July 20, 2006

Writing a Book on Remixing Information

Since the beginning of July, I've dropped my time at the university to 60% so that I can have two full days a week to write a book. I originally set out to write on the subject matter of the class I taught in the spring, "Mixing and Remixing Information." That is, the book is geared to teaching how to combine the varied sources of information on the Web into a new and useful creation. After a couple of months of sporadic hard labor, with a solid book outline in hand, I am currently looking for a publisher. The conceptual framework for the book has held up to the scrutiny of knowledgable reviewers. Finding a sufficient market of buyers, on the other hand, remains a major hurdle. The book in its current form is pitched at programmers and designers who enjoy the process of creating programs and websites. In writing the book proposal, I was already challenged to broaden my audience from hardcore programmers to non-programmers who are nonetheless comfortable with the Web. Now, I strive to reach a still wider audience. I can't imagine many of my friends' reading the book as outlined, for instance. How can I write a book that would captivate people such as my friends and family who certainly use the Web but who don't program? That's the question I'm now exploring. Posted by rdhyee at July 20, 2006 03:12 PM