Book idea--further thoughts

[Joseph Method]

One more:

http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/

On 2/1/06, Michael Steinberg <mlstein at rochester.rr.com> wrote:
> Thanks, everyone, for the responses and ideas. Reading them, I've come
> to think that a physical book has some real advantages, especially for
> a beginner's text. There's something very reassuring about a volume
> lying there next to the computer, especially because the book always
> boots.
>
> It also seems that a book that could be found in bookstores would be of
> some value in making Ubuntu visible. And this leads to a few other
> observations based on my experiences in the publishing world:
>
> It would be super if the Doc team or whoever had the "authority" would
> consider making this an official Ubuntu publication; of course I'd do
> whatever is needed to win their imprimatur. I would be happy to
> approach No Starch, Peachpit, etc., with the prospect; a revised
> outline & a sample chapter or two would make a good proposal package,
> and the official Ubuntu label would surely help. (In keeping with my
> desire to help Ubuntu out, I'd contribute royalties to support the
> project.) But this would pretty much put an end to the idea of free
> distribution through the website, either through Shipit as some
> suggested or even via a large number of pdfs. Publishing is a tough
> business, and I doubt that any publisher would invest in a book if they
> knew that Ubuntu would be undercutting them by making it available for
> nothing. The same is true about bookstores; competition for shelf space
> is intense, and between two books of equal appeal the loser will be the
> one that buyers could download or order free.
>
>   What about self-publishing (i.e., a Ubuntu Press)? It's easy & fairly
> cheap these days to produce a book. The snag is distribution. If Ubuntu
> decided to give away the books through Shipit--assuming that there's
> the money to burn, which I wonder about--the result would be that it
> wouldn't get into bookstores. If it's sold on the website instead (and
> remember, it's free as in speech, not as in beer), there would still be
> problems. Bookstores won't deal with small publishers--too much
> paperwork, not enough stock to make the time & effort worthwhile. You'd
> have to distribute through Baker & Taylor (in the US) or similar
> wholesaler, and you're not likely to get the book into too many stores
> anyway because you don't have sales staff. Selling it through the web
> site creates its own hassles, since Ubuntu's not set up for that. The
> Ubuntu Store is through Cafe Press, which spares Ubuntu all the worries
> of warehousing, fulfillment, banking arrangements and credit cards,
> customer service, etc. I don't know if a similar deal could exist for a
> book, and for just one book it probably wouldn't be worth it.
>
> Conclusions? Right now I'd say that an "official" book through an
> established publisher would be the best choice, and it might be
> possible to negotiate with the publisher to allow a number of the most
> important "how-to" chapters to exist in downloadable form on the Ubuntu
> site. This may be the best compromise and be the most beneficial for
> the distro.
>
> I assume this would require a fairly high-level policy decision and I'm
> hoping someone will fill me in on that. I'd like to show up at the next
> meeting; is it this coming Friday or the next one? 1400 GMT or 2200?
> How does a newbie like me find out?
>
> Again, thanks to all.
>
> Michael Steinberg
>
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--
-J. Method