In May of this year, I was on an edition of The New York Times’ TechTalk Podcast. I discussed my second book, The Next Wave of Technologies. At the end of the show, the host asked me, “What’s next? Another book?”
I responded with something along the lines of, “I can’t imagine doing another one but, knowing me, I’ll probably do it again. It’s kind of like a woman having a child. Immediately afterward, she can’t imagine repeating the experience. After a few years, though, the kid is kind of cute and you want another one.”
Well, it didn’t take me long to have my “childbearing” moment.
My next book is called The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies. It is about how small businesses are using cloud computing, SaaS, open source, mobility, and social networks to compete with larger organizations. In the process, “the little guys” are creating much more meaningful jobs.
Technology books can be dry. This one won’t be. I am profiling a dozen small businesses in different industries doing amazing things. I am including a seafood restaurant, a voiceover company, a law firm, an iPad case maker, and a bunch of others. Why? I love the way that Malcolm Gladwell tells stories and weaves them all together, finding common themes.
A New Model
To get the book out, I had a number of options. Trust me when I tell you that traditional publishers were interested. However, I’m decided to do this myself because for three reasons. First, publishers wanted to price the book at a level that I think would hurt its commercial appeal. Without going too much into it, their cost structures demand a high price. Second, books about technology are dated the minute they are published. Finally, I have written before about my interesting experiences with proper publishers. I just don’t think that they “get it.” I’ll leave it at that.
As you may know, there are different types of self-publishing. I had no interest in using “publishing houses” such as AuthorHouse or iUniverse. Quite frankly, I can do a better job than they can. I know from personal experience. That ship has sailed.
I found out about Kickstarter a few weeks ago. I was intrigued enough to give it a shot. I am using the site to raise some of the funds required—e.g., editing, cover design, and production costs. With regard to the latter, I am using Lightning Source, a print-on-demand company that prints Wiley’s older titles. The company produces high-quality books that I’ve seen first-hand.
So far, the results of far the “campaign” on Kickstarter have been amazing. After about a week and a half, I met 40 percent of my goal!
Other Tidbits
Chris Brogan has agreed to write the foreword. He’s the co-author of Trust Agents and the author of Social Media 101.
The book will be out in November of this year and has its own site: The New Small. It will be listed on Amazon shortly.
I’d love it if you considered backing my campaign.
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