Bought the book, thank you!
What was your approach to self-publishing here? What tools did you use? If I wanted to publish a book but knew nothing about it, what resources should I read and what approach would you recommend?
What was your approach to self-publishing here? What tools did you use? If I wanted to publish a book but knew nothing about it, what resources should I read and what approach would you recommend?
The biggest advice I can give you is not about any specific tool, it's about an approach. You need to think about how you will market the book if you're self-publishing.
Engage with the community that will be interested in the book. Write articles, help out on Twitter, write code libraries, etc.
For me, I wrote DynamoDBGuide.com two and a half years ago over Christmas break. I wanted to just make an easier introduction to DynamoDB after I watched Rick Houlihan's talk at re:Invent (which is awesome).
That led to other opportunities and to me being seen as an 'expert' (even when I wasn't!). I got more questions and spent more time on DynamoDB to the point where I started to know more. I gave a few talks, etc.
I finally decided to do a book and set up a landing page and mailing list. I basically followed the playbook that Adam Wathan described for his first book launch.[0] Write in public, release sample chapters, engage with people, etc.
In terms of tooling, I used AsciiDoc to generate the book and Gumroad to sell. On a 1-10 scale, I'd give AsciiDoc a 5 and Gumroad an 8. But the tooling barely matters -- think about how to find the people that are interested :)
Happy to answer any other questions, either in public or via email.
[0] - https://adamwathan.me/the-book-launch-that-let-me-quit-my-jo...