I am happy to report that my presentation “How to (not) Get Rich Writing Books” has been selected for the 2013 Pittsburgh TechFest. Pittsburgh TechFest is a one-day event on software development and related subjects. Tickets are only $10, which includes lunch (it’s a steal if you’re anywhere near Pittsburgh). Tickets will go on sale in early April. You can follow Pittsburgh TechFest 2013 on Twitter at @pghtechfest13.
My specific presentation is a new one for me, and one that I’ve been thinking about giving for a little while now. I’ll have an hour time block at Pittsburgh TechFest. Right now, the outline of my presentation looks like…
- Introduction
- Getting a Book Contract
- Writing a Book
- The Economics
- Now What?
- Self-Publishing
- Get Writing!
There are seven sections, and I’ll spend about 5 minutes or so on each, leaving a good 15 minutes for questions.
My goals for the presentation are to:
- Explain the particulars of traditional publishing
- Put forth the pro’s and con’s of traditional publishing
- Detail my experience (to date) with self-publishing
- Put forth the pro’s and con’s of self-publishing
- Compare and contrast traditional and self-publishing
- Dispel any myths or misconceptions about publishing
- Present real-world economic data so the participants fully understand what’s at stake
- Introduce the technologies one might use to publish (in any way)
- Provide related resources
- Give many and specific recommendations for what people should do if they think they may want to publish
I will, of course, publish my slides online after the fact. I don’t know if the presentation will be recorded, but I doubt it. I also expect that I’ll propose this presentation to other conferences later in the year, as well.
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. If you’re planning on attending Pittsburgh TechFest, I’ll see you there!
