I am very happy to say that, after much delay, “The Yii Book: Developing Web Applications Using the Yii PHP Framework”, is now available for sale. The book has its own home at yii.larryullman.com.

Everything you need to know should be on those pages, but the most important information is probably:

• The book is currently in version 0.2, which includes the Introduction and Part 1 (four chapters)
• The book is available in PDF, epub, and mobi formats.
• You can pay using Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Diners Club. (I’ll try to get PayPal integrated soon.)
• I’m going to be continuing to write the book from now until it’s complete, probably in February 2013. I’ll be publishing updates every 2-3 chapters or so. This is my main priority, and with most of the logistics worked out, progress should go faster.
• Whenever you buy the book, you’ll continue to be able to get free updates as they are released, including a revision for Yii version 2.
• The minimum price is $20.00, but you can pay anything you want more than that.

I had a “soft opening” yesterday in order to catch bugs (and I did; lousy bugs). I’m happy to say that 23 orders came since yesterday afternoon, averaging $35.39! My thanks to everyone for their interest in the book and to those that have already ordered.

If you know me at all, you know I’m pretty much behind schedule all the time, especially on books. Many people are eagerly awaiting my forthcoming, self-published " The Yii Book" (and thanks!), so here’s a quick update:

• I’m about a month behind schedule. This is largely my fault, although I did hit a couple of snags.
• That being said, today I finished the penultimate draft on Part 1 of the book (four chapters, plus the introduction). I think it’s pretty good. Part 1 provides a lot of context for the rest of the book, and the Yii framework in general, so I wanted to make sure it was sound.
• Hopefully tomorrow night (after a day of jury duty), I’ll be able to do the last draft of Part 1 so that I can send it to the technical editors (Qiang Xue and Alexander Makarov).
• Once that part of the book is in the technical editor’s hands, I’ll work on the Web site where I’ll be selling the book. I’ve already got the domain setup and I’m in the process of getting the Extended Validation certificate in place. Getting the site online will be my weekend plans.
• Once I get the notes back from the technical editors, I’ll make final edits and output the book in PDF, ePub, and mobi format to be sold. I expect there may be some snags in getting that just right, but I’ll try to balance my desire to be perfect with your desire to get the book ASAP.
• Considering all of the above, I’m hoping to be able to start selling the book on Tuesday, October 30th, although it’s possible I don’t make that deadline. I’ll do my best, though.

If I can make that happen, it would give me Tuesday and Wednesday to make sure there are no kinks in the system before I head up to Toronto and the True North PHP conference, where I’ll be giving a presentation on Yii.

In this edition…

• About This Newsletter
• >On the Road => True North PHP Conference
• On the Web => How to Write a Book
• On the Web => 5 Rules to Sell Thousands of Copies of Your eBook
• On the Web => Scrivener
• On the Blog => What It Means To Be A Writer
• On the Blog => How Much Should I Charge for the Yii Book?
• What is Larry Thinking => Self-Publishing, Part 1
• Book Giveaway => “PHP Advanced and Object-Oriented Programming: Visual QuickPro Guide”
• Larry Ullman’s Book News => “PHP Advanced and OOP” and “The Yii Book”

The Treehouse Blog published a good introduction to responsive Web design a couple months back, titled Beginner’s Guide to Responsive Web Design. If you’re not yet familiar with the concept of responsive Web design, this is an excellent introduction, providing both the how’s and the why’s.

It’s three in the morning, and I’ve just arrived at my hotel in Instanbul, Turkey. It took 49 hours of travel to get here. I haven’t really slept in 37 hours. My one piece of luggage is nowhere to be found, which means that I don’t have my suit, laptop cords, laptop remote, or business cards. The presentation is in 8 hours: I have 8 hours to make up for two days sleep and to go shopping (in a new country) for presentable clothes. Oh, and did I mention that I’m deathly uncomfortable with public speaking?

Surprisingly, the presentation is going to go okay, in part because I had the good fortune to have read Scott Berkun’s " Confessions of a Public Speaker." That may sound like hyperbole, but it’s true.

Berkun is a professional writer and speaker, among other roles, and he provides an excellent resource in his public speaking book, “Confessions of a Public Speaker.” In it, Berkun conveys three things that can greatly improve your presentations and speeches. He: