Malcolm Maclean
Who are you?
I’m a person who has a passion for knowledge and I realise that part of the responsibility of gathering knowledge is being able to advance the state of the human condition in some way. I’m totally in awe of the Open Source community that has made this type of work possible and would like to think that by providing my books for free I am helping out in some small way.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I currently have two books being offered on Leanpub. “D3 Tips and Tricks” and “Leaflet Tips and Tricks”. D3 Tips and Tricks is still in progress but almost complete, while Leaflet Tips and Tricks is in its early stages. They are both collections of information that I found useful when I was learning how to use the JavaScript libraries d3.js and leaflet.js.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Where should I start in describing Leanpub? When I began writing my first book I was looking for a solution that would allow me to generate content and publish it to an audience that would allow them to be kept up to date as it evolved and developed. I messed about with a number of disparate variations before stumbling upon Leanpub and it ticked EVERY box. Now only can I offer my books free of charge for those who are interested, but Leanpub are extraordinarily altruistic in their approach to publishing as well. In short they and their service rock.
Why do you use Leanpub?
As a service they provide all the features I am looking for in a publisher. They are responsive when I have a question. They are active in listening to the community and the environment and quite frankly they provide a service which lets an author get on with adding content and they do all the heavy lifting in managing formatting and distribution.
How did you discover Leanpub?
Completely by chance. Just some random Google search while looking for publishing options.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
My favorite feature is the ability to download the information on when the books are being downloaded. This provides a unique insight into when readers are interested in looking at getting hold of a copy of the book.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Although I am wary of being a bit ‘chatty’ (after all no-one likes to feel as though they’re being spammed), if I have completed a significant new section I will advise current readers when a book gets updated.
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?
I’m a big fan of the Lean publishing approach. I don’t know that it will suit all authors or publishers (or even readers) but there is a definite niche for the service. I can see a direct benefit for serial fiction (although I don’t read it), but one of the reasons I have appreciated this technique is that if I get feedback on a new piece of information for the book or a correction, I can change or add material at the click of a button and readers get the immediate best result.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
My first book (D3 Tips and Tricks) was about 70 pages long when I first published. It is now over 420. I thought it was appropriate since the work could stand on its own. My second book was published with less content to start with (approximately 50 pages) but in two weeks it has already grown to 90 pages and I anticipate that it will continue to grow in the next few months to a couple of hundred or more. Earlier or later? I think that that decision should be dictated by the content. I’m certainly happy to publish while the content is still in ‘draft’ form as any corrections can be immediately made, but I’d like to think that a reader should get ‘value’ from the work irrespective.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Keep going! :-). I often think that it’s too good to be true and that the altruism will get the better of it and it will have problems supporting the fantastic rate of progress in features and capability. But so long as it does I think Leanpub stands a good chance of becoming the defacto standard for self publishing and distribution.