Many technical professionals would like to write a book sharing their knowledge and experience, but most haven't. If you ask them why, it's not from lack of ideas or experience with technical subject matter. Instead, they just don't know how turn their idea into an actual published book. Even though there are some guides for publishing nonfiction books, tech books are unique in the publishing world, and there haven't been any guides that tackle the special process that goes into publishing a tech book. This book aims to change that. Rankin has authored and published a dozen books across multiple traditional tech publishers and also through self-publishing. This book distills his experience into an easy-to-follow guide that explains the full book writing and publishing process step-by-step. Topics include vetting ideas, creating an outline, pitching a publisher, writing a draft, editing, formatting, publishing, marketing, and planning future revisions. "I wish that when I had started my journey I had found a book like this one." says Matthew Helmke, Principal Technical Writer at StarTree.ai and the author of many technical books including Ubuntu Linux Unleashed (Pearson, 2021). Table of Contents Part I: Getting Started Chapter 1: The Idea - My First Book Idea - Finding Book Ideas - Which Ideas Work for A Book - Moving Past the Idea Phase Chapter 2: Outline - The Importance of a Good Outline - Writing the Outline Chapter 3: Getting A Publisher - Why You Should Get A Publisher - Choosing A Publisher - Pitching A Publisher - The Book Contract - Self-Publishing - The Next Phase Part II: Writing Chapter 4: The First Draft - Making the Time - Prepare to Write - Write the Draft - Lab Work - Finishing the First Draft Chapter 5: Formatting and Layout - Formatting Style - Publisher Templates - Self-Publishing Templates - Formatting and Layout with LaTeX - Transitioning to Editing Chapter 6: Editing and Finishing Touches - Copy Edit Phase - Tech Edit - Front and Back Material - Final Edits and Page Proof Part III: Publishing Chapter 7: Publishing and Promotion - Publishing with Traditional Publishers - Self-Publishing - Promoting Your Book Chapter 8: Royalties - Royalties, Advances, & Payment Schedule - Your First Royalty Statement - Translations and Reprints Chapter 9: Revisions - Errata - The Second Edition - Your Next Book Appendix A: An Example LaTeX Chapter
Rankin, Kyle: - Kyle Rankin has two decades of professional tech writing experience, and has publishined a dozen books on technology topics. In addition to this book, he is the author of The Best of Hack and /: Linux Admin Crash Course (Lulu, 2023), Linux Hardening in Hostile Networks (Pearson, 2017), DevOps Troubleshooting (Addison-Wesley, 2012), The Official Ubuntu Server Book, Third Edition (Prentice Hall, 2013), Knoppix Hacks, 2nd Edition (O'Reilly, 2007), and Ubuntu Hacks (O'Reilly, 2006), among other books. Rankin was an award-winning columnist and tech editor for Linux Journal, and speaks frequently on Open Source software, including at SCALE, FOSDEM, O'Reilly Security Conference, Linux Fest NorthWest, BSidesLV, CactusCon, OSCON, Linux World Expo, and Penguicon.
