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

[Lee Sylvester]

In fact (and yes, I realise I’m waffling), that the contract can sometimes seem good, until you reason the bit where it mentions major cuts to royalties when sold at discount, which all major retailers (Amazon etc.) tend to do.  So, the author ends up with practically nothing.  A book I wrote in 2006 is still selling copies (about 10k to date, I believe), yet I’ve still not earned a thing from it beyond the initial upfront lump sum, which totalled about $800.  When you compare that to the 600 man hours I put into it, it really isn’t worth it :-D

But then, I never wrote it for the cash.

Lee


On 8 Jul 2014, at 19:39, Raoul Duke <raould@REDACTED> wrote:

> i haven't looked at the books here, but having been somebody who
> produced things and wondered how anybody could ever make a living at
> it, and knowing that writers throughout history rarely made much after
> the publisher etc. got a cut, i didn't have the same reaction to the
> $50 price tag. can't say i'd *spend* the $50 since i'm broke and
> there's a zillion other things to spend $50 on first. i'd try to get
> it via inter library loan or something :-).
> 
> On Tue, Jul 8, 2014 at 11:36 AM, 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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>> 
>> --
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>> http://www.erlang-solutions.com
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