Steve,
In John's defense, it is not a well-known fact that the titles of these
technical books are not really under author control - the publisher decides
what the book will be called. My book was originally titled "Teach Yourself
Palm Programming in 24 Hours", and I was mortified, since I thought it gave
the mistaken impression that something as hard as developing palm
applications could be learned in a day. Then Macmillan sent me four or five
example titles from the series, and I was totally impressed by them. They
were very well-written, and contained comprehensive information on their
subjects. They changed my mind about the series, and I also talked to other
developers who loved the series.
Of course in the end my book's title was changed to "Palm Programming"
(which I was also mortified at, fearing it would be taken as an attempt to
capitalize on Neil Rhodes' fine book of the same name), but again, I had no
say in the title of the book.
The publishers, like it or not, have well-known series (ex. "Dummies", "24
Hours") within which they like to place new titles. Apparently this
marketing ploy works - people feel comfortable buying a book that is part
of a dependable series that has worked out well for them in the past. I
haven't yet seen John's "Dummies" book, but I'm sure it will be a valuable
addition to the available knowledgebase on palm development. I know people
that own titles in the "Dummies" series and they are very pleased with
them. As a matter of fact, I own "Wine for Dummies", which is one the most
well-regarded books around on the subject of wine.
The moral of this story? "Don't judge a book by its cover"! <ducking...>
Glenn
At 01:37 PM 8/7/99 -0700, you wrote:
>Frankly, I find the whole "For dummies" titles very insulting. I'll never
put
>up a book and label myself as that.
>
>John Schettino wrote:
>
>> Palm OS Programming for Dummies is now available. You can get it at Amazon
>> (via my home page http://members.tripod.com/schettino) or direct
>> (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764505637/schettinosoftwar)
>>
>> It's also at Fatbrain (http://www.fatbrain.com/shop/info/0764505637)
>>
>> For those that like to browse before they buy, it will probably trickle
>> into bookstores in another week or two.
>>
>> In addition to the printed contents, there are three bonus chapters on the
>> CD-ROM.
>>
>> - John Schettino
>> Author of Palm OS Programming for Dummies, CORBA for Dummies,
>> AppleScript Applications, and more.
>> http://members.tripod.com/schettino
>>
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>
Glenn Bachmann
Bachmann Software and Services, LLC
http://www.bachmannsoftware.com
Software for Handheld & Wireless Computing, Windows and the Internet
Authors of "Palm Programming", published by Macmillan/Sams, and home of
Bachmann Print Manager, the only graphical printing solution for the Palm
Computing Platform
