I think one could say that Richard's books are really a great Deal! Guess you've heard that one before. :-)
Anyway, we're glad you're writing them. Thanks. Priscilla Richard Deal wrote: > > GM, > > It depends :-). First, you typically get an advance. This > varies, but can be > between $5,000 and $15,000, depending on the subject (how hot > it is) and the > previous track record of the author. This money counts against > any royalties > that you make...which is why they call it an "advance". You > then get > royalties. Royalties are based on net profit of the book. > > As an example, if a book says it costs $50 on the cover, this > is considered > gross profit. Net profit is what the publisher gets for the > book. The > publisher typically marks the book up by about 50%. This can > vary depending > on whether the book is hard or soft-bound, includes CDs, and > its page > length, as well as other things. So net profit on a $50 book is > about $25. > You get a percentage of the $25. Royalties can range anywhere > from a very > low 5% up to about %18 percent. Sometimes this is on a sliding > scale. For > instance, it might be that you get 8% for selling 5,000 copies > and between > 5,000 and 10,000 you get 10% and for anything above 10,000 > copies, you get > %12. As an example, if your percentage is 10% on a net profit > of $25 a book, > you only get $2.50 a book. > > Most technical writers don't get rich selling technical books. > Most > publishers are looking for average sales of 500 copies a month. > So given > $2.50 a book, you just make $1,250 for that month. Of course, > if you had an > advance of $10,000, this money goes to paying off the advance. > So you might > not see any real money until about 9 months later. A really hot > topic > typically sells more than 1,000 or 2,000 copies a month, but > this doesn't > happen too often. Of course, you might get really lucky, like > Todd Lammle > did when he came out with his first CCNA book. Rumor is that he > sold over > 250,000 copies in 18 months...talk about nice royalty checks > :-). > > I got into the writing business by accident. In my first > marriage, I was > paying a lot of alimony and didn't have any spending money :-(. > This is when > Cisco's certifications were taking off. Since I taught these > classes, and > had a minor in English, I thought, hey, what the heck. It will > at least give > me some money to travel a bit. So my first contract was with > the Coriolis > Group to write a Cisco Switching book for Cisco's switching > exam. > > Writing isn't for everyone. Constantly I get asked how easy is > it, or how > can even begin to write a book? Typically, I can get a first > proof of the > book done in 3-4 months, which is about 600-700 pages. It takes > persistence. > There are many a day when I don't feel like working at it. When > I was > writing my first book, I was under a lot of stress--working > during the day > and then writing 3-4 hours every night. And then writing every > weekend. > Today, my schedule is much more flexible > > Cheers! > -- > > Richard A. Deal > > Visit my home page at http://home.cfl.rr.com/dealgroup/ > > Author of Cisco PIX Firewalls, CCNA Secrets Revealed!, CCNP > Remote Access > Exam Prep, CCNP Switching Exam Cram, and CCNP Cisco LAN Switch > Configuration > Exam Cram > > Cisco Test Prep author for QuizWare, providing the most > comprehensive Cisco > exams on the market. > > > > > ""Mossburg, Geoff (MAN-Corporate)"" > wrote in > message [EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... > > I know a lot of people on this group have been published, > some multiple > > times, and I hope I'm not offending anyone by asking this > question: How > well > > does a book publisher pay for the books you write? I'm not > expecting any > > specific figures, but a ballpark figure would be interesting. > > Thanks! > > GM > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Richard Deal [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > > Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 7:24 PM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: Re: Richard A. Deal Books [7:62027] > > > > > > Mark, > > > > Thanks for the kudos. I worked really hard on the book and I > know, after > > having written 6 books, that you can't please everyone. > However, of all of > > the books that I've written, I'm proudest of this book. Yes, > there are > some > > errors that slipped in during my last review of the book and > when it went > to > > production, which does, unfortunately, happen. But as I > discover these, I > > put them on my web site. > > > > As to my MCNS book, which is what the first poster asked, I > had finished > it, > > but before it went to print, the publisher (The Coriolis > Group) went out > of > > business. Since the MCNS has changed, I've decided not to > create a new > book. > > I'm getting a contract this week to write a CCNA book for > McGraw-Hill and > > have been desparately trying to convince them to write a > Cisco VPN > book--one > > that covers ALL aspects of VPNS with Cisco products--PIX, > router, > > concentrator, and their software clients. > > > > If you have any questions about my PIX book, please don't > hesitate in > > shooting me an email. Thanks for your support! > > > > Cheers! > > ""Mark Smith"" wrote in message > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... > > > I think his PIX book is very good. I've not found many > errors in it but > > then > > > maybe I've not looked at it in as much depth as you have. > If I have a > > gripe > > > about it it's for one thing. I use it as a desktop > reference. Sometimes > > I'm > > > looking up how to accomplish "X" and find out that before I > can do that > I > > > need to accomplish A, B and/or C. The instructions will > simply say "That > > > process was covered earlier and won't be repeated here. Now > to > accomplish > > > "X"....." Earlier? Where....EXACTLY? I've spent more time > looking for > > > "earlier" sometimes than I do accomplishing the task at > hand. "Earlier > in > > > this chapter under the blah heading" or "this was covered > in the chapter > > on > > > blah blah" would be helpful. As far as the info in the book > goes I've > > found > > > stuff in there that I can't find at CCO (it may be there > but I can't > find > > > it) or anywhere other than maybe from tech in a TAC call. > Either that or > > > I've had to look for it in a dozen different places and now > it's all > > > together in one book. > > > It's the best book I've found on using a PIX. Beats the > Cisco Press book > > on > > > the PIX by a long shot. > > > Don't know about any others he's written. > > > > > > IMHO. > > > > > > Mark > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of > > > Sam Sneed > > > Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 9:57 AM > > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Subject: Re: Richard A. Deal Books [7:62027] > > > > > > > > > His PIX firewall book is OK. It does have a lot of errors > in it though. > > Hope > > > his other books have proofreaders. > > > > > > > > > ""Joseph R. Taylor"" wrote in message > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... > > > > Hi Everyone, > > > > I'm interested in knowing how good Richard A. Deal's > books are. > > > > Especially in reference to MCNS. Thank you in advance. > > > > Joseph R. Taylor > > > > MCSE, CCNP > > Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=62131&t=62027 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
