On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 11:25:43 -0800, Michael Latta <lattam at mac.com> wrote:

> I agree with many of your sentiments.  Squeak is very hard to approach  
> as a new user, even with tons of Smalltalk background.  Publishing is a  
> hard business, and authors only make money on the mass market.  But,  
> part of the issue with the Squeak books is price.  At $100 for both  
> books, you are not going to get new users to buy them.  Only the  
> committed Squeaker will buy them.  Yes, there are Java and OpenGL books  
> selling in that price range, but for a niche market they are overpriced.

No, for a niche market, they are precisely priced.

For a "fun" market, for a "casual" market, for a "non-serious" market,  
they are overpriced.

Therein lies the rub: People use Java and OpenGL professionally. A lot.  
Java's not even a "niche", it's mass-market as far as programming  
languages go. $50 for a book you use professionally is not that steep. $50  
for a toy--potential hobby--is.

Has anyone looked into less traditional publishing methods? On Demand  
stuff?