Hi Bob, I have today ordered a copy of Power Shift on Amazon. Although I do have an interest in solar power, I did this mostly in appreciation of the fine work you have always done to support the DocBook community over the years.
I hope everyone on this mailing list feels the same way and rushes to order their own copy of your new book. Thanks for everything! > You know me as the author of DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide. Now I have > written another book on a completely different topic: solar energy. Since I > produced my new book using DocBook, I'm taking this opportunity to tell the > DocBook community about it, and I describe how I produced it at the end of > this message. Replies about the DocBook process can go to the whole list if > you think it's appropriate. If you want to reply about the book's content, > please reply just to me so we don't burden the mailing list. > > > I'm pleased to announce that my book Power Shift: From Fossil Energy to > Dynamic Solar Power has been unleashed from its long development and is now > available to the world. If you have any interest in solar energy, then you > should read this book. > > <powershift-front-cover-lores.jpg> > > Climate change researchers sometimes paint a bleak picture of our current > global-warming crisis, but rarely explain how we got into this predicament in > the first place and how we get out of it. Now, for the first time, my new > book does just that. Power Shift retells human history through the lens of > energy, explains the science behind the crisis--in clear, succinct language > that anyone can understand—and provides a detailed blueprint for the future, > from governmental, commercial, and individual perspectives. > > Wondering if the book is any good? Here is what others are saying: > > "Solar is surging all of a sudden, and if you read this comprehensive > book you’ll understand why!" -- Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature > > "An energy book that is a pleasure to read" -- Kirkus Reviews > > "visionary and brilliant" -- NASA Researcher Joe Jordan > > "Exceptionally well written" -- Midwest Book Review > > "lucid, convincing" -- Denis Hayes, organizer of the first Earth Day > > "points the way to a clean energy future" -- California Secretary of Natural > Resources John Laird > > or check out the reader reviews on Amazon > <http://http//www.amazon.com/Power-Shift-Robert-Arthur-Stayton/dp/099047920X/> > > > After teaching solar energy for many years, I spent over 15 years researching > and writing this book, all while living the life in the off-grid solar home > we built. This is my lifework. > > It has been a long road to publication. I handed out the first draft in > January 2000, and many things have changed since then. Now I get to report on > solar energy's success instead of just wishing for it. I'm self publishing > the book, because as an unknown author I could not interest a publishing > company, and because they don't offer much in the way of marketing for new > authors anyway. So I started my own publishing company, Sandstone Publishing > (www.sandstonepublishing.com <http://www.sandstonepublishing.com/>), whose > catalog contains exactly one book. > > Now I get to market my book, an activity for which I am totally unsuited. My > low-budget marketing plan consists of getting good reviews, and word of > mouth. So if you read the book and like it, please write a review on Amazon > or Goodreads, and tell your friends and family about it. Even climate > skeptics can get something out of this book. > > The book is available in paperback and Kindle at Amazon > <http://www.amazon.com/Power-Shift-Robert-Arthur-Stayton/dp/099047920X/>, in > paperback and Nook Book at Barnes & Noble > <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/power-shift-robert-arthur-stayton/1121672614>, > in iBooks at the Apple iTunes Store > <https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/power-shift/id991636783> and in Kobo from > Kobo Books <http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/power-shift-4>. And if you > can't afford one, convince me and I'll give you an Ebook copy. 8^) > > By the way, although you know me as Bob Stayton, I'm publishing the book > under my full name Robert Arthur Stayton as a gesture to honor my father > Chester Arthur Stayton, Jr. and my grandfather Chester Arthur Stayton, Sr., > with whom I share my middle name. > > Producing Power Shift with DocBook > > I wrote the book in DocBook 5 using XMetal 7. I started off writing it in > modular fashion, but found that it got in the way of continuity. This isn't > technical documentation, after all. 8^) So I merged all the files into one > big book file and finished the book that way. That allowed me to > easily find something for cross referencing and to keep the narrative flow > moving. Searches for indexterms were much easier in a single file, and I used > XMetal macros to assist with inserting indexterms. > > I hired a book designer for the interior and implemented the specs from the > InDesign file she gave me in DocBook XSL. From that I could generate the PDF > for the book's interior. I had hoped to be able to show you the page design > by referring to the Look Inside the Book feature on Amazon, but for some > reason they put the Kindle version in there and I have not been able to reach > the right person at Amazon to replace it with the PDF version I submitted to > them two weeks ago. One of the many trials of working with automated > publishing vendors. > > For the cover, I started with a cover template in InDesign that I generated > from Lightning Source, which is the print-on-demand vendor that I'm using. > They provide a form to enter the book's dimensions, paper type (which > determines thickness), and page count, and they generate an InDesign template > for the cover spread (back cover on left, spine in center, front cover on the > right). I could then fill in the text in the appropriate boxes. I left the > cover in InDesign rather than try to implement it in DocBook. From InDesign > I produced the PDF for the cover. > > Then it was just a matter of setting up the book at Lightning Source and > submitting the two PDFs. Since I already had an account at Lightning Source > for my DocBook book, I just had to add another book. If you are new self > publisher, they will likely try to push you over to Ingram Spark, their > service that is intended for self-publishers with little publishing > experience. Lightning Source does much less hand holding than Spark. > > Lightning Source has some specific requirements for the PDF files you submit. > All fonts must be embedded, including those of any SVGs you insert. They > also came back and said the cover colors were too rich and had to be scaled > back. I was able to fix all the PDF issues using PhotoShop and > Acrobat Pro's Preflight tools. > > In January of this year I ordered the first Advance Reading Copies (ARC) to > send to reviewers that want the book months before publication so they can > write a review. The ARC version predated the final copy edit, the index, and > other final details. The great thing about print-on-demand is that I could > order only as many copies as I needed. In April I completed the final > revisions in XMetal and submitted my revised PDFs. It cost only $40 each to > update the book block and the cover. Once I approved the test book, > Lightning Source arranges for the book to be posted on Amazon and listed in > Books-in-Print. > > I also used the DocBook tools to produce Ebook versions with the epub3 > stylesheet. I ended up producing four different epub3 flavors for Kindle, > Nook, iBooks, and Kobo. They differ mostly in the CSS used, because their > readers are not at all consistent about how CSS is handled. It reminded me > of the bad old days of HTML browser incompatibilities. I then had to set up > accounts on each of the systems to become an Ebook seller. The biggest pain > was iBooks, because Apple *requires* you to use an Apple computer to run the > software they use to manage iBooks. > > Just when you think you are done, you realize that no one is buying your book > because no one knows about it. So I had to start a whole new career as book > marketeer. Not much help from DocBook there. > -- > Bob Stayton > Sagehill Enterprises > b...@sagehill.net <mailto:b...@sagehill.net>
