How To Write A Tech Book

Many technical professionals would like to write a book sharing their knowledge and experience, but most haven't. If you ask them why, it's not from lack of ideas or experience with technical subject matter. Instead, they just don't know how turn their idea into an actual published book. Even though there are some guides for publishing nonfiction books, tech books are unique in the publishing world, and there haven't been any guides that tackle the special process that goes into publishing a tech book. This book aims to change that.

Rankin has authored and published a dozen books across multiple traditional tech publishers and also through self-publishing. This book distills his experience into an easy-to-follow guide that explains the full book writing and publishing process step-by-step. Topics include vetting ideas, creating an outline, pitching a publisher, writing a draft, editing, formatting, publishing, marketing, and planning future revisions.

"I wish that when I had started my journey I had found a book like this one." says Matthew Helmke, Principal Technical Writer at StarTree.ai and the author of many technical books including Ubuntu Linux Unleashed (Pearson, 2021).

Table of Contents

Part I: Getting Started
Chapter 1: The Idea
- My First Book Idea
- Finding Book Ideas
- Which Ideas Work for A Book
- Moving Past the Idea Phase

Chapter 2: Outline
- The Importance of a Good Outline
- Writing the Outline

Chapter 3: Getting A Publisher
- Why You Should Get A Publisher
- Choosing A Publisher
- Pitching A Publisher
- The Book Contract
- Self-Publishing
- The Next Phase

Part II: Writing
Chapter 4: The First Draft
- Making the Time
- Prepare to Write
- Write the Draft
- Lab Work
- Finishing the First Draft

Chapter 5: Formatting and Layout
- Formatting Style
- Publisher Templates
- Self-Publishing Templates
- Formatting and Layout with LaTeX
- Transitioning to Editing

Chapter 6: Editing and Finishing Touches
- Copy Edit Phase
- Tech Edit
- Front and Back Material
- Final Edits and Page Proof

Part III: Publishing
Chapter 7: Publishing and Promotion
- Publishing with Traditional Publishers
- Self-Publishing
- Promoting Your Book

Chapter 8: Royalties
- Royalties, Advances, & Payment Schedule
- Your First Royalty Statement
- Translations and Reprints

Chapter 9: Revisions
- Errata
- The Second Edition
- Your Next Book

Appendix A: An Example LaTeX Chapter