[erlang-questions] on writing [was: ANN: Designing for Scalability with Erlang/OTP by O'Reilly]

[Lee Sylvester]

I also vowed my next book wouldn’t be a programming book.

If there’s a reason to write a book, its that it’s the best way to learn a topic inside out :-)  So, my next book is based on FPGA design and implementations for everyday projects (which is a programming book, I guess :-( )


On 8 Jul 2014, at 19:54, Miles Fidelman <mfidelman@REDACTED> wrote:

> Yeah... agree on that.  In a previous life, I wrote two books:
> 
> First was on implementing Internet services in libraries (kind of dates me, don't it :-).  Started out as the final report on a funded project, ended up as a book for the American Library Association Press.  Phenomenal experience - an advance, an incredible editor, and it ended up as a book club selection (who knew - the ALA has a book club for their members - a copy ended up in every mid- and large- library in the country).  I ended up making money on the book (not a lot, but worth the effort).
> 
> Second was on municipal networks.  Started out as a very high-priced handbook, sold by Government Technology Press - something like the third book they published.  Intent was to co-market with their weekly trade rag, conferences and seminars. Horrible experience:  Horrible editor (kept making changes that changed the meaning of things - had to fight to fix things), then they decided they didn't want to publish books after all - shut down the book division.  Then again, I ended up with a few hundred remainders, and camera-ready originals -- ended up selling a bunch at $125 each (instead of the original $200+) through our web site, and bundling them with a dozen seminars given over a year-long period.  Made out very well, particularly on the seminars and some consulting gigs that resulted from the seminars.
> 
> Next book will definitely be self-published - not sure if will be open source, though.
> 
> Definitely a "strange thing, books."
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Miles
> 
> Lee Sylvester wrote:
>> :-) That’s why I wouldn’t write a book for O’Reilly.  Wrox were bad enough.  I vowed my next book would be open source material.  No one writes a book for money, as anyone who’s written a book will know it’s not worth it from the second book onward and if you wrote a second book, you would be of a mind where the money wasn’t important.
>> 
>> Strange thing, books.
>> 
>> Lee
>> 
>> 
>> On 8 Jul 2014, at 19:36, Francesco Cesarini <francesco@REDACTED> wrote:
>> 
>>> Alas, that is how O'Reilly price their books. Having a high price and then discounting is not the approach I would pick. That is why discount codes are being handed out on public mailing lists and social media. I recommend you use them (Read, no one pays full price for an O'Reilly book). As an unedited book, the cost is for the final book which we hope will complement what is already out there. It is a different approach to OTP in action. One I've been using for 15 years when teaching OTP.
>>> 
>>> /F
>>> 
>>> On 08/07/2014 19:14, Lee Sylvester wrote:
>>>> Wow, $50?  Yeah, that is steep.  If this were some black arts compiler book or video encoding bible, then that would be something else.  But a book on Erlang/OTP just doesn’t fall into that bracket…
>>>> 
>>>> I may wait til it falls in the bargain bucket ;-)
>>>> 
>>>> Lee
>>>> 
>>>>  On 8 Jul 2014, at 19:08, Miles Fidelman <mfidelman@REDACTED> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> On 8 Jul 2014, at 16:05, Francesco Cesarini <francesco@REDACTED> wrote:
>>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> a shameless plug. Steve Vinoski and I are working on a book focused on distributed, scalable systems with OTP. It is available from O'Reilly as an Early Release from their website. The first eight chapters we released cover (in great detail) all other behaviours. We started writing, and before we knew it, we had several hundred pages on behaviours alone. Last week, two new chapters, including the Introduction & Special processes and Implementing your own behaviours were released. We are now focusing on release handling (hgg), code upgrade and architectural patterns.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> What is available is an unedited draft, with new chapters and improvements published as they become available. You can find more info here:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920024149.do?intcmp=il-prog-books-videos-product-intsrch_erlang_ct
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> If you use discount code authd, you will get 50% off the Early Release, and 40% on pre-orders of the the printed copy.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Looking forward to your feedback,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>> Not for nothing, but $50 for the undedited work-in-progress seems a bit steep (and yes, I saw the discount code).  I also note that "rough cuts" aren't included in my Safari subscription.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Usual practice that I've seen is for works-in-progress to be free, with tools that support comments from early readers.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sounds interesting - but, from the TOC (all that's available without paying), it sure looks like it covers the same ground as "Erlang and OTP in Action."
>>>>> 
>>>>> Miles Fidelman
>>>>> 
>>>>> -- 
>>>>> In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
>>>>> In practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra
>>>>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
> In practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra
> 
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