Scott Meyers got into C++ pretty early (back when Usenix C++ fit into not that large a hotel event room), and his first(?) book, "Effective C++", stood out as especially helpful.
I had lunch with him in the early/mid-'90s, when my company was developing new tech CASE tools for aerospace/datacomm/etc. developers targeting C++, and wanted to get his input.
I'm happy to see that he has some newer books on evolved C++ to read, since I won't be surprised to be using C++ again. Despite the appeal of Rust, there's a lot of C++ going on.
Much much more so. Amazon KDP for print is extremely simple with zero cost, and Lightning Source is also quite low cost and simple enough to figure out. They handle printing and distribution. You just need writing, design, manuscript assembly, marketing
(Last one is hardest, as in all things)
No fixed costs other than a nominal per book annual fee at lightning. Otherwise, you only pay print costs when a book is ordered so it is impossible to lose money.
It is pretty easy. For technical books, assuming you write something people are looking for (and you can write), I guess the readers can find you, at least some of the time. I haven't written that kind of book so I'll defer to people who have.
Or by "viable" did you mean "getting people to know about your book and buy it" ?
That's a bit harder. You can hire a publicist (through Reedsy, for example) and for a few thousand you can get interviews with podcasts, magazines, and radio stations. You won't be on NPR, though. A traditional publisher can really push your book through the doors to book stores and the book reviewers of the world.
It's still a lottery -- there are zillions of books being published and a lot of people just plain don't read.
Scott Meyers got into C++ pretty early (back when Usenix C++ fit into not that large a hotel event room), and his first(?) book, "Effective C++", stood out as especially helpful.
I had lunch with him in the early/mid-'90s, when my company was developing new tech CASE tools for aerospace/datacomm/etc. developers targeting C++, and wanted to get his input.
I'm happy to see that he has some newer books on evolved C++ to read, since I won't be surprised to be using C++ again. Despite the appeal of Rust, there's a lot of C++ going on.
How to Write a Technical Book https://serhack.me/articles/how-to-write-technical-book/
So You Want to Write a Technical Book
http://terathon.com/blog/so-you-want-to-write-a-technical-bo...
Is self publishing a more viable option now?
Much much more so. Amazon KDP for print is extremely simple with zero cost, and Lightning Source is also quite low cost and simple enough to figure out. They handle printing and distribution. You just need writing, design, manuscript assembly, marketing
(Last one is hardest, as in all things)
No fixed costs other than a nominal per book annual fee at lightning. Otherwise, you only pay print costs when a book is ordered so it is impossible to lose money.
It is pretty easy. For technical books, assuming you write something people are looking for (and you can write), I guess the readers can find you, at least some of the time. I haven't written that kind of book so I'll defer to people who have.
Or by "viable" did you mean "getting people to know about your book and buy it" ?
That's a bit harder. You can hire a publicist (through Reedsy, for example) and for a few thousand you can get interviews with podcasts, magazines, and radio stations. You won't be on NPR, though. A traditional publisher can really push your book through the doors to book stores and the book reviewers of the world.
It's still a lottery -- there are zillions of books being published and a lot of people just plain don't read.
It depends on your goal.
If you want to get your book out to as many eyes as possible, yes, absolutely.
If you want to make lots of money from your book, nothing guarantees that.
Yep, I’ve self published multiple books now and it’s super easy, no costs at all and ongoing I do absolutely nothing and they sell.