4 ms·

After 30 years of writing both professionally and privately while I learned to code and then train teams, I finally came to the conclusion about what I am: a wr

After 30 years of writing both professionally and privately while I learned to code and then train teams, I finally came to the conclusion about what I am: a writer. I'm not a celebrity writer, a best-selling writer, or a major-league writer. Just a writer. So I wrote a book. Because I have a passion for technology teams, my book was about how to create, prioritize, and manage those to-do lists of work we all have: backlogs. Because I'm a science fiction junkie, it had robots. And because I'm a Douglas Adams fan, they were robotic chickens. Plug: http://www.amazon.com/Backlogs-1-Daniel-Markham-ebook/dp/B00JESGC6U http://www.amazon.com/Backlogs-1-Daniel-Markham-ebook/dp/B00... I'm also a startup and business junkie, so even though I was writing the book no matter what the business model, I spent some considerable time learning the economics of book publishing. There are a hell of a lot of blog articles out there titled something like "How I made Seven-Hundred Thousand Dollars publishing an E-book. And you can too!" Meh. Not so much. I think it's clear that self-publishing is the future. Except for the big-league authors, publishers have too much overhead to be very useful to us small fry. However the author's conclusion is correct: "Without question, we can say that authors have extraordinary opportunities in the 21st century publishing world. It’s just that making a living from book sales is rarely one of them." There just isn't that much money for most authors no matter what the publishing route. The good news is that ebooks can be part of a larger conversation a writer has with his audience. In this case, the process isn't to create a "business book proposal" and then execute it; it's more like creating a community of people with similar interests, then having a conversation with them. Ebooks can be a useful part of that conversation. Self-publishing rocks, but it's not just the old way of publishing where you do it all yourself online. Wish it were that simple.

davidw 13y ago
As someone who has seen more than a few self-published books, I hope you won't take offense if I give you a bit of advice: get a better cover done. I can't quite point out what's wrong with the one you have (I'm not much of a designer myself), but the elements don't go together very well, and the title looks flat. The chicken is ok, it just needs to be worked in there differently, I think.
grey-area 13y ago
I do agree with the other poster - a revised cover and proofreading (m ore) would make a big difference to the perceived authority of your book. As a designer I can't resist giving you some unsolicited advice here (apologies in advance, feel free to ignore): The central image is perfect - a good photo, and says everything you need it to say. You should cut the other images (and in particular the awkward 80s perspective grid layout), and just use that one image big on the front, with the titling superimposed or on blocks of colour above and below. The result would be an instant increase in credibility. Now perhaps the WTF chicken reflects the folksy style of the writing inside, so there is an argument for keeping that poking in from an edge (I see why you have included this), but the rest of the images and their styling absolutely do not and fight against your premise, and the green grid communicates 1980s business title. You may also want to consider a strapline that tells people what is in the book, and why a rubber chicken features on the cover of a management book, perhaps pair the chicken with that.
- DanielBMarkham 13y ago
  Thanks guys for the great advice. Many times HN is full of people just picking apart things because they can. This was good stuff. Thank you.
Retric 13y ago
Persionaly, I was about to click buy when I saw 10$ which is more than I am willing to spend on an ebook from a new author.
- DanielBMarkham 13y ago
  It's a good book. I'm not on HN pimping books. Shoot me an email and I'll hook you up.

davidw 13y ago

As someone who has seen more than a few self-published books, I hope you won't take offense if I give you a bit of advice: get a better cover done. I can't quite point out what's wrong with the one you have (I'm not much of a designer myself), but the elements don't go together very well, and the title looks flat. The chicken is ok, it just needs to be worked in there differently, I think.

grey-area 13y ago

I do agree with the other poster - a revised cover and proofreading (m ore) would make a big difference to the perceived authority of your book. As a designer I can't resist giving you some unsolicited advice here (apologies in advance, feel free to ignore): The central image is perfect - a good photo, and says everything you need it to say. You should cut the other images (and in particular the awkward 80s perspective grid layout), and just use that one image big on the front, with the titling superimposed or on blocks of colour above and below. The result would be an instant increase in credibility. Now perhaps the WTF chicken reflects the folksy style of the writing inside, so there is an argument for keeping that poking in from an edge (I see why you have included this), but the rest of the images and their styling absolutely do not and fight against your premise, and the green grid communicates 1980s business title. You may also want to consider a strapline that tells people what is in the book, and why a rubber chicken features on the cover of a management book, perhaps pair the chicken with that.

DanielBMarkham 13y ago
Thanks guys for the great advice. Many times HN is full of people just picking apart things because they can. This was good stuff. Thank you.

Retric 13y ago

Persionaly, I was about to click buy when I saw 10$ which is more than I am willing to spend on an ebook from a new author.

DanielBMarkham 13y ago
It's a good book. I'm not on HN pimping books. Shoot me an email and I'll hook you up.