Bookstore
Other Books
Here are some books that I've actually read and found useful enough to recommend. Unlike some sites, I'm not going to throw every book on a list for you to buy. These are the ones I think are important.
Don't Make Me Think
by Steve Krug
Paperback - 224 pages
Published by Que
ISBN: 0789723107
List Price $35.00My first reaction when I read this book was, "Gee. I don't remember writing this one." This is the book I would have written had I been asked to write on the topic of usability.
HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide
by Chuck Musciano
Paperback - 660 pages
O'Reilly & Associates;
ISBN: 059600026X
List price $34.95It's a must-own book. It won't really teach you HTML -- so it's not for the novice -- but if you've forgotten the why and how of a particular piece of code, this book will help you.
Designing web Usability
by Jakob Nielsen
Paperback - 432 pages
New Riders Publishing
ISBN: 156205810X
List price $45.00Mr. Usability himself has written an excellent intro to the topic.
Negotiating a Book Contract
by Mark L. Levine
Paperback, 90 pages
Published by Moyer, Bell, Ltd.
Publication Date 1988
ISBN: 0918825695
List Price: $12.95So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star? Everybody thinks you can take the tons of money you're paid for writing computer books and go off and live on Bora-Bora with the native girls. Well, I've got a best-selling computer book and I can tell you "It ain't so." Now, there are some folks raking in the money (the folks who write the MSCE books or the ones writing a whole series of "Dummy"-type books), but by and large you can't really make a living just writing computer books. It's the same with the music business. Lots of great bands don't make a living, but there are other benefits. The music business and book business are very similar -- except in the book business besides not a lot of money there are no groupies or drugs -- it's the worst of all fantasies. In the book business you have the knowledge that you're one of the 2% who actually got a book published so when people ask what you do you can say "I'm a published author" rather than "I'm a writer."
However, if you're crazy enough to want to write a computer book -- or, more importantly, any book -- you need to buy and read "Negotiating a Book Contract" first. The good news is this book lists every ploy the publishers will try to pull on you (it's important to note that publishers don't feel they're trying to pull anything over on you and resent it greatly when you suggest that they are). The bad news is there often is little you can do to prevent what's going to happen. I can't give you a real-world analogy without using sexual terms, so I'll leave it to your imagination. However, forewarned is definitely forearmed.
Copyright © 2003 Flanders Enterprises. All Rights Reserved - Read our legal statement and privacy policy
