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Do-it-yourself textbook publishing

Published: 28 January 2015 Publication History

Abstract

Comparing experiences publishing textbooks using traditional publishers and do-it-yourself methods.

References

[1]
Arpaci-Dusseau, R. The case for free online books (FOBs): Experiences with Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces; http://from-a-to-remzi.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-case-for-free-online-books-fobs.html.
[2]
Hennessy, J. and Patterson, D. Computer Architecture, 5th Edition: A Quantitative Approach, 2012.
[3]
Patterson, D. and Hennessy, J. Computer Organization and Design 5th Edition: The Hardware/Software Interface, 2014.

Cited By

View all
  • (2019)New Intermediaries: Extra-territorial PlatformsThe Digital Era 210.1002/9781119468967.ch3(55-76)Online publication date: 22-Jan-2019
  • (2018)Analysis of Bundling Homogeneous Content Product in Different FormatsInternational Journal of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management10.4018/IJISSCM.201810010411:4(63-83)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2018

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Reviews

Richard John Botting

Professors should read this short article, but beware of the hidden agenda! It is based on experiences with both traditional and do-it-yourself textbook publishing for profit. Previously, one author coauthored a traditional text on operating systems. Recently, the authors collaborated to produce and self-publish a fully buzz-phrase-compliant software engineering textbook. They used LaTeX and Amazon. They hired freelance professionals for specialized services such as graphics and indexing. They claim that buyer ratings give it higher scores than the rival texts. It cost them $12,000 and their royalties are roughly $5 per copy. So they need to sell more than 2,000 copies to break even. They must do this without the sales force and advertising provided by traditional publishers. Perhaps this article will help sell copies. Their comparison of traditional publishing versus self-publishing matches my experience. They highlight the ability to rapidly keep the text up-to-date at a low cost, but do not mention the advances publishers offer authors to develop a text. They also dismiss free/open-source solutions. Using the web, at zero cost to me and my students, I replaced an expensive text with a searchable hypertext in one of my classes. It was preferred by my students to traditional textbooks. I'd like to see a study comparing all of the options in terms of student outcomes. Online Computing Reviews Service

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Published In

cover image Communications of the ACM
Communications of the ACM  Volume 58, Issue 2
February 2015
84 pages
ISSN:0001-0782
EISSN:1557-7317
DOI:10.1145/2728770
  • Editor:
  • Moshe Y. Vardi
Issue’s Table of Contents
Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 28 January 2015
Published in CACM Volume 58, Issue 2

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Cited By

View all
  • (2019)New Intermediaries: Extra-territorial PlatformsThe Digital Era 210.1002/9781119468967.ch3(55-76)Online publication date: 22-Jan-2019
  • (2018)Analysis of Bundling Homogeneous Content Product in Different FormatsInternational Journal of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management10.4018/IJISSCM.201810010411:4(63-83)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2018

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