Developments related to The TCP/IP Guide

[ixl]

Hi all..

I have greatly appreciated the time and encouragement you all have provided me with. I wanted to share with you a couple of recent developments and get some feedback from you if possible.

First, it is now nearly certain that The TCP/IP Guide will be published in print form, perhaps as early as this summer. I have nearly reached agreement with a publisher who has been after to me to publish something for years.

This print copy of the book will probably be what is used mostly in the academic market, and will hopefully address some of the copying concerns. I will still be selling in PDF as well.

Due in part to this development, I am strongly considering putting the whole text of the TCP/IP Guide online in HTML form for free (with ads) -- just like the PC Guide. I originally did not want to do this, but I don't think this product will work as a straight "for sale" product. This is especially so if people will be able to buy it in book form.

My hope is that by putting it online for free I can generate some income from ads (even if it is modest). More importantly, I hope that people will see the text when it gets linked from other sites and gets indexed by Google, and they will then be more likely to buy the book.

Curious what anyone thinks about either of these ideas.

Thanks again, don't know what I would do without you folks.

Charles

[Steve]

Charles,

The TCP/IP Guide is, as you already know, very good. Your idea to sell it as a book, both online and in print makes sense. Why the switch? I think putting it online for free might kill the incentive to buy the product.

If you think the revenue from advertising will bring more income than book sales, then it makes sense. But you tried to do that with the PCGuide and I thought you were disappointed with the results. I would give your original idea a chance. It's only been two weeks. With the addition of a print version, I'd give it some time. Patience, my good man.

[Budfred]

I think it might be a good idea. Not too many people are going to want to print more than 1500 pages on their printer since the book would be cheaper than the cost of printing anyway... This would keep the number of people who really want the info handy less inclined to simply swipe it off of the web. If the book is sold with a CD that includes the hyperlinks, it is added value and may sell better.

I have another question for you related in some ways. I am thinking it is time for me to put in another contribution since it seems like it has been a year or so since I did. I was thinking I might buy the access to The TCP/IP Guide in lieu of a simple donation, but only because I thought that might help boost your sale numbers. I am too much a novice to benefit from anything other than the intro parts anyway. Which would be more financially healthy for you. A donation or a sale??

[Whyzman]

Originally posted by ixl
This print copy of the book will probably be what is used mostly in the academic marketI suspect that unlike the PC Guide which lends itself to a more general audience, the very specialized nature of this work will also narrow the audience.

Focusing on the academic market would certainly seem apropos as you point out. So, how does the academic market you're persuing best consume this type of information?

[Abbadon]

Originally posted by ixl
First, it is now nearly certain that The TCP/IP Guide will be published in print form, perhaps as early as this summer. I have nearly reached agreement with a publisher who has been after to me to publish something for years.

Bringing out the book in print certainly seems like a good idea. Since it's such a long read, I think many people still prefer paper of screen. They lose the hyperlink convenience, but they gain the possibility to scrible notes in the margin and use highlighters. (you can always make a "deluxe" version which includes the cd btw).


As to putting it online, I'm not sure. It will certainly remove the incentive to buy for a lot of people. Maybe you should just put the basic, introductory stuff online (which could still be many hundreds of pages). When people read that and they want to dig in deeper, they can buy the complete guide (the first one is always free ;) )

[deddard]

I think that a free full online guide wouldn't be a good idea, but rather use the same format as many other technical publications, and extend what you have already done - sample chapters.
The other possibility is a subscription section of the forum - perhaps ask £10 annually (or the equivalent) to access the full text. This will allow technical users to have a good look at the text, whilst still making purchase of the hard-copy worthwhile; as printing 1500 pages on a home printer is a bit too much!
Perhaps you could get your publisher to cover the cost of the website (or the section devoted to the guide) - links to their other publications as advertising should pay it's way.

Another thing may be to split the hardcopy book into 2 sections, so that each is more affordable, and many CCNA, MCSE students will be able and willing to purchase it.

[Abbadon]

Originally posted by deddard
The other possibility is a subscription section of the forum - perhaps ask £10 annually (or the equivalent) to access the full text.

It would also have the benefit of always beeing up to date when changes to the guide are made.

The need for a printed version is rather obvious by the way, as the online version will not be available when you're trying to figure out why your internet isn't working :)

[ixl]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

For now, I will be shelving the idea of putting the material online in HTML. I agree that I should give this more time and explore a few more possibilities first. The idea of putting up a complete sample chapter might be a good one. I need to explore that further.

Budfred: Your generosity is greatly appreciated -- but it is folks like you that make these forums what they are. You already contribute tremendous amounts of time and energy, and you really need not also contribute financially.

I'm grateful to all of you fine folks.

c

[karatekid3d]

Putting it in print format is defiently a good idea, just like others have said people still seem to prefer the "traditional" book. I also don't think that offering the whole guide for free online is a good idea, at least not until the book is up and going and even then maybe just a chapter or something. However, remember too that there a good ammount of people who try to study for tech certifications on their own, and would benifit from your guide greatly. I know when I go to a book store such as Boarders I always end up reading a tech book for about 5 minutes or so...and if it's good enough I'll buy it. I think that one of the biggest bennifits of having it in print form is that the book is right there staring back at them, and they have the opprunity to read whatever parts they want and (like me) will usually end up buying it. On the contrary those same people would have to activley search online in order to find your guide, as opposed to just seeing it in a book store.

Please don't take what I'm saying the wrong way, it is a great guide and there is no doubt about that. I just think that publishing it as a book would sell more since putting something in print form adds a certain level of quality and reliability to the material in many people's eyes.

[ixl]

Oh, you are 100% correct, Karate... no doubt about it. Even those who have been published have told me that once they have anything in print, even stuff of theirs that is not printed is better received. Thanks.

c