how to write computer books

Is your book sellable?

People who write ebooks love to sell them. The pitch is often nearly as long as the book, but it always has a few key themes:

1. Get big, valuable results
2. The work is easy
3. No-fail guarantee

Packt like most technical publishes don’t like such cheesy sales pitches, but…

Is your book strong enough to deserve one?

The books readers want will always:

1. Show how to do really useful things that will improve their lives. Does yours? How? Is there anything in it that won’t improve their life? Why is it even there…? Do you keep relating the material back to the reader’s goals… or will they spend page after page wondering whether there’s any point to what they’re reading?
2. Show the easy ways. Do you show readers short cuts and simple solutions? Do you make it easy to follow? Do you help them to ignore irrelevant details? Or does your book go into deep theory that only gives them a headache?
3. Protect them against failure. You can’t cover every circumstance… but do you aim to make every reader succeed? How can you help them even more? Promise “you can do it!” — and deliver.

Remember above all: readers are more interested in the results than the content. So plan your book around the reader’s goals, and let the content follow.