Michael W. Lucas's Blog, page 32

My Inevitable(?) Amazon Tech Ebook Exit

Warning: publishing business book neepery ahead, as I try to figure out a problem. It includes a bunch of tedious ground-laying. I also round many prices to the nearest dollar.

I am specifically talking about nonfiction here. The fiction business is different. (That’s the problem.)

Amazon’s Payment Model

Amazon’s direct publishing program, KDP, is one of several distribution channels that allows writers to reach audiences without going through a publisher. KDP is the largest such distributor. In...

Forthcoming Mastery Book Price Changes

Just like the rest of the industrial world, the print book supply chain is struggling. All over the world, my printers are raising their prices. My indie publishing unit, Tilted Windmill Press, must roll with the changes. If you want print books, I recommend purchasing them soon.

I don’t know what the final prices will be. I have many titles, and churning through them all is a right pain. Some will require cover updates, because I foolishly put the prices on the back cover just like big publishe...

Breaking the Silence

Last week, multiple podcasts featuring me escaped.

In BSDNow episode 418 we talk about TLS Mastery, git sync murder, the Soroptimist International Grosse Pointe charity auction, and… probably other stuff. I don’t know, I wasn’t paying attention.

Over on Tim Niederriter’s Alive After Reading #243, we talked about books and writing and stuff.

Quarantine is difficult. Go fill your ears.

“DNSSEC Mastery, 2nd Edition” Cover Reveal

You might have glimpsed this elsewhere, especially if you’re a Patronizer, but here’s the cover of DNSSEC Mastery, Second Edition.

The original is Baraldi’s “Romans Engaged in Learning,” as reimagined by Eddie Sharam. Of course, Unix history being what it is, this is clearly “Tux Engaged in Learning.” Beastie is doing the teaching, thank you very much.

The book is still open for sponsorship, but I hope to finish the first draft this month.

Auction Against Human Trafficking

My wife works with Soroptimist International of Grosse Pointe to support their anti-human-trafficking efforts. They usually hold a variety of fundraisers, including a 5K race in September.

2020 and 2021 have been less than optimal fundraising years. Running a 5K on your own is much less interesting than trying to outrace a whole bunch of folks.

This year SIGP is raising money for the Joseph Project, a non-for-profit organization who connect human trafficking survivors with skilled pro ...

“$ git sync murder” is out, so: how many books have I written?

The hardcovers are in stores now, so I think it’s official. $ git sync murder is out everywhere except my print bookstore. You can get it at all of the usual stores. I have the ebook in my store.

Every time I release a new book, or dare to show my face in public, folks ask me how many books I’ve written. My answer is, “define written and book.” That’s not as snarky an answer as you might think.

First, they’re asking the wrong question. I’ve written many books that were not published and that yo...

“git sync murder” sponsor & Patronizer gifts now shipping

I woke up this morning planning to plunge into the text of the new edition DNSSEC Mastery. Before I made it to my writing desk, however, UPS dropped a heap of paper on my doorstep. The “$ git sync murder” sponsor and Patronizer gifts.

So I spent today transforming a bunch of this:

into a heap of this:

Sponsors and Patronizers are also receiving an extra gift this time around. (Remember, these are gifts. I make no promise what my backers will receive, only that they will receive something.) Thi...

Total Mastery, 2021 July

Hypothesis are the key to understanding and the fundamental root of science. A hypothesis must be falsifiable. Here’s an example.

Nobody will buy a bundle containing all the IT Mastery ebooks. Long-time readers already have some, and only want select volumes. New readers will want to try one or two first.

Folks at my mug.org talk last night assure me this is not true, and that if such a bundle existed people would buy it.

I’m testing this hypothesis via the Total Mastery ebook bundle. All my IT ...

Public Online TLS Talk

I’ll be talking about TLS at mug.org on 13 July 2021. I get more than an hour, so there’ll be time for an energetic discussion afterwards. Their web site is not yet updated, because I just now sent them the talk abstract.

This is an online meeting. All are welcome.

Online meetings are getting more common, and I’m getting more requests to present. While online talks don’t have travel time, they do take a kind of energy I call “people juice.” People juice is scarce and not easily renewed. Video ca...

“DNSSEC Mastery, 2nd Edition” Open for Sponsorships

I’ve started making words on a new edition of DNSSEC Mastery.

After weeks of folks repeatedly asking when they can sponsor it, I have an answer other than “later.” Sponsorships are open now. Eddie Sharam will be doing the cover, as usual.

If you’ve just come across my sponsorships, here’s the deal. You give me money before I’ve produced anything suitable for human consumption. In return, I put your name in the book. $25 or more gets your name in the epub and mobi ebook versions, while $100 or mo...