RE: OT: Reasons to NOT write an Oracle book
- From: Iggy Fernandez <iggy_fernandez@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "sethmiller.sm@xxxxxxxxx" <sethmiller.sm@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2014 15:50:29 -0700
I agree 100% that one must have the right expectations. Unfortunately, it is
not in the publisher's interest to advise you that:
You will hardly make any money. A lot less if you have co-authors.You will make
mistakes and the reviews will make you cringe.The publisher is more interested
in schedule than quality.
If the publisher was up front, fewer would undertake the exercise.
Iggy
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2014 17:16:29 -0500
Subject: Re: OT: Reasons to NOT write an Oracle book
From: sethmiller.sm@xxxxxxxxx
To: iggy_fernandez@xxxxxxxxxxx
CC: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Iggy,
The value one expects from authoring a book will determine whether it is worth
the effort. Yes, it is a lot of work and it will be stolen by many. But in my
case, I do it for the name recognition, the experience and the opportunity to
produce something that will help a larger audience that I could otherwise
reach. So is it worth the effort for me? Absolutely! I certainly have not done
it for the money so what do I care if it is stolen. I let the publisher worry
about that.
There are mistakes in every book. That's what errata and second editions are
for. Every author I have contacted about mistakes has been grateful for the
feedback. If someone rips into you because of a technical mistake in your book,
it's not credible feedback anyway and deserves to be ignored. How many times
have I put up incorrect information on this list (hopefully not too many)? I
have yet to have any listers attack me for it. They usually politely inform me
that I am wrong and I graciously accept and learn from the criticism.
The publisher's job is to produce a product and make money. Of course, they are
not concerned about how much time you want to spend with your family. The
solution to this is to have the right expectations of the process and a
relationship with the publisher. I would recommend that a first time author
find co-authors that have experience and established relationships with
publishers.
Becoming an author isn't for everybody and I think your experience proves that,
but I would absolutely encourage anyone willing to put in the work to become an
author. Just make sure you have the right expectations of what it means to
author or co-author a book. Part of the reason that IOUG teamed up with Apress
to form IOUG Press is there is a natural relationship between Oracle users and
technical books both as a reader and a writer.
Seth Miller
On Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 9:28 AM, Iggy Fernandez <iggy_fernandez@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Dear list,
I've revising my beginner DBA book for 12c and can' t help thinking about the
reasons to NOT write a book. Here are a few.
It's not worth the effort. The market is saturated with books; so much
information is available online that nobody buys many books nowadays; your book
will be pirated on the day it is published; it will be obsolete very quickly;
prices are low unlike college textbooks and much lower in emerging markets; the
royalty is 10% of the wholesale price--not the list price--and has to be shared
by all the co-authors. You'll be lucky if your book sells 5000 copies over a
five-year period. Assuming that the list price is $40 and the wholesale price
is $20 and that you have one co-author, and that you spent 500 hours writing
and researching, you are literally getting paid minimum wage for your effort.
Writer beware.
You will make terrible mistakes that will haunt you for ever. In my case, I
made a horrible mistake on page 22 of my book that was soon discovered by a
beginner who was testing every line of code for himself.
Some of the reviews will make you cringe. You will wish that you had reviewers
BEFORE you finished the book, not after the book was printed.
To you work and family commitments come first but, to the publisher, the book
comes first. To you quality is everything but, to the publisher, the schedule
is more important and I quote "It is better to go to market first with a good
enough book than to be months late with a perfect book. A successful good
enough book can be improved in a second edition. A failed perfect book is
simply a failure. Schedule matters to your publisher. Variable pay is the norm.
Missed quarterly and yearly targets can cost your editor and others whom you
work with hundreds, even a few thousands of dollars. Those same missed targets
hurt the business too."
On the plus side, you can send a copy to your mom and she will show it to all
her friends.
That off my chest, I would appreciate any help in reviewing the first drafts so
that I can put out a better book. Comments on accuracy as well as clarity and
readability would be very welcome. I will post the finished chapters to Google
Docs so that anybody can make comments inline. I will be very grateful for help
and will acknowledge all those who helped in the preface. Please let me know if
you can help.
Kindest regards,Iggy
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