E-Books

#1

Scrivs,

a few comments on the ebook thing, from one who has been doing something similar for a long time.

1. Great idea for lots of reasons. I agree with your conclusions about advertising and other ways of generating revenue from the site traffic you have built up.
People come to whitespace because they feel you have something valuable to offer, so give them some premium.

2. Wen you self publish, you control your own destiny. When you publish with someone else you are entirely dependent on their agenda, which only coincides with yours by accident. Sure, a small number of people, like Eric Meyer, Jeffrey Zeldman and Molly Holzschlag have really raised their profile by being published, and well done to them, but for every one of them there are many many who have probably been paid about $3.00 an hour to write a book.

3. Why have I never published with a publishing company? I've been approached several times, and have always turned it down. Why? Above all open ended and problematical "non compete" clauses. These are in any publishing contract, and they say something like "you will do nothing to harm the sales of this book".
Now as many may know, my company has published quite a few guides, tutorials etc. Whenever I have tried to negotiate the non compete clause to expressly exclude such publications, publishing companies refuse point blank. When I say why this is a deal breaker they say things like "but we'd never use it like that". So I say "cool, so you'll be taking it out". That is about where the conversation ends.

What if they decide that one of your project competes with the book, and send you a "cease and desist". These cost about $US2500 just to get a competent firm to rely to.
They could simply write to your hosting company, who to be on the safe side might yank your site.
Paranoid? Maybe, but business can be like that. And keep in mind, the people who make these decision are usually corporate bureaucrats, applying a formula.
For better or worse, I studied law. Any lawyer will tell you that you need to look at a contract for the perspective of what is the worst that can happen if it all goes to hell.

4. How long? I'd be inclined to go for a series of related focussed publications, that are reasonably priced, rather than a monolithic single work. That way you can bundle several publications, and people can chose the ones they really need.

5. Format
I'd do HTML. I'd have a "lite" version online and a "premium" version available by download.

PDF? You'd be surprised how few people actually download them, even though a lot of people will say that it is a good idea.

6. Affiliate program
A good idea, but wouldn't do an open slather one. Build a network of related sites and people, and share the love.

Just a few thoughts, hope they are helpful,

john

John Allsopp (http://www.westciv.com)

#3

John, great advice and it is really appreciated. I agree with the freedom of self-publishing and to be honest I have already had my run in with non-compete agreements and do not wish to tread down that path again.

JC, everything is still up in the air including what type of format so any and all links are appreciated.

Scrivs (http://9rules.com/)

#5

I agree with John on much of what he has just said. And writing an e-book is something I have been considering, planning, and actually making efforts to do within the last month.

However, I have found that if you are going to write an ebook, as John pointed out, you should go with a series. I had thrown around the idea of trying to stuff everything I could possibly want to talk about into one publication, and alas that failed.

Some people have the ability to sit down, write, and not get completely off track. And I truly admire people who can do so. But when you have a broad topic, you will start out great and slowly see how choppy your mind is. An installment would be the way to go for multiple reasons. Some reasons include, but are not limited to:

• Easier for you to write
• Give users control, maybe they don't want to hear about a certain topic, yet they would still have to pay for it
• Increased profit for you

The increased profit in my mind is working just like a magazine subscription works. Sure, not everyone wants every issue, so they will only buy the issues that they want. However, there are those smart shoppers who want the best value, you can sell a subscription cheaper than you can a single document, which may seem like a business blunder. But you get more profit at one time.

Ultimately the length of an ebook depends on what is being covered, as well as the price. You wouldn't be able to get away with selling a 5 page ebook about tables for $20.00 (can you even get 5 pages out of tables?), however if you were to sell 20 page ebooks on a topic that has lasting value, dare I mention web standards, you could easily get $5.00 for a copy of it.

And as for format, personally I like ebooks in PDF format over HTML. Which would give you another way of making money, you could charge a little bit extra for the PDF version.

Ryan Latham (http://worldoneweb.com)

#7

1. Hire an editor. Most authors are incapable of editing their own work; they are too familiar with what is on the page.

2. Hire technical reviewers.

You need to make sure the content is well-explained in clear, correct language. If you are planning on charging money for the final work then you need to take the extra steps to produce a professional product.

(If you can get qualified, objective volunteers for these jobs, then great. But don't sacrifice the final results to save a few bucks.)

James Britt (http://www.jamesbritt.com)