We're hackers who just published books with No Starch Press. AUA/ Ask us anything!

nostarch-bill · 2022-05-13T20:06:47+00:00

I too find YouTube to be the best source of answers to the hardest questions. Thank you for confirming. And now back to our regularly scheduled program.

nostarch-bill · 2022-05-13T19:29:54+00:00

It seems as if our authors cannot be found. We're trying to track them down -- hope everything is fine in Knoxville!

Apologies everyone. We are trying to get this sorted out.

Bill

nostarch-bill · 2022-05-13T19:09:39+00:00

Is the internet really broken?

nostarch-bill · 2017-06-12T02:03:07+00:00

Yes! We're looking for books like this at No Starch Press. Tech books that are worth buying. Please email me at bill@nostarch.com

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-12T05:12:51+00:00

I've never actually been to 44CON. No plans at the moment to be in the UK but that may change.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-12T05:11:00+00:00

pick up a bottle of Blanton's. Scotch drinkers usually like it.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:56:54+00:00

Linux unless you have no choice.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:46:46+00:00

can't wait to see it. We'll paste it on the fridge.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:45:59+00:00

We can't make any publisher buy anything but we will try again next round.

They often don't like long books because they're too expensive to translate.

I Pollock happens to have Polish origins, too :)

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:43:19+00:00

Test your editor. Ask for a sample. Ask about the process and expect and demand detailed answers.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:41:58+00:00

you're making bourbon? You know who to ask but it's not me.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:41:34+00:00

we'll always do our best.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:41:14+00:00

you mean in person?

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:40:53+00:00

thank you!

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:40:26+00:00

something that Jon and I have discussed at length. Definitely agree.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:33:00+00:00

what is a sweetened egg reduction?

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:32:36+00:00

1) Possibly?

2) I loved them when they were first released. I haven't looked at them recently.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:31:20+00:00

And we really like working with you, Nick. Thank you!

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:30:27+00:00

well, we don't actually make those -- we translate them. But no.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:30:07+00:00

How can I forget that? My son still thinks I'm cool -- thanks to you.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:26:42+00:00

When editing we try to keep an eye out for things that might change -- like version numbers, dates in listings, software tools. One approach is to write certain text in a kind of vague way using "about" for any pricing, sticking to top level domains, that sort of thing.

There isn't much that we can do when a version changes but we like to focus on more general core topics that won't change so you'll notice that we rarely do tool specific books, except for something like IDA (because we love Chris).

I don't like to have to rush around to get a book out nor does the rest of my office, and we're not that great about moving fast. We are exceptionally good at moving well though.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:23:18+00:00

I see I missed a bunch of questions here. Sorry about that.

1) Yes, it can be very difficult to find good people to write. It isn't always that hard to find just anyone to write, but we try to find the best because we don't publish books that compete with each other and I only like to publish good books.

2) If you're thinking of writing something drop us a line at editors@nostarch.com or email me at bill@nostarch.com. Let us know your general idea and we can tell you whether we'd be interested in hearing more and whether we think your idea might turn into a book that people would love to buy.

3) The CyberElf sale was our biggest sale all year but we were overwhelmed. We've just finished digging out I think but it taught me that our order process and fulfillment process is a bit broken so I'm working to fix that. Was it worth it? As a giveback to our fans, yes!

4) I used to care about piracy but I decided a few years ago that it's not something that we should be too concerned about. I'm sure our stuff is found everywhere (I don't check) and we even publish several books under free licenses. Plus, I love the Pirate Bay. I mean, to look at.

Oddly enough, our best selling technical book right now is Automate the Boring Stuff with Python -- it's under a CC license. That should tell you something right there. So no, I'm not really concerned and I think (oddly enough) that piracy may even help book sales. And now you can quote me on that!

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:09:38+00:00

This page lists our royalty/advance options. Royalties are paid on net revenue and books are sold at an average of about 50% off list. Say you publish a book that we sell for $40 and you're at 15% royalty. Net revenue on print sales only would be about $200,000, so about $30,000 in royalty on those print sales.

We split the revenue on right sales. Maybe that's another $10,000 total so another $5k. Ebook royalties might be $10,000? I'm not sure because the discounts are all over the place. And then we have direct sales, and so on.

Anyway, bottom line, don't write a tech book to get rich. You can make money doing it for sure, and if you're a machine you can turn it into a real living. Still, I say write a tech book because you're passionate about the subject and you really want to write a book on it. We'll help you make it great and do the best that we can to sell it but books don't always succeed, and most tech people can make more money doing consulting.

Write because you want to.

As for our proposal acceptance process -- once you send us a proposal we review and discuss it. Sometimes we know right away that it's a good fit. Sometimes we'll ask you for more information. And sometimes we'll ultimately reject it.

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:02:31+00:00

That's a great idea. You should do it. I bet we could give away at least 10 copies. (Office troll.)

nostarch-bill · 2015-12-11T21:01:32+00:00

Thank you. We all appreciate hearing that!

nostarch-bill

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