From sunnyk at packtpub.com  Wed Dec 16 13:52:13 2009
From: sunnyk at packtpub.com (Sunny Kansara)
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:22:13 +0530
Subject: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing
Message-ID: <4B28D7FD.9030106@packtpub.com>

Hi All,

I represent Packt Publishing, the publishers of computer related books.

We are planning to publish a new book on wxPython which will teach the 
Python developers who want to quickly use wxPython to create programs 
with high functional GUI's and currently we are looking out for some 
potential authors to write this book.

We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.

An ideal candidate to author this book will be someone with an 
experience in wxPython. He/She should be able to communicate his/her 
thoughts clearly in English. Past writing experience will be an 
advantage though not mandatory.

If you are interested in authoring this book, please write to me with a 
brief information about your experience with wxPython and any past 
writing experience you may have..

Thanks,
Sunny.
-- 
*Sunny Kansara*
Author Relationship Executive
Packt Publishing
www.PacktPub.com <http://www.PacktPub.com>
Skype: sunnyk
MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
Interested in becoming an author? Visit http://authors.packtpub.com for 
all the information you need about writing for Packt.
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From wescpy at gmail.com  Thu Dec 17 18:23:44 2009
From: wescpy at gmail.com (wesley chun)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:23:44 -0800
Subject: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing
In-Reply-To: <4B28D7FD.9030106@packtpub.com>
References: <4B28D7FD.9030106@packtpub.com>
Message-ID: <78b3a9580912170923m5150ff95lebed93cfa7073b58@mail.gmail.com>

this is a warning to all before jumping in without looking at the
waters first. i haven't worked with them before, but based on the
existing review of their Python books, i would be somewhat hesitant,
and i certainly wouldn't approach them without an agent. (i'm also not
sure of their marketing and PR... i doubt they have the same type of
staff as a more well-known publisher like Pearson [Prentice Hall,
Addison Wesley] or O'Reilly.)

the royalties they're offering seem abnormally high, and even scarier
is that they tell you over email when this is typically something
that's negotiated. the standard royalty rate is 10%, as O'Reilly
states publically:

http://www.oreillynet.com/oreilly/oreilly/author/ch03.html

i'm concerned that they offer a higher rate because they spend less
elsewhere, such as editing. read Alex Martelli's review very carefully
as well as others' here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/184719494X

he is doing both the Python community *and* authors at-large a huge
favor by exposing this type of publisher behavior in the hopes that
anyone would jump at this project because they: 1) want to be
published, and 2) want higher royalties. as long as they sell enough
to cover their minimal costs. it is also strongly likely that the
editing, if there is any, is outsourced.

here's another one (check out the "most helpful review"):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1904811841

anyway, i'm not telling you guys *not* to do it, but just be careful,
and have good English writing skills because likely, it won't be
edited much so you should be prepared to be practically camera-ready.

cheers,
-wesley


On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 4:52 AM, Sunny Kansara <sunnyk at packtpub.com> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I represent Packt Publishing, the publishers of computer related books.
>
> We are planning to publish a new book on wxPython which will teach the
> Python developers who want to quickly use wxPython to create programs with
> high functional GUI's and currently we are looking out for some potential
> authors to write this book.
>
> We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.
>
> An ideal candidate to author this book will be someone with an experience in
> wxPython. He/She should be able to communicate his/her thoughts clearly in
> English. Past writing experience will be an advantage though not mandatory.
>
> If you are interested in authoring this book, please write to me with a
> brief information about your experience with wxPython and any past writing
> experience you may have..
>
> Thanks,
> Sunny.
> --
> Sunny Kansara
> Author Relationship Executive
> Packt Publishing
> www.PacktPub.com
> Skype: sunnyk
> MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com

-- 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001
"Python Fundamentals", Prentice Hall, (c)2009
    http://corepython.com

wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com
python training and technical consulting
cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca
http://cyberwebconsulting.com

From marty at martyalchin.com  Thu Dec 17 19:19:24 2009
From: marty at martyalchin.com (Marty Alchin)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:19:24 -0500
Subject: [Python-authors] Introduction and a Question
Message-ID: <b83495ce0912171019u3bfe5ea3m2dd498c3f54150a8@mail.gmail.com>

Hello all,

I'm an author working with Apress on my second title, Pro Python. It
expands on the Python-level chapter I included in my first title, Pro
Django, which received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Basically,
I'm writing for people who are already familiar with Python, but
haven't looked into some of its more advanced features, like
decorators, magic methods, metaclasses and the like. I'm trying to
focus heavily on examples throughout, finishing up with a complete
build-up of a Django-esque declarative framework for processing CSV
files.

One of the main questions I find myself asking, though, is how much
should I repeat from other works? I don't want to rewrite the wheel,
but I'm having trouble drawing the line. For example, chapter 2 of Pro
Django covered my Python features, focusing mostly on decorators and
metaclasses. I obviously want to cover those same topics in Pro
Python, but I tried very hard to expand on them in much greater
detail--particularly with regard to the examples--so that it wasn't a
direct copy. I also included a really basic plugin framework I wrote
up on my blog a couple years ago, with some added features and a whole
new write-up.

The frustrating thing about doing this is that I feel like I'm torn
between copying something that's already available and throwing away
something that's really good. Neither of them seems like a good way to
go, so the answer must be somewhere in the middle, but I'm having a
lot of trouble finding it. Is it enough to rewrite the description of
a piece of code, so that it's perhaps more clear or more relevant to
the audience at hand? Or is the author expected to expand on the code
itself in some way, offering up some unique value (feature?
optimization? simplification?) that wasn't available in the original?

-Marty

From doug.hellmann at gmail.com  Thu Dec 17 21:14:24 2009
From: doug.hellmann at gmail.com (Doug Hellmann)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:14:24 -0500
Subject: [Python-authors] Introduction and a Question
In-Reply-To: <b83495ce0912171019u3bfe5ea3m2dd498c3f54150a8@mail.gmail.com>
References: <b83495ce0912171019u3bfe5ea3m2dd498c3f54150a8@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <59A69994-86C6-4F31-9A58-B1B999D1FE42@gmail.com>


On Dec 17, 2009, at 1:19 PM, Marty Alchin wrote:

> One of the main questions I find myself asking, though, is how much
> should I repeat from other works? I don't want to rewrite the wheel,
> but I'm having trouble drawing the line. For example, chapter 2 of Pro
> Django covered my Python features, focusing mostly on decorators and
> metaclasses. I obviously want to cover those same topics in Pro
> Python, but I tried very hard to expand on them in much greater
> detail--particularly with regard to the examples--so that it wasn't a
> direct copy. I also included a really basic plugin framework I wrote
> up on my blog a couple years ago, with some added features and a whole
> new write-up.
>
> The frustrating thing about doing this is that I feel like I'm torn
> between copying something that's already available and throwing away
> something that's really good. Neither of them seems like a good way to
> go, so the answer must be somewhere in the middle, but I'm having a
> lot of trouble finding it. Is it enough to rewrite the description of
> a piece of code, so that it's perhaps more clear or more relevant to
> the audience at hand? Or is the author expected to expand on the code
> itself in some way, offering up some unique value (feature?
> optimization? simplification?) that wasn't available in the original?

I would want more detail about the code, and any bug fixes that you  
have to incorporate.  Of course, if the new book covers more topics  
than the chapter(s) of the old book, you have the potential to use  
some of those extra features and update the code that way, too. If you  
don't have anything new to add to the code you have, you can start  
with an older version and show its evolution into the current form.

Doug


From doug.hellmann at gmail.com  Thu Dec 17 21:44:02 2009
From: doug.hellmann at gmail.com (Doug Hellmann)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:44:02 -0500
Subject: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing
In-Reply-To: <78b3a9580912170923m5150ff95lebed93cfa7073b58@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4B28D7FD.9030106@packtpub.com>
	<78b3a9580912170923m5150ff95lebed93cfa7073b58@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CE6B8AAB-FB4D-4CD4-B954-CCEF5069CFDE@gmail.com>


On Dec 17, 2009, at 12:23 PM, wesley chun wrote:

> this is a warning to all before jumping in without looking at the
> waters first. i haven't worked with them before, but based on the
> existing review of their Python books, i would be somewhat hesitant,
> and i certainly wouldn't approach them without an agent. (i'm also not
> sure of their marketing and PR... i doubt they have the same type of
> staff as a more well-known publisher like Pearson [Prentice Hall,
> Addison Wesley] or O'Reilly.)

I've dealt with them before (as a reviewer, not as an author) and it  
was my impression that Packt was probably smaller than some of the  
American publishers with whom I'm more familiar.  I have no direct  
knowledge of that, though, and anyone who missed news of Tarek's book  
must have been unplugged from the net for several months.  :-)

> the royalties they're offering seem abnormally high, and even scarier
> is that they tell you over email when this is typically something
> that's negotiated. the standard royalty rate is 10%, as O'Reilly
> states publically:
>
> http://www.oreillynet.com/oreilly/oreilly/author/ch03.html

It did seem a little surprising, but if O'Reilly publishes their  
standard rate I don't see any problem with Packt publishing theirs.   
Everything is up for negotiation, no?

> i'm concerned that they offer a higher rate because they spend less
> elsewhere, such as editing. read Alex Martelli's review very carefully
> as well as others' here:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/184719494X

This issue concerns me more.  While I was editor for Python Magazine,  
working with authors for whom English was not their primary language  
was one of the most time consuming aspects of the job.  Cleaning up  
the language while maintaining the author's voice requires a delicate  
hand.

> he is doing both the Python community *and* authors at-large a huge
> favor by exposing this type of publisher behavior in the hopes that
> anyone would jump at this project because they: 1) want to be
> published, and 2) want higher royalties. as long as they sell enough
> to cover their minimal costs. it is also strongly likely that the
> editing, if there is any, is outsourced.
>
> here's another one (check out the "most helpful review"):
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/1904811841
>
> anyway, i'm not telling you guys *not* to do it, but just be careful,
> and have good English writing skills because likely, it won't be
> edited much so you should be prepared to be practically camera-ready.
>
> cheers,
> -wesley

Thanks for raising these issues, Wesley.  They are all good food for  
thought.

Regards,
Doug

>
> On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 4:52 AM, Sunny Kansara <sunnyk at packtpub.com>  
> wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I represent Packt Publishing, the publishers of computer related  
>> books.
>>
>> We are planning to publish a new book on wxPython which will teach  
>> the
>> Python developers who want to quickly use wxPython to create  
>> programs with
>> high functional GUI's and currently we are looking out for some  
>> potential
>> authors to write this book.
>>
>> We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.
>>
>> An ideal candidate to author this book will be someone with an  
>> experience in
>> wxPython. He/She should be able to communicate his/her thoughts  
>> clearly in
>> English. Past writing experience will be an advantage though not  
>> mandatory.
>>
>> If you are interested in authoring this book, please write to me  
>> with a
>> brief information about your experience with wxPython and any past  
>> writing
>> experience you may have..
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Sunny.
>> --
>> Sunny Kansara
>> Author Relationship Executive
>> Packt Publishing
>> www.PacktPub.com
>> Skype: sunnyk
>> MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
>
> -- 
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> "Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001
> "Python Fundamentals", Prentice Hall, (c)2009
>    http://corepython.com
>
> wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com
> python training and technical consulting
> cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca
> http://cyberwebconsulting.com
> _______________________________________________
> Python-authors mailing list
> Python-authors at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors


From steve at holdenweb.com  Thu Dec 17 21:50:53 2009
From: steve at holdenweb.com (Steve Holden)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:50:53 -0500
Subject: [Python-authors] Introduction and a Question
In-Reply-To: <b83495ce0912171019u3bfe5ea3m2dd498c3f54150a8@mail.gmail.com>
References: <b83495ce0912171019u3bfe5ea3m2dd498c3f54150a8@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4B2A99AD.80503@holdenweb.com>

Marty Alchin wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> I'm an author working with Apress on my second title, Pro Python. It
> expands on the Python-level chapter I included in my first title, Pro
> Django, which received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Basically,
> I'm writing for people who are already familiar with Python, but
> haven't looked into some of its more advanced features, like
> decorators, magic methods, metaclasses and the like. I'm trying to
> focus heavily on examples throughout, finishing up with a complete
> build-up of a Django-esque declarative framework for processing CSV
> files.
> 
> One of the main questions I find myself asking, though, is how much
> should I repeat from other works? I don't want to rewrite the wheel,
> but I'm having trouble drawing the line. For example, chapter 2 of Pro
> Django covered my Python features, focusing mostly on decorators and
> metaclasses. I obviously want to cover those same topics in Pro
> Python, but I tried very hard to expand on them in much greater
> detail--particularly with regard to the examples--so that it wasn't a
> direct copy. I also included a really basic plugin framework I wrote
> up on my blog a couple years ago, with some added features and a whole
> new write-up.
> 
> The frustrating thing about doing this is that I feel like I'm torn
> between copying something that's already available and throwing away
> something that's really good. Neither of them seems like a good way to
> go, so the answer must be somewhere in the middle, but I'm having a
> lot of trouble finding it. Is it enough to rewrite the description of
> a piece of code, so that it's perhaps more clear or more relevant to
> the audience at hand? Or is the author expected to expand on the code
> itself in some way, offering up some unique value (feature?
> optimization? simplification?) that wasn't available in the original?
> 
I'd repeat the material so that new readers can understand it without
being required to read the other book.

regards
 Steve
-- 
Steve Holden           +1 571 484 6266   +1 800 494 3119
Holden Web LLC                 http://www.holdenweb.com/
UPCOMING EVENTS:        http://holdenweb.eventbrite.com/

From jsteele at oreilly.com  Thu Dec 17 22:30:17 2009
From: jsteele at oreilly.com (Julie Steele)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:30:17 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing
In-Reply-To: <78b3a9580912170923m5150ff95lebed93cfa7073b58@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <1752195.46451261085417078.JavaMail.root@ball.east.ora.com>


Hi everyone,

First, full disclosure: I'm an Editor with O'Reilly. 

I just wanted to contribute the note that when a publisher states its royalty rate as a percentage, you need to ask: "of what?"  Some publishers calculate royalties as a percentage of profit rather than of net revenue, or their definitions of "net revenue" may vary.  So just looking at one publisher's percentage vs. another is usually a comparison of apples to oranges anyway.  

Then there's the matter of how many copies they expect to sell.  Some publishers sign books only if they expect the book to do well and make a profit; others are willing to take a hit on some niche books and expect to make up that revenue with a few blockbusters -- which is all well and good, unless you're the author of one of the niche books that never earns out its advance.  (The silver lining here is that this is how books on niche topics are made available to those that want them; if you're considering writing on such a topic and are primarily concerned with publicizing your content or growing your community, then this could be the way to go.  Just be aware that you might not make any money doing it.)

These are all good things to ask a publisher you're considering working with (as well as questions Wesley indicates, such as what the tech review and editing process will be like, and who is responsible for that: some publishers ask authors to handle their own tech review).  

It's always good to know what you're getting yourself into, no matter whom you're considering working with.

Happy writing,
Julie






----- Original Message -----
From: "wesley chun" <wescpy at gmail.com>
To: python-authors at python.org
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 12:23:44 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing

this is a warning to all before jumping in without looking at the
waters first. i haven't worked with them before, but based on the
existing review of their Python books, i would be somewhat hesitant,
and i certainly wouldn't approach them without an agent. (i'm also not
sure of their marketing and PR... i doubt they have the same type of
staff as a more well-known publisher like Pearson [Prentice Hall,
Addison Wesley] or O'Reilly.)

the royalties they're offering seem abnormally high, and even scarier
is that they tell you over email when this is typically something
that's negotiated. the standard royalty rate is 10%, as O'Reilly
states publically:

http://www.oreillynet.com/oreilly/oreilly/author/ch03.html

i'm concerned that they offer a higher rate because they spend less
elsewhere, such as editing. read Alex Martelli's review very carefully
as well as others' here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/184719494X

he is doing both the Python community *and* authors at-large a huge
favor by exposing this type of publisher behavior in the hopes that
anyone would jump at this project because they: 1) want to be
published, and 2) want higher royalties. as long as they sell enough
to cover their minimal costs. it is also strongly likely that the
editing, if there is any, is outsourced.

here's another one (check out the "most helpful review"):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1904811841

anyway, i'm not telling you guys *not* to do it, but just be careful,
and have good English writing skills because likely, it won't be
edited much so you should be prepared to be practically camera-ready.

cheers,
-wesley


On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 4:52 AM, Sunny Kansara <sunnyk at packtpub.com> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I represent Packt Publishing, the publishers of computer related books.
>
> We are planning to publish a new book on wxPython which will teach the
> Python developers who want to quickly use wxPython to create programs with
> high functional GUI's and currently we are looking out for some potential
> authors to write this book.
>
> We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.
>
> An ideal candidate to author this book will be someone with an experience in
> wxPython. He/She should be able to communicate his/her thoughts clearly in
> English. Past writing experience will be an advantage though not mandatory.
>
> If you are interested in authoring this book, please write to me with a
> brief information about your experience with wxPython and any past writing
> experience you may have..
>
> Thanks,
> Sunny.
> --
> Sunny Kansara
> Author Relationship Executive
> Packt Publishing
> www.PacktPub.com
> Skype: sunnyk
> MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com

-- 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001
"Python Fundamentals", Prentice Hall, (c)2009
    http://corepython.com

wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com
python training and technical consulting
cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca
http://cyberwebconsulting.com
_______________________________________________
Python-authors mailing list
Python-authors at python.org
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors

-- 
Julie Steele
Acquisitions Editor
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
jsteele at oreilly.com
Mobile: 201-937-7866
--
AIM/Skype: JSteeleEditor
Twitter: @jsteeleeditor

From sunnyk at packtpub.com  Fri Dec 18 13:19:56 2009
From: sunnyk at packtpub.com (Sunny Kansara)
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:49:56 +0530
Subject: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing
In-Reply-To: <DA518C5636F7441DB33F0CD13CCAE6C7@sonyPC>
References: <DA518C5636F7441DB33F0CD13CCAE6C7@sonyPC>
Message-ID: <4B2B736C.2000807@packtpub.com>

/Hi Everyone,

I see a lot of questions been raised by authors before taking up a 
writing project. We have a crystal clear working style at Packt and we 
have made our royalty public as well which means we do not negotiate it 
and we do not hesitate to say it on public platforms.

16% royalty is given to authors on the net revenue generated from that 
book.

We have a complete team of editors, production and marketing people 
which means author get full support from Packt from beginning to end. We 
do not ask them to go and come back when the book is ready. The sale of 
the books is as important to Packt as it is to the author.

To give you an idea about the way things works at Packt:

- The editorial team at Packt works with the author through out the 
project.
- We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.
- The marketing team at Packt ensures that the book is well promoted.
- In its ongoing commitment to OpenSource, Packt donates a percentage of 
revenue generated by the book to the OpenSource project on which it is 
based. We have donated more than 100 000 dollars to various OpenSource 
projects since inception in 2004.

If anybody is interested in writing or has further questions then please 
contact me directly and I will be happy to discuss them.

Thanks,
Sunny <sunnyk at packtpub.com>/
-- 
*Sunny Kansara*
Author Relationship Executive
Packt Publishing
www.PacktPub.com <http://www.PacktPub.com>
Skype: sunnyk
MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
Interested in becoming an author? Visit http://authors.packtpub.com for 
all the information you need about writing for Packt.


>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> First, full disclosure: I'm an Editor with O'Reilly.
>>
>> I just wanted to contribute the note that when a publisher states its 
>> royalty rate as a percentage, you need to ask: "of what?"  Some 
>> publishers calculate royalties as a percentage of profit rather than 
>> of net revenue, or their definitions of "net revenue" may vary.  So 
>> just looking at one publisher's percentage vs. another is usually a 
>> comparison of apples to oranges anyway.
>>
>> Then there's the matter of how many copies they expect to sell.  Some 
>> publishers sign books only if they expect the book to do well and 
>> make a profit; others are willing to take a hit on some niche books 
>> and expect to make up that revenue with a few blockbusters -- which 
>> is all well and good, unless you're the author of one of the niche 
>> books that never earns out its advance.  (The silver lining here is 
>> that this is how books on niche topics are made available to those 
>> that want them; if you're considering writing on such a topic and are 
>> primarily concerned with publicizing your content or growing your 
>> community, then this could be the way to go.  Just be aware that you 
>> might not make any money doing it.)
>>
>> These are all good things to ask a publisher you're considering 
>> working with (as well as questions Wesley indicates, such as what the 
>> tech review and editing process will be like, and who is responsible 
>> for that: some publishers ask authors to handle their own tech review).
>>
>> It's always good to know what you're getting yourself into, no matter 
>> whom you're considering working with.
>>
>> Happy writing,
>> Julie
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "wesley chun" <wescpy at gmail.com>
>> To: python-authors at python.org
>> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 12:23:44 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada 
>> Eastern
>> Subject: Re: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing
>>
>> this is a warning to all before jumping in without looking at the
>> waters first. i haven't worked with them before, but based on the
>> existing review of their Python books, i would be somewhat hesitant,
>> and i certainly wouldn't approach them without an agent. (i'm also not
>> sure of their marketing and PR... i doubt they have the same type of
>> staff as a more well-known publisher like Pearson [Prentice Hall,
>> Addison Wesley] or O'Reilly.)
>>
>> the royalties they're offering seem abnormally high, and even scarier
>> is that they tell you over email when this is typically something
>> that's negotiated. the standard royalty rate is 10%, as O'Reilly
>> states publically:
>>
>> http://www.oreillynet.com/oreilly/oreilly/author/ch03.html
>>
>> i'm concerned that they offer a higher rate because they spend less
>> elsewhere, such as editing. read Alex Martelli's review very carefully
>> as well as others' here:
>>
>> http://www.amazon.com/dp/184719494X
>>
>> he is doing both the Python community *and* authors at-large a huge
>> favor by exposing this type of publisher behavior in the hopes that
>> anyone would jump at this project because they: 1) want to be
>> published, and 2) want higher royalties. as long as they sell enough
>> to cover their minimal costs. it is also strongly likely that the
>> editing, if there is any, is outsourced.
>>
>> here's another one (check out the "most helpful review"):
>>
>> http://www.amazon.com/dp/1904811841
>>
>> anyway, i'm not telling you guys *not* to do it, but just be careful,
>> and have good English writing skills because likely, it won't be
>> edited much so you should be prepared to be practically camera-ready.
>>
>> cheers,
>> -wesley
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 4:52 AM, Sunny Kansara <sunnyk at packtpub.com> 
>> wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> I represent Packt Publishing, the publishers of computer related books.
>>>
>>> We are planning to publish a new book on wxPython which will teach the
>>> Python developers who want to quickly use wxPython to create 
>>> programs with
>>> high functional GUI's and currently we are looking out for some 
>>> potential
>>> authors to write this book.
>>>
>>> We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.
>>>
>>> An ideal candidate to author this book will be someone with an 
>>> experience in
>>> wxPython. He/She should be able to communicate his/her thoughts 
>>> clearly in
>>> English. Past writing experience will be an advantage though not 
>>> mandatory.
>>>
>>> If you are interested in authoring this book, please write to me with a
>>> brief information about your experience with wxPython and any past 
>>> writing
>>> experience you may have..
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Sunny.
>>> -- 
>>> Sunny Kansara
>>> Author Relationship Executive
>>> Packt Publishing
>>> www.PacktPub.com
>>> Skype: sunnyk
>>> MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
>>
>> -- 
>> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>> "Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001
>> "Python Fundamentals", Prentice Hall, (c)2009
>>    http://corepython.com
>>
>> wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com
>> python training and technical consulting
>> cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca
>> http://cyberwebconsulting.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> Python-authors mailing list
>> Python-authors at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors
>>
>> -- 
>> Julie Steele
>> Acquisitions Editor
>> O'Reilly Media, Inc.
>> jsteele at oreilly.com
>> Mobile: 201-937-7866
>> -- 
>> AIM/Skype: JSteeleEditor
>> Twitter: @jsteeleeditor
>> _______________________________________________
>> Python-authors mailing list
>> Python-authors at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors
>>
>
>


-- 
*Sunny Kansara*
Author Relationship Executive
Packt Publishing
www.PacktPub.com <http://www.PacktPub.com>
Skype: sunnyk
MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
Interested in becoming an author? Visit http://authors.packtpub.com for 
all the information you need about writing for Packt.
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From fuzzyman at gmail.com  Fri Dec 18 13:30:07 2009
From: fuzzyman at gmail.com (Michael Foord)
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:30:07 +0000
Subject: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing
In-Reply-To: <4B2B736C.2000807@packtpub.com>
References: <DA518C5636F7441DB33F0CD13CCAE6C7@sonyPC>
	<4B2B736C.2000807@packtpub.com>
Message-ID: <6f4025010912180430uddb31f0xf75722bf8179a3bd@mail.gmail.com>

2009/12/18 Sunny Kansara <sunnyk at packtpub.com>

>  *Hi Everyone,
>
> I see a lot of questions been raised by authors before taking up a writing
> project. We have a crystal clear working style at Packt and we have made our
> royalty public as well which means we do not negotiate it and we do not
> hesitate to say it on public platforms.
>
> 16% royalty is given to authors on the net revenue generated from that
> book.
> *
>


What do you mean by "net revenue"? When I wrote IronPython in Action for
Manning the royalty was 10% of *gross revenue* to Manning (so 10% of what
they made from each sale - which is not the same amount as book sellers sold
it to the end customer). It seems to me that 16% of net may be a lot less
than 10% of gross depending on how it is calculated...

All the best,

Michael Foord



> *
> We have a complete team of editors, production and marketing people which
> means author get full support from Packt from beginning to end. We do not
> ask them to go and come back when the book is ready. The sale of the books
> is as important to Packt as it is to the author.
>
>
> To give you an idea about the way things works at Packt:
>
> - The editorial team at Packt works with the author through out the
> project.
> - We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.
> - The marketing team at Packt ensures that the book is well promoted.
> - In its ongoing commitment to OpenSource, Packt donates a percentage of
> revenue generated by the book to the OpenSource project on which it is
> based. We have donated more than 100 000 dollars to various OpenSource
> projects since inception in 2004.
>
> If anybody is interested in writing or has further questions then please
> contact me directly and I will be happy to discuss them.
>
> Thanks,
> Sunny <sunnyk at packtpub.com> <sunnyk at packtpub.com>*
> --
> *Sunny Kansara*
> Author Relationship Executive
> Packt Publishing
> www.PacktPub.com
> Skype: sunnyk
> MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
> Interested in becoming an author? Visit http://authors.packtpub.com for
> all the information you need about writing for Packt.
>
>
>  Hi everyone,
>
> First, full disclosure: I'm an Editor with O'Reilly.
>
> I just wanted to contribute the note that when a publisher states its
> royalty rate as a percentage, you need to ask: "of what?"  Some publishers
> calculate royalties as a percentage of profit rather than of net revenue, or
> their definitions of "net revenue" may vary.  So just looking at one
> publisher's percentage vs. another is usually a comparison of apples to
> oranges anyway.
>
> Then there's the matter of how many copies they expect to sell.  Some
> publishers sign books only if they expect the book to do well and make a
> profit; others are willing to take a hit on some niche books and expect to
> make up that revenue with a few blockbusters -- which is all well and good,
> unless you're the author of one of the niche books that never earns out its
> advance.  (The silver lining here is that this is how books on niche topics
> are made available to those that want them; if you're considering writing on
> such a topic and are primarily concerned with publicizing your content or
> growing your community, then this could be the way to go.  Just be aware
> that you might not make any money doing it.)
>
> These are all good things to ask a publisher you're considering working
> with (as well as questions Wesley indicates, such as what the tech review
> and editing process will be like, and who is responsible for that: some
> publishers ask authors to handle their own tech review).
>
> It's always good to know what you're getting yourself into, no matter whom
> you're considering working with.
>
> Happy writing,
> Julie
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "wesley chun" <wescpy at gmail.com> <wescpy at gmail.com>
> To: python-authors at python.org
> Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 12:23:44 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: Re: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing
>
> this is a warning to all before jumping in without looking at the
> waters first. i haven't worked with them before, but based on the
> existing review of their Python books, i would be somewhat hesitant,
> and i certainly wouldn't approach them without an agent. (i'm also not
> sure of their marketing and PR... i doubt they have the same type of
> staff as a more well-known publisher like Pearson [Prentice Hall,
> Addison Wesley] or O'Reilly.)
>
> the royalties they're offering seem abnormally high, and even scarier
> is that they tell you over email when this is typically something
> that's negotiated. the standard royalty rate is 10%, as O'Reilly
> states publically:
>
> http://www.oreillynet.com/oreilly/oreilly/author/ch03.html
>
> i'm concerned that they offer a higher rate because they spend less
> elsewhere, such as editing. read Alex Martelli's review very carefully
> as well as others' here:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/184719494X
>
> he is doing both the Python community *and* authors at-large a huge
> favor by exposing this type of publisher behavior in the hopes that
> anyone would jump at this project because they: 1) want to be
> published, and 2) want higher royalties. as long as they sell enough
> to cover their minimal costs. it is also strongly likely that the
> editing, if there is any, is outsourced.
>
> here's another one (check out the "most helpful review"):
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/1904811841
>
> anyway, i'm not telling you guys *not* to do it, but just be careful,
> and have good English writing skills because likely, it won't be
> edited much so you should be prepared to be practically camera-ready.
>
> cheers,
> -wesley
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 4:52 AM, Sunny Kansara <sunnyk at packtpub.com><sunnyk at packtpub.com>wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I represent Packt Publishing, the publishers of computer related books.
>
> We are planning to publish a new book on wxPython which will teach the
> Python developers who want to quickly use wxPython to create programs with
> high functional GUI's and currently we are looking out for some potential
> authors to write this book.
>
> We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.
>
> An ideal candidate to author this book will be someone with an experience
> in
> wxPython. He/She should be able to communicate his/her thoughts clearly in
> English. Past writing experience will be an advantage though not mandatory.
>
>
> If you are interested in authoring this book, please write to me with a
> brief information about your experience with wxPython and any past writing
> experience you may have..
>
> Thanks,
> Sunny.
> --
> Sunny Kansara
> Author Relationship Executive
> Packt Publishing
> www.PacktPub.com
> Skype: sunnyk
> MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
>
>
> --
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> "Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001
> "Python Fundamentals", Prentice Hall, (c)2009
>    http://corepython.com
>
> wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com
> python training and technical consulting
> cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca
> http://cyberwebconsulting.com
> _______________________________________________
> Python-authors mailing list
> Python-authors at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors
>
> --
> Julie Steele
> Acquisitions Editor
> O'Reilly Media, Inc.
> jsteele at oreilly.com
> Mobile: 201-937-7866
> --
> AIM/Skype: JSteeleEditor
> Twitter: @jsteeleeditor
> _______________________________________________
> Python-authors mailing list
> Python-authors at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> *Sunny Kansara*
> Author Relationship Executive
> Packt Publishing
> www.PacktPub.com
> Skype: sunnyk
> MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
> Interested in becoming an author? Visit http://authors.packtpub.com for
> all the information you need about writing for Packt.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Python-authors mailing list
> Python-authors at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors
>
>


-- 
http://www.ironpythoninaction.com/
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From vceder at canterburyschool.org  Sat Dec 26 06:49:29 2009
From: vceder at canterburyschool.org (Vern Ceder)
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:49:29 -0500
Subject: [Python-authors] Testing source snippets
Message-ID: <4B35A3E9.1090805@canterburyschool.org>

Hi everyone,

At last year's PyCon at the author BoF there was some discussion of the 
difficulty of testing code snippets embedded in a book or article's 
text. In the course of revising the Quick Python Book for Python 3.x (a 
project now finished!) I came up with a little program to doctest my 
interactive shell snippets and optionally save them into a text file for 
distribution with the book.

I finally got around to cleaning up the code and putting it online, so 
if anyone is interested, it's called doctester and lives at 
http://bitbucket.org/vceder/doctester, and the wiki documentation there 
pretty much explains how it works.

It's really not much, just a way to copy and paste snippets and run 
doctest on them, but it did save me a fair amount of time and helped 
keep the code examples in my book (I hope) fairly clean.

In looking at it, I can think of about a hundred enhancements that could 
be made, but since this project is done, I probably won't work on it for 
a while. So if it's of use to anyone else, feel free to take it for what 
it's worth.

Cheers,
Vern Ceder
The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed, http://www.manning.com/ceder

-- 
This time for sure!
    -Bullwinkle J. Moose
-----------------------------
Vern Ceder, Director of Technology
Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804
vceder at canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137