1. Authoring Technical Books ATUL KAHATE Project Manager, i-flex solutions limited, Pune akahate@indiatimes.com 28 June 2003

2. Agenda Who can write a book? Timelines Steps in bringing out a book Question-Answers

3. Who can write a book? Preferred choice Professors Researchers The other option People from the industry

4. Comparison of authors Academicians Strong theory Research-oriented Can be difficult to understand Professionals Theory and practice Generally lucid and real-life oriented Can be too simplistic at times

5. Timelines First book Always very difficult Can take up to several years Many changes, confusions Subsequent books Can be a breeze A few months can be sufficient

6. Steps in bringing out a book Inception Development Processing Final copy

7. Inception (Slide 1/5) Basic reason behind a book Self-decided Potential market Clearly identified market Approach Publisher may contact you You may already be working with the publisher

8. Inception (Slide 2/5) Expectations that publishers have Rough Table Of Contents (TOC) Sample chapter(s) Small write up about the book Identification of market, if possible Why it is better than the competition?

9. Inception (Slide 3/5) Recommendations Draw up as detailed TOC as possible Back up your case with reasons Try to find out why the competition is not doing well Develop the initial chapter(s) with as much interest as possible

10. Inception (Slide 4/5) Planning Decide milestones Get agreement from publisher Make sure dates are workable Consider outsourced material deadlines, if any

11. Inception (Slide 5/5) Agreement/Contract Two modes Before developing the content After the content is ready Depends on the familiarity between the author and the publisher Know about the penalty clauses

12. Development (Slide 1/5) Possible approaches Typescript Manuscript Typescript is the norm MS-Word documents is the preferred choice

13. Development (Slide 2/5) Points to concentrate on Sequencing of content Use of diagrams and illustrations Examples, Notes, Summaries Chapter end questions Explanations of terms and concepts Theory combined with Practice

14. Development (Slide 3/5) Think about the following Chapter reorganization Section numbering Diagram numbering Diagrams versus Tables Chapter-end questions Index

15. Development (Slide 4/5) Using reference material Be very careful about copyright issues No harm in modifying content suitably for reuse Always acknowledge Provide references

16. Development (Slide 5/5) Reorganization Try and make this as soon as possible The later you bring this in, the more painful it is Cascading effect Be wary of outdated material/concepts

17. Processing Reviews Production work Proof generation and checking Book cover Final checking Index preparation Camera Ready Copy (CRC)

18. Final copy Correction phase is not over! Mistakes can still be found Prepare for the revision/next edition Reviews Introducing into syllabi

19. Thank You!!! Questions, Comments Welcome akahate@indiatimes.com