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HOW TO WRITE A BOOK THE JOURNEY OF TECHNICAL WRITING FROM BLOGGER TO AUTHOR

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1. WRITE FOR YOURSELF 2. WRITE FOR OTHERS 3. WRITE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT

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WRITE FOR YOURSELF In the beginning...

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Oct 31, 2001 FIRST

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BLOGGING Pick a topic.

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BLOGGING You will become known for what you write about.

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BLOGGING You can change your topic at any time.

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BLOGGING Be first. Or second. Or third.

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BLOGGING It doesn’t matter if someone else has done it before.

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You’re going to suck

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July 1, 2003 SUCK

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BLOGGING An opportunity to practice writing.

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BLOGGING An opportunity to validate an idea.

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BLOGGING An opportunity to explore a concept.

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BLOGGING Chunk your writing. Use headings. Use bullet points. Use pictures. Use code examples.

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BLOGGING Don’t expect overnight success.

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Apr 25, 2005 SUCCESS

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PROMOTION Tweet Facebook Google+

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“I wrote something that might interest you.”

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PROMOTION Don’t harrass others for promotion.

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PROMOTION Put it out there and let people share it for you.

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PROMOTION Establish your personal brand and own it.

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WRITE FOR OTHERS Expand your visibility.

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WRITE FOR OTHERS Expand your visibility.

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ONLINE MAGAZINES Like blogging Low barrier to entry Some sites even pay Establish links back to your site

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ONLINE MAGAZINES Sitepoint A List Apart Smashing Magazine Tuts+

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PRINT MAGAZINES .net magazine

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WRITE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT “I’m an author.”

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WRITING IS HARD You’ll severely underestimate the amount of research required.

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WRITING IS HARD Expect a year.

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PRINT Get a publisher. Self-publish.

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PRINT Sitepoint

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PRINT Apress

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PUBLISHER BENEFITS Distribution Advance royalties Credibility Shelf space in bookstores

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PUBLISHER BENEFITS Editors Tech reviewers Handle printing Handle book layout

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SELF-PUBLISH Snook Printing Co.

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SELF-PUBLISH BENEFITS Money. Money. Money. Take a Chance on Me Fernando Dancing Queen

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WRITING THE BOOK Word (to your mother) DocBook Latex HTML

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WHAT I DID PDF ePub mobi Web

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HTML PDF ePub mobi Web

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BUT? PDF ePub mobi Web

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PRINCE XML Command line interface Converts HTML and CSS Supports Paged Media Supports font-face embedding

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PRINCE XML Expensive. $495.

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HTML-BASED PDF ePub mobi Web

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DISTRIBUTION Amazon iBookstore Barnes & Noble PragProg LeanPub O’Reilly

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OPEN A STORE ON SHOPIFY!

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OPEN A STORE ON SHOPIFY!

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THANK YOU. Twitter: @snookca Web: snook.ca