>I suppose that is one of the reasons that the author was writing books
>instead of code for a living. ;)
>
The computer book business pays poorly, and pay has *dropped* in the
last decade. Hardly anyone can write programming books "for a living."
Most of them are written as resume-boosters, to enhance the author's
credibility as a consultant or by academics for whom book-writing is
part of the job.
The average computer book -- even a 1000 page monster -- is only worth a
$5000 - $10,000 avance to most publishers, and that advance is probably
all the money the author will ever see for his or her book-writing labor.
Publishers claim, rightly, that the author is only a small part of a
book's cost. And never forget that a retailer gets 40% or 50% of the
cover price -- and that the retailer can return unsold books to the
publisher for full credit after a negotiated period, usually one year.
The book publishing industry's current business model is sick, and
serves both authors and readers poorly. I'm part of a SEKRIT CABAL
working on ways to bypass it and make better books faster/cheaper, but
it's going to take a little time to implement our ideas. Please be patient.
- Robin
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