Wednesday, 19 December 2018

New ask Hacker News story: Ask HN: What does success for a technical book look like? Ask HN: What does success for a technical book look like?

Ask HN: What does success for a technical book look like?
20 by CoreSet | 7 comments on Hacker News.
In September I released a small book about programming and security. Like most technical authors, I did it for the experience and professional credential more than the money. Now I've sold around 300 copies in the first few months, nearly paying off my $2K advance. I'd like to write more - a lot more - so I'm trying to judge how successful the book is in terms of securing myself more writing opportunities. I've been offered the chance to pitch / write more by the publisher, and the publisher overall seems really happy with my output, but it would be an enormous help to understand what people in the industry / acquisitions editors / etc, use as their criteria for success in technical publishing.

In September I released a small book about programming and security. Like most technical authors, I did it for the experience and professional credential more than the money. Now I've sold around 300 copies in the first few months, nearly paying off my $2K advance. I'd like to write more - a lot more - so I'm trying to judge how successful the book is in terms of securing myself more writing opportunities. I've been offered the chance to pitch / write more by the publisher, and the publisher overall seems really happy with my output, but it would be an enormous help to understand what people in the industry / acquisitions editors / etc, use as their criteria for success in technical publishing.

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