Print Version of EE 2 Book Delayed
I received my review copy of the print version of Building an ExpressionEngine 2 Site - Small Business today and, while initial impressions were favorable, a longer look finds another iteration is needed.
It’s an odd thing to finally hold a copy of something you’ve worked on for so many hours. The book is quite a bit thicker than I was expecting, which might be due to the spiral binding. It’s thicker than other similar size books I have that are 50-60 pages longer.
The Scott Thigpen covers look great, with eye-catching colors and whimsical feel that I hope make this book stand out a bit from other tech books:
The interior of the book worked out well with margins, headers and footers, and page numbers all lining up correctly within the format:
Initially I liked the spiral binding, but as I moved around with the book I started to notice that it feels a bit more loosey-goosey than I prefer. I think there are just too many pages and I’m concerned about the longevity of the covers. The spiral binding also adds cost to each book, and as I’m finding out, limits my options for distribution through channels like Amazon.
I’m also seeing some issues with the quality of the screen captures, and have contacted Lulu about it. I’ve printed lots of material through them over the past 2+ years and haven’t seen what I’m seeing in this copy, so am hoping it was just an off day. However, I may need to re-work some of the screen captures to add some contrast to them for a better result.
So - I’ll need to take another stab at it. I still hope to have the print version available by the end of August, but wanted to let you all know where things were at.
Previous Comments
by Mike Boyink (Author)
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Comment: #2
Yes - see the previous news post here on Train-ee.
by Roel Van Gils
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Comment: #3
I’ve read that post. I was hoping you would have more news since then (release date perhaps). I’m impatient, I know ;) Sorry about that.
by Mike Boyink (Author)
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Comment: #4
Nope - no formal date as my schedule isn’t my own for the next week or so with an out of town business trip scheduled.
by Nathan Dirks
Date: Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
Comment: #5
I plan to keep the book handy for quick reference, so I was excited when I saw the spiral binding… that way you can easily have it open to any page next to your computer without having to physically damage a standard binding in order to keep it open while your fingers are busy on the keys. Here’s one vote hoping the binding stays!
by Roel Van Gils
Date: Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Comment: #1
Your attention to quality really is a good thing! Any news about the ePub version of the book?