Should I Unglue my next book?

What happens when crowd-funding meets publishing? You get Unglue.it From their website:

What if you could give a book to everyone on earth? Get an ebook and read it on any device, in any format, forever? Give an ebook to your library, for them to share? Own DRM-free ebooks, legally? Read free ebooks, and know their creators had been fairly paid?

At Unglue.it, you can pledge toward creating ebooks that will be legally free, worldwide. These books have already been traditionally published, but they're stuck: legal restrictions keep you from being able to enjoy and share them.

Unglue.it gets them unstuck. Authors and publishers decide what amount lets them freely share their books with the world while still making a living. We raise that fee here through crowdfunding: people like you chipping in. When campaigns succeed, the rights holders get paid, and they issue a free electronic edition under a Creative Commons license.

What if you could give your favorite book to the world?

What if you could unglue it? https://unglue.it/

As I look at a revision of my self-published book, Machines Are the Easy Part; People are the Hard Part, alternate means of publishing and distribution become interesting.

Published by Beaver's Pond Press, a local vanity publisher, back in 2003, sales of the little book were enough to cover the cost of a proof-reader, editorial assistance, printing about 1,000 copies, and my son Brady's remuneration for doing the drawings. And I was able to give lots and lots of copies away at my speaking engagements which was great fun.

A few years ago when I ran out of print copies, I moved the book to Lulu where it can still be downloaded for free as a pdf file or purchased for the cost of the printing and shipping.

The content of the book needs updating and expanding, some reorganization, and new drawings that reflect the increased skills of my son who is finishing a BA in graphic arts at the local university. But now, 10 years later, the options for publishing in a non-traditional means have grown.

First my goals:

1. Make enough money to pay Brady nicely for his new drawings and to me for a one-week writing "vacation" in some warm place. I'm thinking around $5000 total.
2. Keep the book free (or very low cost).
3. Allow generous re-use of the materials in the book with a Creative Commons license instead of a traditional copyright.
4. Rely primarily on electronic publishing distribution but be readable on as many devices as possible. A print version should be available, as well.
5. Make the book "interactive" if possible.

To me, it seems that one can either accomplish goal 1 or goals 2-5, but it will be difficult to do both. Therefore my interest in Unglue.it.

While rich, varied, and full of opportunity, the electronic publishing world is also a damn big mess. I read with great interest David Warlick's adventures in publishing the revision of his great book, Cultivating Your Personal Learning Network 2.0. While iBook Publisher is a wonderful tool, I do not like the fact that it's proprietary - the output can only be read on iPads. PDF can be read on about anything, but it lacks many of the nice features of e-books.

From what research I've found, it looks like ePub and mobi versions will be needed to make the book readable on most devices. Websites like Smashwords, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, or my old friend Lulu offer e-book creations and distribution services.

Any readers with experience who can shine a light in this morass?

Comments

[Emily Brown]

I've only played around with it, but I'm intrigued by PressBooks--and their manifesto.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Emily,

Thanks for the link to PressBooks. I will look at it carefully.

Doug

[Kathy Kaldenberg]

You might enjoy listening to David Lankes talk about his self publishing journey on the Circulating Ideas podcast. http://www.circulatingideas.com/2012/12/expect-more.html

[Doug Johnson]

Thanks for the link, Kathy. Everyone seems to be raving about Mr Lankes, so I need to see what he's saying!

Doug