How to Write and Sell Computer Books

By Ted Padova

Learn how to become a computer book author. Learn how to: contact book publishers, negotiate contracts, improve your writing style, work with publisher production teams, and market your books. This book is a roadmap for becoming a successful author in the computer book publishing industry written by an author who has published more than 40 computer aftermarket books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ted Padova
• Release date: May 21, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452407241

Ted Padova

Author, speaker, consultant

Book preview

How to Write and Sell Computer Books

By Ted Padova

May 2010

Copyright Ted Padova 2010 at Smashwords.com

License notes: All rights reserved. Any duplication in any form without the expressed written consent of the author is strictly prohibited.

To contact the author email: [e-mail]

Preface

When I began writing, first journal articles and later computer books, I had to learn much by trial and error. I didn’t have resources for expert guidance and I didn’t have a book that detailed what prospective authors need to know.

With an almost 20-year experience in working with computer book publishers, I believe I’ve accumulated some knowledge that can be helpful for today’s new authors. If you’ve tossed around in your head the idea of writing a computer book, many concepts articulated in this book can help you save time, money, and provide a road map for entering the world of computer book publishing.

I haven’t worked with every computer book publisher, but I have experience with several. Publishers vary a bit in methods but there are many specific issues related to writing non-fiction that applies to all authors. Hopefully you’ll find in this book an understanding for what it takes to author computer books, learn how to deal with publishers, how to negotiate contracts, learn some pitfalls to avoid, and help you start on a road to success for a new part time endeavor.

—ted padova

Chapter 1

What it takes to be a computer book author

I could easily apply what lies ahead to writing about various non-fiction topics. However, writing computer books is what I know so I’ll stay with that. To begin, let me share a little history with you —something I’ll do periodically in this book.

I received a baccalaureate degree in Sociology and a Master of Arts degree (1975) in clinical counseling. Unfortunately neither discipline helped me much in the world of technology.

In 1978 I acquired my first computer, an Apple II. At the time, I was working as a counselor in a clinical setting with about 50 employees. Shortly after I purchased my computer I was promoted to a management position and used the computer to help me with data analysis. The introduction of programs like Visicalc and WordStar were great companions for the work I was doing and saved me much time. At one point I purchased a plotter that enabled me to print color bar charts. Crude as they were, the board of directors delighted in receiving colorful visual summaries of data.

At the office, my colleagues frequently dropped by to see the lights flash back and forth on the dual floppy drives. It appeared like the drives were talking to each other. In the late 70s it was a magical display of technology.

As people wanted to learn more about the device I was working with, I found myself instructing my colleagues on how a little computer with 48K of RAM and a few self programmed applications could improve one’s work efficiency. Obviously I was hooked and I delighted in sharing my enthusiasm.

My motivation and desire to share my discoveries with others have been with me since those beginning days of personal computing. Eventually, I left the world of social science and began a career in technology.

Not having been schooled in computer science or technology meant that my evolution to some degree of authority came from sheer passion and dedication. I’m not as gifted as the technology wiz kids in developer’s labs and I’m not as bright as those who have a keen sense of grasping tech skills. Ultimately, I’m just an average person who happens to have a passion for learning new technology and the tenacity to stay with it long enough to develop some level of mastery.

The life of an author

I have many author friends in the computer book publishing industry and most of the people I know don’t enjoy long hours laboring over a new book project. I believe many of us find pleasure in poking around a program upgrade and exploring features in new applications software releases; but when it comes to recording each step in a process, the real work is dull and tedious.

My Adobe Acrobat PDF Bible is a comprehensive reference book. Recent editions are in excess of 1,000 pages. I write that book without a coauthor so it stands to reason that I need to spend countless hours behind a computer each day writing and working though new features when I revise my book. To complete such a work it usually takes about 3 months, seven days a week and about 14 – 16 hours a day writing and reviewing chapters.

You can begin to understand the need for tenacity when it comes to writing a 1,000-page reference book on a short deadline.

If it’s boring and so demanding why do it? The answer is, and this is one of the first important things to understand about your wanting to become an author, is to find the excitement you enjoy as a byproduct of your writing efforts. My inspiration and desire to continue writing new books is not in the work itself. It certainly isn’t in monetary compensation. For me, my enthusiasm comes from connecting with the user community and readers of my books.

In my past twenty years of writing experiences the things that inspire me most to begin a new project and commit myself to long hours in front of my computers is hearing from readers. I receive emails from people who have made comments such as you’re book saved my job or your book helped me land a new career, and many similar remarks.

I have made virtual friends such as Payam in Iran, Sergei in Russia, Hanne in Norway, an attorney in Illinois, a document publisher for Boeing aircraft, and many others throughout the world who are typically working people who just want a little help in doing a better job. Hearing from readers who have in one way or another benefited from your contribution makes the long days and nights worthwhile.

I’m not suggesting that you will necessarily find the same inspiration that motivates you to continue long hours of work. I merely suggest that there are byproducts with writing and one needs to discover what it is that you find enjoyable as a result of the sacrifices you make for spending many days behind a computer each