Print run in 2018 for "Producing Open Source Software", and how you can help.
Hi, everyone, and happy new year. I've decided that 2018 is going to be the year the print run problem for "Producing Open Source Software" 2.0 finally gets solved.
"What's the print run problem?" you might ask.
I will explain. When I started the rewrite, I talked to O'Reilly Media, who had published the version 1.0 of the book. We agreed that I would do the 2.0 rewrite over the course of a year, and that then they would do a print run and let me "free ride" a bit on their printing and shipping infrastructure, to get treeware copies sent to all the backers who had pledged $50 or more (that was the pledge threshold for receiving a physical copy).
Then I took about four years to do the rewrite, instead of one year.
During that time, the shape of O'Reilly's book market changed, and doing a print run of this book -- which had never been one of their bigger sellers -- made less and less sense for them. If I had taken one year to revise it, that would have been different. But four years later, it was awfully hard for me to look them in the eye and ask them to stick by their side of the deal even though I hadn't kept up my side.
So, how am I going to get 144 copies of POSS 2.0 to the 144 backers who pledged $50 or more? I have an idea, but before I share it I'd like to make something clear: if no idea to get treeware to people works out, then I will simply issue refunds. One way or another, this will all be resolved in 2018. I'm not going to have this issue dragging on into 2019.
(Figuring out the correct refund amount, should refunds be necessary, is an interesting question. I've tentatively decided that the amount that makes sense is the difference between the pledge level of $50 that was supposed to get you a shipped book and the pledge level of $10 beneath it -- skipping over the $20 level because that one's complicated, being about the presence of one's name in the acknowledgements of the printed edition. And for those who pledged $100 or more for a *signed* copy, it would be the difference between $100 and $10.)
Now, while in some ways just issuing refunds would actually be the simplest and easiest solution, I'd prefer a solution that gets physical copies of version 2.0 out into the world. That's where you come in:
If you work at a company that you think might want a bunch of copies, or know someone who does, please contact me. Basically, I'm trying to aggregate bulk orders to get economies of scale. I've already discussed this with a couple of people (one of them works at a very large tech company, the kind of place where an order of 500 or 1000 copies might be desirable), and have decided that it's at least not a crazy idea.
If we can aggregate bulk orders, I'll either be able to make a good economic case to O'Reilly Media to do a print run, or just arrange the print run myself somewhere. If there are economies of scale in place, then printing and shipping the extra copies to the 144 backers becomes quite doable.
I would like to emphasize that O'Reilly Media, and in particular my wonderful editor Andy Oram, put a lot into the 2nd edition -- I feel they more than held up their end of the bargain. They didn't expect the changes to be so extensive or to take so long (for that matter, neither did I). It's not their responsibility, four years later, to solve the print run issue. However, with the right bulk orders waiting, they might be wililng to do so, and even if not, I've looked into self-publishing costs and they're not too bad.
So, if there is enough demand for treeware copies, we can make this happen. If not, then I will refund pledge money.
Let me know your thoughts. I'm reachable at kfogel {_AT_} red-bean.com, as always.
Best regards,
-Karl