You might have a specific book that you want to either emulate in some way or beat at its own game.  This is quite normal as it gives you a baseline.  When you submit a formal book proposal to a publisher then they will expect you to properly research your competition and know what it is they do and how your book will do everything in a more effective way.

You might think it’s extremely difficult if not impossible to find out how well your competitors books are selling, but it’s surprisingly easy.  The website Titlez will allow you to search for specific book types on Amazon, and it will show you their ranking among other information.  You can use this information to see which are the best-selling books so you can measure what you’re doing against them (as obviously these titles will be doing something right!)

Looking at the best-selling comparative titles, which will be Windows 7 books, you will be able to see the types of topics they are covering and how they are doing it.  Visiting the Amazon page for a book will probably allow you to view some pages, and usually the table of contents, so you can evaluate their content.  Don’t ape another book however, you’ll get into copyright issues there, but you may want to go in a completely different direction if you think they’re doing something wrong.

Another tip is to read reviews of these books to see how people are either praising or criticising them.  Some books are highly praised but others, including some best-selling titles also receive a great deal of criticism from the public.  You can learn from these comments how the books are failing and how you can improve on them.

If you want to sell your book, rather than give it away there are many services that you can publish it through.  You can do it through the new iBooks author portal, though currently Apple’s terms create a lock-in that mean you can’t also sell your book anywhere else.  You can also use an independent site like Lulu which is has a great reputation and is the service I self-published my Windows 7 Power Users Guide through, or you can publish directly with Amazon which you may think is your best option given that when people think of books they think of Amazon.

Wherever you publish, try and make sure that you choose an option that gives you an ISBN number.  This may incur a small cost but it does mean that you will be allowed to sell your book on many online stores.  Amazon for example now insist on your book having its own ISBN number in order to qualify for sale.

Research is everything if you want to make your book successful.  Never assume though that self-publishing a Windows book will you rich, it won’t.  If you give away a free eBook though the prospect of getting tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of downloads is quite realistic.  Since making my Windows 7 Power Users Guide free the downloads are well into the high six figures.  It is this success that you can shout about to publishers and that will help add weight and credibility to any approaches you make for a full book deal.

I have been turning the idea in my head on writing a Windows 8 Book and aside from writing the book I have no idea where to go from there. You would think with all the information you can find on the internet, you would find everything you need. Lately though, the overabundance of information has actually become an issue, leaving me with alot of information but nothing that really helps.

This is a very good point, that many people who would want to write a Windows 8 book might not have a clue where to start.  I thought then that I’d follow up yesterday’s article with a guide to doing exactly that and getting started writing.

Audience

The first and most important decision to make, as it will influence everything else, is who your intended audience will be.  Who it is you’re writing the book for will determine what type of language you use, the types of images and annotations you use, and how many, and how long and detailed the book might turn out to be.

For example, if you want to write for complete beginners, perhaps something for family and friends and people you provide tech support for, then the tone would be warm and friendly, with an absence of jargon and with every technical word you must use clearly explained at the time.  You will probably want to use a lot of colourful screenshots, with many annotations so that it is very clear to readers what they’re looking at.  You would also want to use a fair few numbered and step by step guides that will help people perform tasks.  Lastly the content for this audience will largely fall around using the new Metro interface, downloading and installing apps and keeping things ticking over easily and quickly.  After all, people in this category simply don’t want to hear anything about installing Windows or the Control Panel, it’s just too complex for many of them.

We move on from there with more business-centric users, perhaps people in your workplace more interested in how to keep working on the desktop and what new productivity and power-saving features are available for them.  Enthusiasts will want to know how to install Windows 8 in different ways and how to configure it, with little in-depth hints and tips to help them get the best from it, and so on.

Size and Content

Now that you’ve determined who your audience will be you need to decide how big the book will be and what the content will be.  A book for newbies would be relatively short, perhaps between 50 and 100 pages, while one for business users might not be much longer and one for enthusiasts might run to 200 or even 400 pages.  It’s important when writing for the first time, especially when you have all your formatting, page layout and editing to do as well not to set yourself a goal that’s too high.  I found 170 pages when writing the Windows 7 Power Users Guide gruelling while also holding down a full time job.  By the time I wrote the 500 page Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out I was down to working only two days a week and writing the rest of the time.  There simply was no other way to do it.

With your page count in mind you should set about writing a draft table of contents, making sure that the page count is foremost in your mind all the time.  Think about how many paragraphs or pages it will take to decribe or walk people through specific subjects and use this as a basis for getting the content to fit your book.

Production

It’s common to write a book in Microsoft Word, after all it’s a writing tool, but Word and other word processors can be limiting in the page formatting they allow you to do.  I used Microsoft Publisher to write the Windows 7 Power Users Guide after quickly realising that I couldn’t do something “visually appealing” enough in Word.  Using a desktop publishing package does present its own challenges with text run on from one page to another difficult among other problems.  Using DTP software though can make for a much more engaging book.  All that said there’s nothing wrong with using Word and some of the advanced layout and imaging tools available can make for very eye-catching designs.  The layout and design can be a slow process to get right however and on the Windows 7 Power Users Guide probably one-third of the three months it took me to write was spent getting the formatting correct.

One very important part though will be the option to either export of print your file as a PDF.  There are many free PDF writers out there, some of which will also export as other eBook formats, but having written your book you’ll want people to be able to read it in a non-editable format.

This is a short and probably simplistic way to look at how you can start writing your book.  It all comes from the planning, and that is why this article has focused so much on that.  Spend time getting your table of contents, page layout, design and voice correct and the rest will fall into place reasonably naturally afterwards.  So good luck and let us know here at gHacks if you release a Windows 8 book on the Internet.

Getting a book contract at this point proved pointless, though I did try.  I hadn’t proved myself so eventually in 2008 I decided that self-publishing would be the way forward.  Thus in January 2009 when the Windows 7 beta appeared I began designing page layouts, insert graphics and a draft table of contents for what would be my “Windows 7 Power Users Guide“.  I went through several drafts and designs when writing the first three chapters but eventually found my stride and on August bank holiday, shortly before Windows 7 was released to manufacturing, I released my new eBook and paperback for sale.

As a way of making money they were never going to be the route to my next foreign holiday, and the eBook was made free a year later.  As a 170 page book however I felt that perhaps I could use it to prove my mettle and began contacting publishers through the submission links for new authors on their websites.

There were a few knock back emails I received, and some emails went unanswered but eventually a nibble came in the form of an email from a senior editor at Microsoft Press.  They were looking for someone to write a Windows 7 Troubleshooting book and wanted to know if I was interested.  Two months later the contract was signed and “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” was published in October 2010, one year after the release of Windows 7.

Since then I’ve been able to better enjoy the fruits of my labour.  I was given a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable professional) award in the Windows Expert category in January 2011 and this was recently renewed for a second year.  I’ve also spent the last year receiving review hardware from companies including Samsung, ASUS, Nokia and HTC and have had a great many Windows Phones, laptops and more through my door to play with (a very pleasant perk of the job).

Now my Power Users Guide has been formally picked up by US publisher APress and the “Windows 8 Power Users Guide” is scheduled for release this year to coincide with general availability for Windows 8 itself.  I’m also working on an eBook project for Microsoft Press’ parent company O’Reilly for whom I am continuing to run a monthly series of help and how-to webcasts.  In addition I was last year signed by a new publisher, co-founded by the man responsible for making the Dummies books popular, and where Ed Bott is now Editorial Director, and my first eBook for them “Need2Know Office 365 Security Essentials” was released last November.

In short the last three years have been amazing (though very hard work too) and I thought I’d throw down the gauntlet and encourage you to get here too, after all, if I can do it anybody can!  Have you ever wanted a book contract of your own?  Do you want to write about Windows 8 or perhaps the next version of Microsoft Office?  If you do then now is the time to start planning as the public beta for Windows 8 will begin at the end of February.

Writing a book, even one as small as 170 pages (I know, it sounds ridiculous to me too) isn’t easy, doubly so if you’ve never done it before.  It will monopolise your time and you can expect to spend three months writing it in your spare time.  If you have a book about Windows 8 in you though I strongly encourage you to write it.  After all, you never know what opportunities it might open up for you.  The rewards can be unexpected and very welcome, and the feeling you get from helping people is worth it on its own.  ;)  I’d love to read your Windows 8 books later this year and see your particular spins on the format.  Good luck all.

“iSteve: The Book of Jobs” from Walter Isaacson marks the first time that Jobs has authorised an official account of his life to be written, and it will make an extremely interesting read indeed.

Born in 1955 in San Francisco he founded Apple Computer in 1976 but has done much more with his life than just give the world the iPhone.  His life has been traumatic at times including a high-profile power struggle at Apple that saw him leave the company in 1985 and that gave birth to NeXT computer.  This was Jobs in typical Jobs fashion taking a great idea, in this case the Apple Lisa and refining it for the next generation.

When Jobs eventually returned to a flagging Apple almost ten years later, he brought all the NeXT innovation with him.  His vision for a computer in every home took a very different approach from that of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.  Jobs saw the need for great design to be integral to the product and when the iMac launched in 1998 it received universal acclaim and saw Apple and Jobs projected into the stratosphere.  There was no looking back for the company after this time.

His business interests didn’t just extend to Apple however.  In 1986 he bought a computer graphics company that was later to be known as Pixar from Lucasfilm for a tiny $10 million.  By the time Pixar was owned by Disney it had become the most well known and successful movie graphics company of all time, surpassing LucasFilm’s own Industrial Light and Magic.  Pixar was and still is, as Apple is today, a household name.

In his personal life he has most notably battled with pancreatic cancer and has had to take two sabatticals from Apple, one ongoing now, for health reasons.  This has prompted great speculation and concern over who could possibly take over at Apple to fulfill Jobs’ vision and keep the company’s products maintaining the high standards that Jobs has insisted upon.

Jobs has had a notoriously aggressive and demanding management style and is famously outspoken, allegadly telling an iPhone 4 user who was having signal problems “not to hold it that way then”.  There can be little doubt however that Steve Jobs is one of, if not the most successful CEO of any computer startup.  He was most recently honoured by having an action-figure made of him.

Biographer Walter Isaacson is a former executive at CNN and Time magazine and has written best-sellers about Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein.  In a press statement the publisher of Simon & Schuster, Johnathan Karp said “This is the perfect match of subject and author, and it is certain to be a landmark book about one of the world’s greatest innovators.”

Here at gHacks we’ve got a copy of HTML5 Step by Step by Microsoft Press to give away.  It doesn’t just cover HTML5 commands too, if you’re new to either HTML or CSS it will guide you through what you need to know to create engaging and interactive web pages.

Teach yourself how to create Web pages with the HTML5 specification—one step at a time. This book provides hands-on guidance for using HTML5 markup to add video, offline capabilities, 2-D graphics, and more to your Web pages—without relying on plug-ins or other technologies.

Experience learning made easy—and quickly teach yourself how to create Web pages with the HTML5 specification. With Step by Step, you set the pace—building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them!

• Use a division-based layout to structure your Web pages
• Include menu bars and hyperlinks for clear navigation
• Apply colors, font sizes, and other formatting with CSS
• Add graphics, sound, and video to your pages
• Use the Canvas tag to render visual images on the fly
• Build user-input forms with buttons, boxes, and menus

Your Step by Step digital content includes:

• All the book’s practice files—ready to download and put to work. See "Using the Practice Files," inside.
• Fully searchable online edition of this book—with unlimited access on the Web. Free online account required; see inside book.

This is a simple competition too, all you need to do is the following.

• Follow @Mike_Halsey on Twitter and Tweet about this competition
• Don’t Tweet? You can also enter by following Mike on Facebook and putting a link to the competition there.

You can enter as many times as you like as long as you don’t spam people.

This competition will run until the end of Friday 25th February 2011 and the winner will be notifed by private message on Twitter or Facebook by Wednesday 2nd March 2011. Please allow 28 days (or so) for delivery of the paperback book. If you are the winner you will need to be able to provide your full mailing address (PO Boxes can’t be accepted, sorry).

Good luck to all, but there can only be one winner!

The ultimate, in-depth reference for troubleshooting Windows 7 — from the inside out! This supremely organized book delivers hundreds of prevention tips, troubleshooting techniques, and recovery tools, with a companion ebook and additional content online.

You’re beyond the basics, so dive right into troubleshooting Windows 7 — and really put your PC to work! This supremely organized reference describes hundreds of prevention tips, troubleshooting techniques, and recovery tools in one essential guide. It’s all muscle and no fluff. Discover how the experts keep their Windows 7-based systems running smoothly — and challenge yourself to new levels of mastery.

• Take control of essential Windows 7 maintenance and security features, such as the Action Center and User Account Control
• Master quick fixes to the most common problems using expert tips and step-by-step repair guides
• Implement best practices to help prevent and combat viruses, malware, and identity theft
• Apply advanced troubleshooting techniques by understanding how Windows 7 works
• Diagnose hardware problems and work safely with your PC
• Develop a recovery plan to restore your system and data in the event of a disaster
• Know when to use power utilities for advanced performance, maintenance, and diagnostics

You can enter as many times as you like as long as you don’t spam people.

This competition will run until the end of Tuesday 25th January 2011 and the winner will be notifed by private message on Twitter or Facebook by Thursday 27th January 2011.  Please allow 28 days (or so) for delivery of the paperback book.  If you are the winner you will need to be able to provide your full mailing address (PO Boxes can’t be accepted, sorry).

Good luck to all, but there can only be one winner!

What Should I Read Next is an online service that can suggest new books to read from a single book title entered into the form on the service’s website. The book recommendation service works with book titles and ISBN.

If the book title is not precise enough a list of possible matches is displayed of which one needs to be selected by the user of the recommendation service.

This will then lead to the loading of the result’s page that lists book authors and titles that are related to the book entered.

It is obviously difficulty to judge a book by its author and title alone. The service links to the book’s pages at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk where the site visitor can get additional information about the selected book. This is without doubt linked to an Amazon affiliate account.

It would have been nice of the service would provide a short description of each title in the results which would make the selection process easier.

The results are not always that related. If you search for the Holy Bible for instance you are presented with results that include stories by Edgar Allan Por or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which are not related to the search.

What Should I Read Next might still be an interesting service for some users who have enough time to look through the result’s listing.

A similar service is Taste Kid which is not limited to books but provides recommendations for music and movies as well.

Taste Kid (via Genbeta) concentrates on books, movies and music which is something that I have not seen that often yet. Normally it’s only one of the three and not all of them. The website consists of a form where the user can enter something that he likes that relates to books, music or movies. This can be an artist or a name of a product.

Taste Kid will then pull data from the database and display recommendations based on the user’s input. If you enter 24 (the TV series) for example you get recommendations for Lost and The Office among others.

One interesting aspect of the website is that you do get recommendations for books and music as well if you entered for example a movie title. This does not happen all of the time though.

A brief description (taken from Wikipedia mostly it seems) is available for many items that are mentioned on the website and the site even embeds Youtube videos when available which is great to get a first impression of that recommendation.

Another interesting aspect of Taste Kid is that the website is not commercial (yet). You do not find links to online stores where you can buy the media directly. As of now it’s just a way to receive recommendations that include previews.

The maximum file size for this procedure is 20 Megabytes. The result of the conversion will be another pdf document with the order described before. The best way to print this document afterwards would be to print both sides of the same paper at the same time if the printer supports this feature.

If not the creators suggest to print the odd pages first and the put the turned paper back into the printer to print the even pages.

Two optional settings are available: You can limit the amount of pages per booklet from 4 to 64 and check a box if the document is from a right-to-left language.

That’s what the Book Beta Demo is trying to present. It looks pretty much like a book on a website. Readers can flip through the pages of the book, go to a specific page and even tear pages from it. Advanced features that you wont find in any real book are demonstrated as well.

Those features include transparency effects as well as a component called live Bitmapping which makes it possible to change animations on a page.

I’m not saying that this is a perfect adaption but the demonstration does come closer to the real experience than those pdf documents. I had some troubles concentrating on the contents of the book because my eyes did seem to be attracted to the page flipping mechanism.

The reason could be because it is a new way of reading or because there was not much content to read anyway in this demonstration.

Paul Coelho is a successful writer, he did write the Alchemist for example, a book that sold millions of copies. He was recently talking about this book and the distribution of the book in Russia. In its first year the book sold 1000 copies. That is not really much if you consider that Russia has a population way above 100 million. The book was also copied and distributed in Russia on the black market and Paul decided to publish the Russian version of his book on his website.

To his and his management’s astonishment the book sold 10000 copies the next year, 100000 copies the following and over 1 million copies the year after up to over 10 million in 2008. He attributes this success to the free publication of his book on his website because marketing and distribution remained exactly as they have been before.

Link: sevenload.com

Since he discovered that his books sell better when he gives them away for free on the Internet he created his own WordPress blog called Pirate Coelho where he is offering download links for many of his books using various ways like emule and file hosts.

via Techdirt