1. Choose topics to write about that have longevity and market potential. Avoid books that act as cannon fodder for a publisher's pub plan. Even if the advance is OK, profitability comes from earning out an advance and earning royalties from future editions.
2. Choose your publisher carefully. Make sure that you're compatible with your publisher both from a topic standpoint and a philosophical standpoint. You will be judged by how well you fit into a publisher's notion of what a 'good' author should be. This issue is particularly true with respect to quality versus speed to market.
3. Get the best possible advance you deserve. Improving your cash flow can make a very big difference in your overall financial position. It also helps diminish your personal risk.
4. Get the best possible royalty rate you deserve. If you choose the right topics, and the right publisher, and write a good, well-timed book, the rewards can be massive provided you have a decent royalty rate. Avoid trading advance for royalty rates. Work towards high advances and high royalty rates.
5. Minimize unplanned down time between projects. If you spend two to three months out of a year looking for work, you should work on shortening the gaps. Picking up a month or two to spend more time writing can make a huge difference to your profitability. You may even consider overbooking your schedule a little. Software always slips, and time is money.
6. Don't spin your wheels. If something feels difficult, figure out a better solution. This is especially true when writing code or providing examples in a book. Don't reinvent the wheel. Instead, partner with people to get what you need. Don't procrastinate in solving problems or getting help. Little problems always get bigger with time.
7. Make your deadlines. If you just make your deadlines, you'll be in the top 5% of computer book authors. Sad, but true.
8. Be communicative. Ask for feedback, provide feedback, seek advice, and offer advice. It's a challenge to get good feedback when working for yourself. Without it, you'll never grow as a writer.
9. Organize your office effectively. If you can save just ten minutes a day, you can give yourself an extra week off each year. Or, you can use it to write another book proposal, chapter, or WFH project, or part of your next book.
10. If you're not currently using filters with your email program, you should look into it immediately, especially if you subscribe to a number of mailing lists.
11. Stay healthy and lead a balanced life. You'll be happier and more productive.
12. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Call attention to your strengths and find help to fix the weaknesses. If you understand yourself, and have a desire to grow, you'll be able to offer a better product to a publisher and your readers.
13. Work with no more than two or three publishers. Learning how a publisher works is extremely time consuming.
14. Stay on top of publisher payments. Don't let your money sit in a publisher's bank account earning your interest.
15. Don't pay for indexes if you can help it. Eliminate option clauses and cross accounting clauses if possible.
16. Rewrite competition clauses narrowly so you can do more than one book on a particular topic area.
17. Promote yourself as a brand whenever possible. Your name should become the most valuable asset you own.
18. Build assets that make you unique. These assets can be special contacts, market knowledge, or special writing ability.
19. Always be a professional. Never whine. Just get the problem fixed. Publishers don't want to hear all of your problems. They have enough of their own.
20. Consider hiring apprentice writers/researchers who can help you generate more books/pages per year.
21. Make sure you're planting the seed for future editions of your books with your publisher before future releases go into beta.
22. Never assume that a publisher will remember the best time to start on a revision. Revisions should be the most profitable writing that you do.
23. Have more than one computer to work with. Try not to put beta software on the same machine that you're writing on. Back up your data frequently. Make a real effort to develop an off site archive.
24. Build good will with bookstores by participating in local events. Even a simple book signing can lead to referrals that lead to book contracts. Don't underestimate the power and influence of booksellers in this industry.
25. Market yourself online. Although it takes time, it's cheap to do, and can pay huge dividends.
26. Keep a sharp eye on your personal finances. You never want to let yourself get into a desperate situation. Desperation leads to bad decisions. You should also set financial goals for yourself, and periodically make sure that you're on track. Use a personal financial planning package, and don't pay more taxes than you need to.
27. Know how many pages you can write in a day, and monitor performance. Push yourself to write just a little more each day. You'll never become a faster writer unless you try.
28. Write great TOCs. Shifting material around in a book after it's mostly written is a big waste of time.
29. Submit files exactly the way publishers ask you to submit files. You never want to waste time going back to capture screen shots and reformatting text.
30. Don't leave permissions to the last minute. You don't want to have to pull stuff out of your book or off your disk right before it has to go to the printer.
31. If you're dealing with a novice editor be patient, yet persistent. You must get the answers to your questions in a timely manner, so you don't have to go back and change things later. Squeaky wheels do get more attention than silent ones.
32. Speak at events if possible. It's great exposure and you'll get in free.
33. Write magazine articles from time to time. It's good exposure and leads to some interesting opportunities. If given the choice between writing a WFH chapter, or writing an article, choose the article. It pays better.
34. Build a web site where your readers can get to know you, and where editors can find you. Web search engines are the tools of choice for publishers to find authors. They also search Usenet. In other words, there's no reward in lurking.
35. Create your own listserv to develop a community around your readers. This can become a huge asset for you.
36. Don't upgrade your software right away. Try to wait for the first bug fix. Crashing machines really waste a lot of time.
37. Take Carpel Tunnel Syndrome seriously. Avoid it. Buy yourself a good chair, and set your desk up properly. The first time you feel pain, DO something about it.
38. Sell your unique attributes to publishers. Humility, while admirable, doesn't pay the bills.
39. Don't take your publisher for granted, and never let your publisher take you for granted. You should always be gracious, yet never ashamed to point out the good job that you've done.
40. Take vacations. Corporations don't give vacations to employees because they want to be nice. They grant vacations to keep employees sane. Insanity may be good for painters, but it's not good for computer book authors.
41. Expand your knowledge base by using multiple platforms. If you're a Mac author, buy a PC. Platform limitations can severely limit your career options.
42. Know when new software releases will hit. There's no sense writing a book on a software package with four months of life in it. Unless, of course, you're writing about Netscape.
43. Run some of your own numbers when considering a project. Create your own spreadsheet to determine, in your view, just what the potential earnings will be for the amount of time you spend on a project.
44. Don't work with or for jerks. Life is too short, and you'll waste a lot of time talking about and getting upset with the jerks you work with.
45. Become an expert (or non-expert) in more than a few software programs. Keep playing with the newest tools. Being the first on your block to get to know new software programs can lead to lucrative publishing opportunities.
46. Read other computer books and learn from other authors' strengths and weaknesses. You must know why a book became a best seller. Never assume that someone was just lucky.
47. Listen to your readers. You work for them. They really do appreciate your hard work and know when you're doing a good job, and they do tell their friends about you if they like your book.
48. Build enough time into your writing schedule for software problems and possible personal tragedies. Something always goes wrong. Professionals understand this and plan for these inevitable occurrences.
49. If problems arise, BE HONEST. Silly excuses sound like silly excuses. 
50. If you're going to miss your deadline, let your editor know in advance. It's tough, but not nearly as hard as coming up with a creative excuse to describe why you missed the deadline.

back...