As given at SxSW Interactive 2009, this presentation gives some tips about becoming a writer of tech books. However, some of it needs the accompanying narration to really make sense.
There's some more info at http://www.backupbrain.com/2008_06_15_archive.html
5. Why?
• You want to get a full-time job
• You want to get a better full-time job
6. Why?
• You want to get a full-time job
• You want to get a better full-time job
• You want to get a promotion
7. Why?
• You want to get a full-time job
• You want to get a better full-time job
• You want to get a promotion
• You want to get more/better consulting gigs
8. Why?
• You want to get a full-time job
• You want to get a better full-time job
• You want to get a promotion
• You want to get more/better consulting gigs
• You want to be a writer
40. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• Tech book royalties are on the wholesale
price, not the retail price
41. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• Tech book royalties are on the wholesale
price, not the retail price
• Deep discounts
42. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• Tech book royalties are on the wholesale
price, not the retail price
• Deep discounts
• Non-compete clauses
43. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• Tech book royalties are on the wholesale
price, not the retail price
• Deep discounts
• Non-compete clauses
• Right to work on the next edition
44. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• Tech book royalties are on the wholesale
price, not the retail price
• Deep discounts
• Non-compete clauses
• Right to work on the next edition
• Reversion of Rights
47. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• “Earning out”
• Royalties aren’t paid to you until long
after they’ve been paid to the publisher
48. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• “Earning out”
• Royalties aren’t paid to you until long
after they’ve been paid to the publisher
• Returns
49. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• “Earning out”
• Royalties aren’t paid to you until long
after they’ve been paid to the publisher
• Returns
• Lousy accounting systems
50. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• “Earning out”
• Royalties aren’t paid to you until long
after they’ve been paid to the publisher
• Returns
• Lousy accounting systems
• Most books never earn out
51. Truths Acq Eds Don’t Tell
• “Earning out”
• Royalties aren’t paid to you until long
after they’ve been paid to the publisher
• Returns
• Lousy accounting systems
• Most books never earn out
• Many authors, of multiple books, never
earn out on any of them
55. Lies Writers Tell
• If my editor had faith in me, they wouldn’t
charge this book against the last one
56. Lies Writers Tell
• If my editor had faith in me, they wouldn’t
charge this book against the last one
• My editor will help me get into the beta/
get access to the hardware
57. Lies Writers Tell
• If my editor had faith in me, they wouldn’t
charge this book against the last one
• My editor will help me get into the beta/
get access to the hardware
• My royalty rate is less than 10% of the
cover price, so I must be getting ripped off
59. Time Frames
• Or, “Why does production get 3 months to
print it when I only got 6 weeks to write it?”
60. Time Frames
• Or, “Why does production get 3 months to
print it when I only got 6 weeks to write it?”
• It’s mostly about the publisher’s relationship
with the printer
61. Time Frames
• Or, “Why does production get 3 months to
print it when I only got 6 weeks to write it?”
• It’s mostly about the publisher’s relationship
with the printer
• It’s also about how much they trust you to finish
writing the book
62. Time Frames
• Or, “Why does production get 3 months to
print it when I only got 6 weeks to write it?”
• It’s mostly about the publisher’s relationship
with the printer
• It’s also about how much they trust you to finish
writing the book
• Do I really have to finish writing the book
before <insert product here> ships?
63. Time Frames
• Or, “Why does production get 3 months to
print it when I only got 6 weeks to write it?”
• It’s mostly about the publisher’s relationship
with the printer
• It’s also about how much they trust you to finish
writing the book
• Do I really have to finish writing the book
before <insert product here> ships?
• Before it goes gold?
64. Time Frames
• Or, “Why does production get 3 months to
print it when I only got 6 weeks to write it?”
• It’s mostly about the publisher’s relationship
with the printer
• It’s also about how much they trust you to finish
writing the book
• Do I really have to finish writing the book
before <insert product here> ships?
• Before it goes gold?
• Before the UI is frozen?
79. Answering Reader
Questions
• Surprisingly time consuming
• Keep it separate from your regular email
80. Answering Reader
Questions
• Surprisingly time consuming
• Keep it separate from your regular email
• Don’t do free consulting
81. Answering Reader
Questions
• Surprisingly time consuming
• Keep it separate from your regular email
• Don’t do free consulting
• Don’t ever let people send you files
82. Answering Reader
Questions
• Surprisingly time consuming
• Keep it separate from your regular email
• Don’t do free consulting
• Don’t ever let people send you files
• Give every book a unique email address
that’s only listed inside the book
106. Pros & Cons of
Writing for a Series
• Pro
• Built-in audience
107. Pros & Cons of
Writing for a Series
• Pro
• Built-in audience
• Cons
108. Pros & Cons of
Writing for a Series
• Pro
• Built-in audience
• Cons
• Audience expects you to be just like the
other authors in the series
109. Pros & Cons of
Writing for a Series
• Pro
• Built-in audience
• Cons
• Audience expects you to be just like the
other authors in the series
• Less creativity
110. Pros & Cons of
Writing for a Series
• Pro
• Built-in audience
• Cons
• Audience expects you to be just like the
other authors in the series
• Less creativity
• or maybe not...