OK, I know we aren't supposed to use Paddlewise for commercial promotion so I hope this does not cross the line. I won't feel bad if the list guardian bounces it back to me. I want to publish the latest edition of my book but printing costs a lot and I have to buy tons of copies to keep in stock. Postage adds to the cost and any up-dates ( I would like to add new information as it becomes available) mean a person has to buy a new edition or a separate update. So I am thinking I should sell the book in PDF format on a CD-ROM. This would reduce costs, allow up-dates and additions. Up-dates for example could be sent via e-mail. How would people respond to that? If you have an opinion and don't won't to clutter up the list I would be pleased to hear from you off channel. Cheers John Winters jdwinters_at_eastlink.ca *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
My 2 cents (curious what other people feel about this too): I still like the feel of a book in my hands and a book I can grab off the shelf but...I can see the distinct advantages in ePublishing. Guess it would depend on the type of book - a methods/reference book would be OK in PDF - a book that I'd want to take on trips or curl up with on a lazy Sunday afternoon - put it on paper. K *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 08:10 AM 3/24/2005, John Winters wrote: SNIP > So I am thinking I should sell the book in PDF format on a CD-ROM. This > would reduce costs, allow up-dates and additions. Up-dates for example > could be sent via e-mail. John, PDF works fine for me. I could choose to print it out or not. I like the concept of email updates. It would be better than my copy of Wolfgang Brinck's book. Currently it is stuffed with email printouts of comments he made about book changes/clarifications on the baidarka listserv. Perhaps you could also sell the PDF file over the web and not have to burn the CD. Bill Leonhardt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Thu, Mar 24, 2005 at 09:10:30AM -0400, John Winters wrote: > So I am thinking I should sell the book in PDF format on a CD-ROM. This would > reduce costs, allow up-dates and additions. Up-dates for example could be > sent via e-mail. CDROM is one distribution method, and it works well for people on low-bandwidth connections (like me). But it may further reduce your costs to just publish the book online. For instance, "Practical mod_perl" is published here: http://modperlbook.org/ If you publish online, you can maintain the "master" copy in simple, standards-compliant HTML and regenerate the PDF version periodically using free open-source tools like htmldoc: http://www.easysw.com/htmldoc The idea being that doing this allows you to present the exact same content in HTML format and PDF format at (nearly) zero effort and cost. (Oh -- and updates, which will presumably be much smaller than the entire book, can be made available for download. Anyone who the book on CDROM can just pull them down. This leaves you with the choice of either leaving the updates as-is in the oneline copy or incorporating them and generating a new version of the book, so that anyone subsequently downloading it gets the newest version.) The catch is getting paid for it. And huge amounts of debate have taken place over which revenue models work and which don't and how they should be done and how they are done and yadda yadda yadda. My take, for what it's worth, is that if people appreciate your work and find it useful, then they'll want to fund it. On the other hand, if people are determined to be parasites and not at least throw a few bucks your way, then there's really no effective way to stop them. ---Rsk *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
John, >I want to publish the latest edition of my book but printing costs a lot G'Day John Good to hear one of your books is on the way. PDF has the advantage of being copy protectable although copy protection can be broken if you try hard enough. HTML because its designed to be copied can be more useful for spreading ideas, but is more easily abused, its also quicker to download. Electronic versions of a book need a well thought out search facility to compete with the ease of indexing in a book. This is particularly important for PDF formats where decent search engines are often not available. I'ld be interested in buying the book, especially if its in electronic form. All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
John, I have no problem purchasing books in electronic form. I have done so with several professional books relating to my work. I usually print them out myself, but I get them faster and cheaper. Steve Holtzman Southern CA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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