So, writing is pretty egoless for me. I suppose if I were treated like a rock star, got the hot babes, and made money like Kid Rock it might be harder to remain humble but that’s not really what happens. What happens to me is I get to ride a Segway at TechEd, I have to bribe Batgirl to take a photo with me and the book, and the Microsoft teletubbies come to the booth for free. (It was pretty funny to hear their chaperone keep telling Visual Studio to hurry up.) Thus, I write pretty much because I am slightly twisted, have few social skills, and enjoy working evenings and weekends. But, sometimes I can have a little fun with it too.
Here is basically how writing a book works in general: I pitch an idea to a publisher in the form of a proposal and outline. The publisher chooses to buy it, many painstaking months later—after learning as much as humanly possible about the subject—a book shows up on Amazon, on the publisher’s website, and in your local bookstore.
If you haven’t heard I am—working in collaboration with many smart people at Developer Express—writing a book, Professional DevExpress ASP.NET Controls (see Wiley’s website for details.) This book is a little different. No, it's still painstaking and requires weekends and evenings and I have to learn a lot of stuff, but Developer Express is collaborating with Wrox to bring our customers the book. In short, we are writing it for a very specific audience.
Here is the Fun Part: See Your Name in Print
The book will be ready for PDC 2009. This means I have to finish up very quickly. However, because Developer Express customers (existing and new) are our desirable primary customers, I’d like to give you a chance to see your name in print. I will be perusing our forums and looking at blog feedback. If I see a problem that Developer Express (or I directly) can help you solve and it fits into the book—Developer Express ASP.NET controls and related topics—then I will attempt to incorporate it into the book.
The caveats: 1) I will be sending you an email to ask permission to acknowledge you in the front of the book and you have to respond quickly, 2) I can’t use your code or text directly, books pretty much need to be original material or a lot of legal documents are required, 3) you won’t get paid (sorry) and 4) I will add as many names as the publisher and time allows. So if you want to play along then get cranking on feedback and questions and see your name in print. Add a note—I WANT TO SEE MY NAME IN PRINT—to your feedback and I will do my part.
Finally, since I am writing this on a Sunday night the legal department may put the kibosh on the whole thing in the morning. Sometimes that happens: writers write things and lawyers say don’t do that.