“OpenBSD Mastery: Filesystems” print layout notes

The cost of printing books is going up, just like everything. I don’t want to increase the price of my tech print books. I consider $25 reasonable.

For the second edition of DNSSEC Mastery, I developed a new print interior layout, using every trick I know to reduce page count while remaining readable. It worked. I was able to cut page count by about 30%. There’s only one problem with it:

I don’t like it.

Print books, especially tech books, occupy a weird niche these days. Books are no longer confined to paper. I have several thousand e-books on my reader, and as my eyes age I find myself increasingly unwilling to purchase print books unless they serve some special role. A paper book must be a unique physical artifact for me to consider offering it precious physical space in my overflowing bookshelves. My home already has libraries in three rooms, and we refuse let books bully us into moving again.

So I’m reverting to the previous design for OpenBSD Mastery: Filesystems. It might result in a price increase. Maybe not, because it’s a little shorter than the SNMP book. But the result will be a nicer physical artifact that provides a better reading experience.