I like most of the people I've come into contact with at Apress ever since they acquired my first book from Wrox after a giant debacle. That said, they've made

I like most of the people I've come into contact with at Apress ever since they acquired my first book from Wrox after a giant debacle. That said, they've made some very strange strategic decisions about their book line that basically involved my co-author and I taking future editions of our books in directions that we completely disagreed with. Tech book authoring really isn't a very good way to make money, so I wouldn't really worry about a thousand dollar advance - after all, it's an advance against royalties, so you should get paid either way.