Writing the book

Got the contract to a place I'm happy with it, and it's time to get beyond the three chapters I have so far and write an ASP.NET book! I'm looking forward to the entire process.

One thing that I hope to stay mercilessly focused on is the target audience. This is going to be an ASP.NET book that targets Web jockeys with a script background that might not think in terms of overall application design (read: OOP design). The first three chapters are pretty critical to setting all of this up, which is why I wrote them as part of the proposal. So far, so good, showing them to people I've worked with that I'd consider the target audience. Now the challenge is to deliver that throughout. It has to not only explain the concepts, but sell them.

If the thing sells 10,000 copies, I'd be thrilled. If it can see print before the end of the year, I'd be even more thrilled. We don't have a solid time table yet, but as long as it beats the Whidbey release, I'll be pleased. That would give it a shelf life of maybe two years if I'm lucky.

You know, it'll be the most real when it has an ISBN number. :)