Publishing

[Badger]

Anyone working in Publishing?

What are the standard royalty %ages and advances for techy books? Been asked to write one but not sure if it's worth the effort.

Ta

[d000hg]

Anyone working in Publishing?

What are the standard royalty %ages and advances for techy books? Been asked to write one but not sure if it's worth the effort.

Ta

I have seen numbers in the past but can't remember. However it was in the "OK but nothing spectacular" range, if your alternative is £60k/year or £500/day it's not going to win out financially.

On the other hand, having a book in a particular area is going to make you stand out anytime you apply for a gig using that technology, who knows what that might be worth long-term if you can stay in work rather than be benched.

[SueEllen]

I have seen numbers in the past but can't remember. However it was in the "OK but nothing spectacular" range, if you're alternative is £60k/year or £500/day it's not going to win out financially.

On the other hand, having a book in a particular area is going to make you stand out anytime you apply for a gig using that technology, who knows what that might be worth long-term if you can stay in work rather than be benched.

WHS

Plus another sneaky way people make money out of books is they lecture at a Uni. The course set book just happens to be a book written by the course organiser and main lecturer.

[NotAllThere]

We had that. But as he was in the process of writing the book, we got it for free in return for proof-reading.

[The Wikir Man]

There is a section on the O'Reilly website about writing for them, where it tells you what they pay.

They approached me a couple of years back to write a book for them, but we didn't get past the initial discussions, unfortunately. Instead, when I complete it, it will be on lulu.com

[Spacecadet]

Plus another sneaky way people make money out of books is they lecture at a Uni. The course set book just happens to be a book written by the course organiser and main lecturer.

Like one of my uni lecturers... who was still doing that 40 years after writing the book

[Badger]

Thanks for the replies.

Got more details now and in financial terms the reward for time spent writing, getting decent examples together, screenshots, etc isn't worth it (mainly because I'm lazy), but it would be a USP for my CV.

[The Wikir Man]

Thanks for the replies.

Got more details now and in financial terms the reward for time spent writing, getting decent examples together, screenshots, etc isn't worth it (mainly because I'm lazy), but it would be a USP for my CV.

That's my take on it.

Be careful, though - some people doing the recruiting might (a) think you'll be a know-it-all, or (b) be scared that you might show them up. As a result, it might be a hindrance to some clients.