of their proprietary Booksmart software that can convert whole blogs into books. If you are thinking easy way to include your existing blog posts it is very useful tool. You can even get ISBN number and cross sell on Amazon too.
Good luck,
Shameless addition: I am expert in Adobe Indesign and illustrations and artwork for book cover designing. If interested contact me for quote.
I’ve used http://www.lulu.com before. Self publishing, printing on demand, etc. They have an API too.
Great news! waiting for it…
Congrats on your decision to write a book. Going the ebook route is a great way to start and is easy to do. You can always turn it into a paperback book at a later date. If you’d like some help with the process of going from idea to ebook to paperback, I’ve written a book that outlines the process and provides product marketing information as well. The title is, From Idea to Author: How to Become Successfully Published http://www.ideatoauthor.com .
Getting a copy of the book will remove the guesswork of the process. It has many no-cost / low-cost ways to get your book published for online distribution as either an ebook or paperback book.
It a great way to get your information out to the world. I hope you enjoy the process. It’s definitely a fun and exciting journey.
Kennette Reed
I want a profesionally bound hard copy. How are you ment to read an ebook in bed? With a CRT on your lap? Laugh
While I love real books – when writing on something that gets updated 2-4 times a year it seems like it goes out of date really quick.
What would be great is if Acrobat would have some way to check for updates like an application. Like if you opened the eBook and it said “Version 1.5 of this book is now available.” If I knew the eBook wasn’t going to be out of date a month after I bought it — i think I would pay extra for that. And then when WP has another massive update that changes everything, then a paid (small) update might be in order.
Either way – looking forward to it.
Hi Chris,
Do you need someone to put the book together as well or will you be looking after that?
Just saw this on Matt Mullenweg’s blog – wordpress authors wanted:
http://ma.tt/2009/04/wordpress-authors-wanted/
yeah just wanna share the love and show possible publishers going over this post I would definitely buy this book.
oh~very good idea~Maybe I can translate it in chinese~expecting u new book~