技术写作与文档2022thecodepainter.co.uk编辑精选
为 O'Reilly 写一本书的经历
Writing a book for O'Reilly
导读
作者记录了自己为 O'Reilly 写技术书的完整过程，从选题提案、写作节奏到与编辑协作的细节。对写作者的价值在于：它把"写一本书"拆成可操作的流程，而评论区则补充了出版经济学——传统出版带来信誉，自出版带来更高版税，两者的取舍值得每个想写书的人先算清楚。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
把写书当成一个软件工程项目来管理：为书中的代码和练习自建校验工具，保证全书内容前后一致。
- 02
选出版社之前先算清版税与投入产出比：传统出版 10% 版税换品牌背书，自出版可达 60%–70%，但缺少发行渠道和信誉加成。
- 03
书稿写作可以外包部分环节（校对、排版、封面设计），用几百美元换取时间，把精力集中在内容本身上。
- 04
写书最大的收益未必是直接版税，而是"出过一本书"带来的可信度，它会长尾地转化成咨询、演讲和职业机会。
HN 评论精选
出书真正的回报是可信度和人脉，而非版税；写作要靠工程化方法保证质量。
我写过一本 O'Reilly 的书，出版三年了。几点体会：你不会靠版税直接赚多少钱，但间接收益可观——"出过 O'Reilly 书"带来的可信度不可低估。我想让封面用蜜獾，就去要，还拿比特币蜜獾梗图给编辑看，居然成了。写作过程很磨人：因为书里全是编程练习，我自己写了一套测试工具确保内容一致，感觉更像做一个软件工程项目，而不是写一堆博客。后来我把自己的选题编辑介绍给别人，他们也出了 O'Reilly 的书。我自己买书也没什么折扣，还是走亚马逊。书出版时他们送你一张装裱好的封面照片。
jimmysong查看英文原文
I wrote Programming Bitcoin for O'Reilly and it was published 3 years ago. Some observations: * You won't make that much money directly, but I have probably made a good amount indirectly. The credibility from having published an O'Reilly book is not to be underestimated. * I got the animal I wanted (honey badger) by asking for it. I did justify the ask by showing my editor the Bitcoin honeybadger memes. * The book writing process was a grind. Because my book was so focused on programming exercises, I wrote my own suite of testing tools to make sure everything was consistent. It felt more like a software engineering project than a bunch of blog posts. * I have since introduced more people to my intake editor and they've published their own O'Reilly books. * I don't get much of a discount on my own book. I just buy them through Amazon. * They give you a framed picture of your cover when your book publishes.
10% 的版税低到不该接受，作者应据理力争。
版税只有 10%？认真的吗？这低得离谱，低到让人怀疑"为什么还会有人考虑跟 O'Reilly 出书"。就算他们发行渠道广，10% 也应该出于原则直接拒绝。
wackget查看英文原文
Only 10% royalties? Seriously? Seriously?! That is insanely low. Like, "why would anyone even remotely consider publishing with O'Reilly" low. Even if they have a large audience reach, 10% should be rejected out of principle.
自出版版税高得多，但按时间成本算仍不如做别的；传统出版社则提供催稿压力和流程支持。
两条路我都走了。第一本书我自己从零写起，写了八个月，先用 Markdown 再转 PDF，后来发现 LaTeX 公式支持不好，干脆用 LaTeX 重写。其他环节外包：校对和语法检查约 180 美元，LaTeX 修整和结构调整约 100 美元，封面 100 美元。在亚马逊自出版拿 60% 版税，第一年拿到一万二应该不意外。但按投入的时间算，做别的事回报率更高。现在我在和 Packt 合作另一本，他们主动找上门，版税略高（16%），会催进度，但我至今不知道编辑是谁、什么背景。所以如果你对某个主题有热情且已有读者，自出版更划算。
mlengineerio查看英文原文
I'm doing both. - I published my first book after 8 months of intense writing and editing. I wrote everything from scratch. For the format, I first started with markdown and converted to pdf. I later realized the latex formula is not well supported so I rewrote in Latex. I outsourced other tasks on fiverr: proofreading & grammar checking and editing (about $180), latex touch-up and restructure about $100, book cover $100. I self-published on Amazon and got 60% royalty. It's too early to say but I wouldn't be surprised if I can get 12k for the first year. In terms of time spent, I would probably better off do something else for better ROI. - I'm working on another book with Packt. They contacted me and the royalty is slightly higher (16%). They tend to push authors to meet deadlines etc. I still have no idea who the editors are and their background. So if you're passionate about something and you already have followers, you'd be better off with self-publishing. And here is the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YQWX59Z
自出版现金收入更高，但传统出版的声望在长期商业价值上仍占优势。
我今年在 Gumroad 上自出版了一本讲 Ruby on Rails 的书（其实是个按书的结构组织的 Web 应用），目前到手约 4000 美元。按帖子里提到的版税比例，我猜对大多数人来说自出版的现金收入更高，哪怕像我这样既没名气也没现成渠道。但就算自出版赚得多，我写书的小时收入也远不如拿这些时间接咨询。长期看，传统出版可能更值钱，就因为它带来"出过一本真正的书"的声望——我这本书带来过几个咨询线索，但自出版的书在多数人眼里分量很轻。
dcatx查看英文原文
Interesting to see the process and royalty rates from a big (tech) publisher. I wrote and self-published a book (really a web app structured like a book) on Ruby on Rails to Gumroad earlier this year and so far I have made ~$4,000 after Gumroad's small cut. Based on the royalty rates quoted here, I expect self-publishing is probably going to produce more raw dollars for most people, even those like me with no name recognition or built-in distribution channel for their book. Of course, even with more money in self-publishing, the hourly rate I've made from writing is a small fraction of what I would have made filling that time with consulting work instead. I expect that in the long run, going with a traditional publisher would be more valuable just from the prestige attached to publishing a "real" book rather than going the self-publishing route. I've gotten a few consulting leads from my book, but a self-published book carries very little weight with most folks.
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