出版与作家生涯2021terathon.com编辑精选
所以你想写一本技术书
So you want to write a technical book
导读
本文是给想写技术书的人的一份实务指南：传统出版流程、合同里的坑、以及自出版的实际收益。正文和评论都指向同一个结论——技术书的读者更在意准确性而非文笔，自出版加上免费版本往往比传统合约更划算。值得写作者读，是因为它把"写什么、写给谁、怎么交付"这三件写作前必须想清楚的事，放在了真实的商业语境里。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
先分清你要写的是覆盖整个领域的"主题书"，还是只深入一个点但写得权威彻底的"话题书"：前者可能赚钱，后者主要赚声誉。
- 02
技术书的第一读者群要能在早期真正测试代码、核对正文与代码是否一致、验证步骤是否清晰；这类校对比文字润色更有价值。
- 03
用一个免费的网络版本换取读者规模和真实反馈，再用付费版或增值内容变现，往往比单纯求捐助有效。
- 04
动笔前就明确书的范围与目标读者，范围越清楚，篇幅、结构和你愿意免费给出的部分就越好安排。
HN 评论精选
传统出版合同分成低、付款慢、条款陷阱多，自出版回报更高且校对重点应放在技术准确性上。
传统出版基本是坑：作者说能拿一万美元，但我的大多数书出版商只肯给两千，而且分一两年才付完。他们还会要求"未来所有媒介的全部权利"，90 年代到 2000 年代初签下这条款的人，后来失去了最赚钱的电子书和有声书权利。除非你请得起版权法专业律师，否则别签。自出版方面：排版不是问题（Leanpub 转换很好）；编程书的文字校对用处不大，读者更在意代码能不能跑、正文和代码是否对得上、说明是否清楚，靠一批早期读者把关更有效。最赚钱的渠道是 Leanpub、Gumroad 这类给 80–90% 分成的平台，亚马逊在定价超过 9.99 美元时只给 30%，而多数技术书都得定在这个价位以上。
shantnutiwari查看英文原文
Going via traditional publishing is a fools game. The author says you can get $10,000, but for most my books, publishers would only pay $2000. And even that amount is paid over 1-2 years. And he's right about publishers trying sleazy things. Another thing they may ask for is "All future rights in any medium". So people who signed this clause in 90's/early 2000s lost right of their ebook/audiobooks, which are the most profitable. I would not go with a traditional publisher unless you can afford to hire a lawyer who specialises in copyright law (and not an English lit graduate, which is what most agents are). Self publishing-- from my experience: * Typesetting has never been a problem, but then I write general programming books, and Leanpub handles the conversion really well. * I never found copyediting/proofreading very useful for programming books (though I do use them for my fiction). Readers care more about technical accuracy-- ie, does the code work, does the text and code match. are instructions clear etc. A good set of 1st readers is very useful here. The best way to make money is to sell digital copies via leanpub/gumroad, as these sellers pay 80-90% royalty. Amazon will only pay you 30% if you price your book over $9.99, which let's be honest, most technical books will be. Nathan Barry popularised the formula of selling the book for $39+, and extras for higher pricing, and that works the best.
区分覆盖领域的主題书与深耕一点的话题书，前者求利后者求名，书本身也可以是一份长期的职业广告。
我的书通过 Amazon 自助出版，并且把整本书的源码和制作流程公开在 GitHub 上。因为网上有免费的网页版，书本身赚得很少，但我也说不清因此损失了多少销量。有趣的是 GitHub 的数据能告诉你读者对这本书有多感兴趣：我尚未完成的新书仅凭分析数据就显示出更高的关注度。另一个重要区分是"主题书"和"话题书"：主题书覆盖整个领域，成了能赚不少钱；话题书只钻一个细节，但写得权威彻底，带来的是声誉而非收入。对我来说，乐趣在于研究和写作、以及有人读；职业上我把它当作为自己技能做的广告，我因此拿到了一家大厂的职位，接外包也容易多了。
magicloop查看英文原文
I'm an author of a book also published through Amazon Direct Publishing. I've documented how my book is put together with source code, so if you want to produce something suitable for self-publishing, have a look at: https://github.com/faisalmemon/ios-crash-dump-analysis-book I make very little money on the book itself because I have a free web-based version hosted on GitHub. However, I don't know how many sales I've foregone because of this. Curious thing about it is that the GitHub analytics tells you how interested people are in your book. My in-progress book has much more interest just from the analytics. (The Road to Zero. This book explains how to develop your own zero day vulnerabilities for iOS.) Another thing I think is important is to know the difference between a subject book and a topic book. Subject books provide a wide coverage for a domain. You can make a lot of money if it is a hit. Topic books drill just one detail but authoritatively and comprehensively, so gain you reputation rather than money. For me, the pleasure is in the research and writing of a book, and having people read it. Professionally, I see it as advertising for my skills. I've landed a FANG role as a result and it certainly makes contracting for roles easier.
传统出版存在隐瞒批发折扣的问题，而免费送书这种营销方式对细分技术书更有效。
传统出版的猫腻让人震惊，尤其是"高折扣"那一条：很多书商（包括亚马逊）的标准批发折扣是 55%，而出版商当面跟我撒了谎。我一开始就选自出版，因为我写的是 100 页左右的细分领域编程书。我的主要营销策略是经常免费送书，效果比请求打赏好得多。
asicsp查看英文原文
Gotchas with traditional publishing is shocking, especially the "Deep discounts" part. >It turns out that a 55% discount was the standard wholesale rate for many booksellers, including Amazon. The publisher lied straight to my face. I started with self publishing since I was writing 100 page niche programming books. My main marketing startegy is giving away books for free often, which turned out to be more effective than asking for donations.
随意付费的自出版既能扩大读者规模，也能带来收入与反馈，胜过传统出版商的预付加分成条件。
我在 Leanpub 上用"随意付费"模式出版了一本 Go 书和一本 Python 书。比起顶级出版商给我的条件，这种方式带来的收入和满足感都高得多，流量也来自自然搜索和 Reddit 发帖。那家出版商只肯给 4 万卢比预付，再加卖出一千册后的分成。对比之下，我的 Go 书有几千人下载，多数是免费下载，也有人付了钱，是双赢。有几千人下载我的书，对我来说意义重大，还收到过几封很好的邮件反馈。所以整体上我很喜欢自出版这种方式。
thewhitetulip查看英文原文
I've published a book on Go and one on Python on Leanpub with the "pay whatever you want model" I got much more money + satisfaction via this and organic traffic + reddit posting than what a top publisher was going to give me for a book They were going to give me 40k INR as upfront deposit and then some % on 1000 copies sold Contrast that with Leanpub, 1000s have downloaded my Go book, most of them have for free, while some have paid. Win-win. It is a big deal for me that 1000s have downloaded my book! Have received good feedback on email too from few. So overall, I love self publishing for technical publishing!
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