I decided to drop one of the two book deals, the one where I'd write an "Intro to Perl" with a co-author (and also the one that seemed more of a sure thing).
I'm gearing up to write up my proposal for the 2nd offer, which I would have more control of and one that I believe would have more of an impact than yet another "Intro to Perl" book.
My publisher is interested in hearing from others in this field (of web dev/perl folks) to see if we can get some editorial or publicity support... if you're interested, e-mail me and let me know. She may also want to see if you're more qualified to write the book or want to help write - I don't have qualms with that ... if my proposal ends up being written by someone else more qualified, all the better for the Perl community, imo.
I'm also wrestling with some stuff, too ... I'm currently thinking of donating half of the author proceeds (guess I don't have control over the book proceeds ;)) (after tithing) to Perlmonks, which is where I get a whole lot of information already and am grateful for the fine folks there that provide an overwhelming amount of technical support. Marketing-wise, it would make a lot of good "synergy", but would that be too transparent? Anyway, I risk bad vibes already with this journal post, b/c if I end up writing the book and greedily taking all the money, then that would be bad. Oh well ... just thinking out loud, I guess. Just don't set any expectations just yet!
Jason
