Bob Nystrom's tech book publishing process
Bob Nystrom, a Google software engineer who works on the Go programming language, self-published two software development books, Game Programming Patterns and Crafting Compilers.
The books, available in digital format and in print, are deservingly popular. They cover interesting topics, provide clear explanations and code, are beautifully designed, and can be read online for free.
But the meta level is as interesting as the creative works themselves.
Bob posted to his blog a series of articles describing his tech book publishing process. These long and detailed posts are a fascinating read, a peek behind the curtain of running two complex tech writing projects.
The posts share every aspect of the work that went into the books.
The description of the custom-built toolchain and the workflow for formatting the Markdown manuscript is geeky. This involved combining the text and sample code, taming the arcane Adobe InDesign, and producing both the digital and print versions of the books.
Bob goes into a lot of detail also on his writing routine. For years he had the discipline to write every single day despite the stress of a demanding job, family life, personal tragedies, and setbacks.
Finally, the posts discuss the business and marketing side of the publishing projects. Bob reports on the book launches, the promotion strategy, and the early sales.
The experience of Bob, who declined a traditional publishing deal to go full indie, is a valuable resource for self-published technical authors.
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