Why exactly did I write a book?
First off, I never suggested that I wanted to make a living as an author. I've worked in literally every form of popular media except film, and every one of them is a little like being a starving artist. You love what you do, but the pay generally sucks. I never expected writing a book to be any different. That's why I've still got a day job! (Well, not exactly... I'm a contractor, which isn't entirely like a day job. Or a job at all. What is it I do again?)
That said, I'd like to make it worth my time as well. A-W let me write the book I wanted to write. I think I got a good contract and a good cut, but of course that means it has to sell. If it sells 10,000 copies, I'll be happy as a clam.
While making a few bucks is nice, my true motivation for this endeavour has always been to teach. I coach high school volleyball and get all of $1,500 for my trouble, but I do it because I love it. I love showing a kid something and seeing the light bulb turn on. In face-to-face training, I get the same thing with developers.
The truth is that the market I'm after, those people in transition form script monkey to OOP guru, is something that tens of thousands of developers are in. The feedback I get from people who have read it is almost universally positive, and at the level of "it changed my life." No joke. I'm as surprised as you are. Given my background as a professional communicator, I guess I had better get it right!
The challenge is reaching those people. Ever show someone how to write a class by writing the test first? A practical reason to write an HttpHander? How to inherit and repurpose a drop down list? A simple way to turn Membership plumbing to your own data store? I had several moments like that with "the new guy" at my current project today. Somehow, we (me and the publisher) need to figure out how to reach those folks and convince them this will change their life. The very ad-hoc and reference-style books out there do little more than to reinforce script habits, and that's not helpful. I was that guy four years ago. If my book had been written back then, it wouldn't have taken me so long to get to where I am today.
I think it has been slow out of the gate, but I do think it can get better. I obviously need to get off of my ass and start contributing more to the community, something I'm very guilty of not doing. With 700 to 1,000 people dropping by uberasp.net, someone must care about what I have to say. I guess I need to start saying something more.
And I know that it might sound a little arrogant to say that I really get it and everyone should listen. But the thing is, a good teacher is confident, embraces their authority on the subject, admits they don't have all of the answers, and above all, never stops learning. That's me. Like I said... I was the audience just four years ago.