Gerald M. Weinberg

Who are you?

I’m the author of more than 100 books, including the best-selling Secrets of Consulting series. I’m a principal in the international consulting firm of Weinberg and Weinberg, among whose clients have been large and small businesses; state and national governments; churches; universities; medical centers, and the US Library of Congress. The festschrift, The Gift of Time (Fiona Charles, ed.) honors my work for my 75th birthday. My website and blog may be found at http://www.geraldmweinberg.com.

Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?

At the time of this writing, I have 10 books on Leanpub, plus contributions to others—and there are more to come. 3 are fiction; 7 are non-fiction. One volume offers nine scifi stories. Two others contain a few dozen fables. Most of these books can be found only on Leanpub.

There are two collections of readings from my workshops (Problem Solving Leadership and Change Artistry) and one collection of essays concerning the Agile approach to software development. Finally, there is a three-volume edition on Experiential Learning.

What do you think about Leanpub?

I love it. Unlike most book selling companies, Leanpub is extremely author-friendly and on the leading edge of e-publishing. From the moment I discovered Leanpub, all my new books have been published there

Although Leanpub allows me to post works in progress, I don’t like to work that way. When I finish a book, it goes to Leanpub. On the other hand, if I decide to revise a finished work, I can and will do that—and Leanpub will notify all buyers that they can have the revisions without charge.

Why do you use Leanpub?

I use Leanpub because it’s the best place to put my books, as explained in the answer to the previous question.

It doesn’t hurt that Leanpub gives more of the proceeds from a book sale to the author.

Of course, Leanpub is not yet as well known as some other e-publishers, but given their advantages, their market share will grow over time.

How did you discover Leanpub?

Other authors whose work I respect began using Leanpub, so I tried it and I liked it.

What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?

As an author, my favorite feature is the support I get when I have a question or problem.

As a reader, my favorite feature is the quality and timeliness of its publications.

How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?

Any which way I can. I have a website, a blog, a mailing list, and a Facebook fan page. I tweet a lot, with thousands of followers, and I try to keep my tweets relevant. I give workshops and presentations at conferences. I answer letters from fans. I don’t buy advertising, but I’m always looking for suggestions of other ways of letting people know that my books exist and what they’re about.

What are your thoughts on the Lean Publishing approach? What types of books, and what types of authors, do you think it is good for?

For some authors, for some projects, this iterative approach fits well. As an old-time writer, I don’t usually work that way. What’s best about Leanpub for me (and for some readers) is the ability to present time-critical information in a timely way.

How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?

It was 100%. I don’t plan to publish other books earlier than that. I do like to get reader feedback before releasing a book. The way I’ve managed to do that in the Leanpub system is by pricing the complete but rough book at an outrageous price ($500 or more) so nobody will buy it yet. Then I give free-book coupons to a set of readers who will provide me with useful feedback.

How can we improve Leanpub?

Keep reaching a larger and larger group of book buyers.

Don’t let things slip as you grow. Watch out, because growth produces bigness.