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Steven Lyle Jordan · 11-22-2009, 08:21 AM

Okay, here's the situation: My parents went away on a week's vacation, and...

Oh, wait. Wrong situation. Let's do this one:

For those of you who are not aware, I was inspired by my recent attention on the NYT and other blogs and e-book interested parties to write a book on the historical background of e-book development, from my perspective as a tech-head whose career and hobbies have moved parallel with the e-book industry for years (IOW, not a facts-and-footnotes reference, but personal observations).

The book is entitled: "Why Is This Hill So Steep? (subtitle) E-books: The simple idea, sensible concept and understandable product that took twenty years to pull off." It's a modest 55,000 words.

Here's where I need advice: I'm trying to figure out the best way to put this book out. Although my wife thinks I should charge for the book, using a price more in line with reference books ($5-10, given that it's an e-book and not printed), I'm not so sure about the price... or even charging at all. Part of me considers this might be good to use as a free product, spreading my name further afield, and drawing potential customers to my books. The "charge it!" part of me thinks even $5 is pushing it for a 55,000 word book.

So: Any thoughts from the corner? Your perspectives?

11-22-2009, 08:21 AM	#1
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Seeking advice: My reference book Okay, here's the situation: My parents went away on a week's vacation, and... Oh, wait. Wrong situation. Let's do this one: For those of you who are not aware, I was inspired by my recent attention on the NYT and other blogs and e-book interested parties to write a book on the historical background of e-book development, from my perspective as a tech-head whose career and hobbies have moved parallel with the e-book industry for years (IOW, not a facts-and-footnotes reference, but personal observations). The book is entitled: "Why Is This Hill So Steep? (subtitle) E-books: The simple idea, sensible concept and understandable product that took twenty years to pull off." It's a modest 55,000 words. Here's where I need advice: I'm trying to figure out the best way to put this book out. Although my wife thinks I should charge for the book, using a price more in line with reference books ($5-10, given that it's an e-book and not printed), I'm not so sure about the price... or even charging at all. Part of me considers this might be good to use as a free product, spreading my name further afield, and drawing potential customers to my books. The "charge it!" part of me thinks even $5 is pushing it for a 55,000 word book. So: Any thoughts from the corner? Your perspectives?