Re:Tips for Writing a Technical Book
by coliveira on Sunday June 02, 2019 @10:51AM
(#20075795)
Correct, but that is exactly how the people talking about the self-publishing route are thinking: in terms of return on investment. The ROI in a standard publisher is small, and that is how it is supposed to be for something that is just a side project where you don't want to spend additional time. I am not saying that self-publishing doesn't have use cases: if you want to publish a book for which it is difficult to find a publisher, or if you're considering to do this as a full time job or a big part of your business, then self-publishing might be the right thing to do.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
I'm sure it's how some people are thinking but there are other reasons you might want to self publish even if you take money 100% out of the equation.
- As someone else noted, you can put free eBooks online. If you're writing a book for visibility, being able to distribute free copies (or customized versions of free copies) might be a benefit.
- You don't need to conform to publishing industry length standards. If 75 pages cover the topic, you get most of the benefit of publishing "a regular book" for a lot less effort.
- You're on no one's deadline but your own. This has pros and cons but does let you better work a book around life, work, and other projects.
- The style, format, etc. is all up to you. Again, pros and cons.
I have made (a bit) more money with publishers than self-publishing. I'm also not sure if I'd go with a publisher again barring a strong reason to do so.