The Leanpub Author Survey
Andrew Dubber
Who are you?
I am a music industry consultant and Professor of Music Industry Innovation at the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I have several books on Leanpub. A couple are complete, and a couple are works in progress. Music in the Digital Age is a book I’m taking my time with and responding to feedback as I go along. I’m also bringing on board another author. The 360 Deal is an edited collection of essays giving advice to young people just starting their career in the music industry. I wanted to get that out with a minimum viable product - partly to start getting the information into the right hands as soon as possible, but also because all proceeds from the book go to a charity, and this meant that they could get some much needed funds very early on in the book’s life.
What do you think about Leanpub?
The guys at Leanpub have been incredibly helpful and responsive to every question or challenge I’ve thrown at them. It’s a great service run by people who really care about what they do.
Why do you use Leanpub?
Leanpub has provided me with a way to create projects that would not have happened in any other way. I have been able to make some money as an independent author, which has been very welcome, but more importantly, I have been able to work with a wide range of other writers and thinkers to put together something that has made a difference for a charity that I am very keen to support. This project could not have happened in any other context.
How did you discover Leanpub?
A friend recommended it to me on Twitter.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Actually, the best thing about Leanpub for me is the ability to work in Dropbox using markdown language. This method of publishing has made things incredibly simple.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I’ve continued the conversation with my community via email to keep people up to date with progress but also to add extra information and to keep the work on people’s radar as time passes.
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?
Lean Publishing is a great way to capture bodies of knowledge, because you can build the structure as you go. I suspect that fiction would be harder to implement this way - at least, the way I write it - because unless you want to challenge linear narrative conventions, you would have to start with a completed first chapter or two, then add over time in chronological order. I tend to hop around.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
My first Leanpub book had a completed section consisting of several chapters before I published. I published again when I had another full section consisting of several more chapters. I like my updates to be substantial ones.
How can we improve Leanpub?
I’d love to see Leanpub pay authors the way that Bandcamp pays musicians: at the point of transaction and with transparency about who the money is coming from. Far more than the cashflow implications, the potential direct connection between the purchaser and the author would benefit from that, and I suspect that would strengthen the commitment to develop and complete.
Azat Mardanov
Who are you?
Azat Mardanov
A growth hacker and a software engineer @DocuSign, an author @RPJSBook and a yogi. Teach at @HackReactor, @GA, @TheNewCircle, @pariSOMA. http://azat.co San Francisco, CA · expressjsguide.com
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
JavaScript, agile full-stack programming, Node.js
What do you think about Leanpub?
I <3 LeanPub!
Why do you use Leanpub?
it works
How did you discover Leanpub?
google?
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
publish, markdown, aside icons, table of contents
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
blog: http://webapplog.com Facebook, Google plus
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 yet to try it for fiction/business books where there’s no code. I think business writing will be smoother and faster with LeanPub. After my my second book with LP I’m a less believer in Lean Publishing concept, or maybe I don’t get it fully.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
First book: ~100pages Second book: ~300 pages Later, because each time I want to bring better products to readers (while I know what’s working/needed).
How can we improve Leanpub?
Better design, hard to find things in the menu, faster preview/publish (maybe CLI tool for Mac/Unix).
Diana Larsen
Who are you?
Diana Larsen partners with leaders to design work systems, improve project team performance, and transition to Agile methods. Diana co-authored Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great!, Liftoff: Launching Agile Teams and Projects, Name This Book: Five Rules for Self-Sufficient Learning, Quickstart Guide to Five Rules for Accelerated Learning, and “Your Path Through Agile Fluency” http://futureworksconsulting.com
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I’m a co-author on two Leanpub books with Willem Larsen.
Name This Book: Five Rules for Self-Sufficient Learning is still in progress though we have published it.
Quickstart Guide to Five Rules for Accelerated Learning is largely complete, though we still make small tweaks from time to time.
What do you think about Leanpub?
I’m excited about Leanpub and its potential to transform the way publishers work to shorten the distance between authors and readers, as well as to create a closer partnership between authors and publishers. What started as a grand experiment in opening up the conversations has become a mutually supporting community.
Why do you use Leanpub?
For the experiment, for the ease of getting started, for the fast support for new ideas and troubleshooting.
How did you discover Leanpub?
I learned about it from a colleague early on, then told Willem about it and he used it to publish his first book. When we decided to co-author, it was my opportunity to experience it firsthand.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
The underused potential for reader feedback.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
In talks and on twitter. Not very effectively…yet.
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 think it’s brilliant.
Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, many types of books. Recently someone wrote into the list about using it to publish a children’s picture book written and illustrated by the author. Consensus on the discussion list was that Leanpub wasn’t great for that purpose. Probably other kinds of innovative art books (e.g. with fold-out bits) will find it a challenge, for now. Who knows what other new features may emerge?
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
Don’t remember really. For one of them, it seemed about 30% done at the time, my opinion of that has changed over time. For the other, it was about 60%. It think timing of publication has more to do with the type of book, kind of content, and audience than a simple heuristic.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Make it even easier for readers to give feedback and submit preferences to authors.
Dider Lebouc
Who are you?
French, Tunisian, Color-blind and World citizen
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
1 finished Leanpub book: Humeurs Economiques about economics and mutations (in French).
1 ongoing Leanpub book: Humeurs Tunisiennes about Tunisia, my second home country (also in French).
What do you think about Leanpub?
Great idea: lean manufacturing & agile development principles applied to books and publishing.
Why do you use Leanpub?
I became a Leanpub user after a tense discussion with a bookstore employee about e-books. He challenged me to publish an e-book. I googled “self-publishing” and started the Leanpub adventure ….
How did you discover Leanpub?
I googled “self-publishing”
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Multiple drafts before publication then successive published versions.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Twitter + my blog “Humeurs Mondialisées”
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?
Lean Publishing is really a way to decrease publishing cost and to bypass intermediaries with a very doubtul added value.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
Around 100 pages. Next time, I will publish sooner (around 50 pages).
How can we improve Leanpub?
Continue to listen to the Google Group questions & comments.
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.
J. B. Rainsberger
Who are you?
J. B. Rainsberger helps software companies better satisfy their customers and the businesses they support. Over the years, he has learned to write valuable software, overcome many of his social deficiencies, and built a life that he loves. He has traveled the world sharing what he’s learned, hoping to help other people get what they want out of work and out of their lives. Recently he has launched AgileTutor.com, so that he can help even more people start getting the advice they need with minimal investment. He lives in Atlantic Canada with his wife, Sarah, and three cats.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I have one in-progress book entitled “Responsible Design for Android” in which I explore how to write an Android application in Java without letting the Android application framework swallow my code whole. It incorporates ideas from lean/agile software architecture and provides a real-life example of what one might call “agile architecture” or “agile design”.
What do you think about Leanpub?
I have found the Leanpub experience both maddening and exhilarating. I have really enjoyed the direct contact with readers and watching the popularity of the book change over time. Unfortunately, when I take a break from the book, my readers notice, and that puts some pressure on me to keep writing. This can help or hinder me, depending on my mood.
Why do you use Leanpub?
I chose Leanpub in order to get direct feedback from the market about my work, the topic, and the way I’ve presented it. I’ve learned a lot in all these areas.
How did you discover Leanpub?
Friends and colleagues had started writing books, so I thought I’d try it out myself.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Without question, the variable price structure. I get very valuable feedback about my work by seeing how many people willingly pay more than the minimum price.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I haven’t, much, only because I’d rather have finished more of the book first.
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?
Although Leanpub seems aimed at programming books, formatting code samples for multiple e-book formats is tricky. I haven’t figured out how to do it well. My next Leanpub book will not include much code, or at least, will include it differently.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
As I recall, my first published version had only 2 chapters and 1 appendix, and so perhaps 20-30 pages. I don’t regret it.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Give us more “guard rails” on how to include code samples in our books that look better. Ideally, just figure out how to make them pretty for us.
Johanna Rothman
Who are you?
Hi. I’m Johanna Rothman. I’m known for my pragmatic approaches to any form of management: project, people, program, and risk management. I’m a management consultant who also speaks and writes about the problems and potential solutions I see. I want people to gain the benefit of my experience and see how they can apply practical, common sense approaches to their unique situation.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I have several complete Leanpub books, “Hiring Geeks That Fit,” “Center Enter Turn Sustain: Essays on Change Artistry,” and the “Readings for Problem Solving Leadership.”
I have a book in beta, “Manage Your Job Search.”
I have a book almost ready for its first release, “Agile and Lean Program Management: Collaborating Across the Organization.”
I have a couple more books in progress.
All my books are non-fiction.
What do you think about Leanpub?
I love the fact that I can work on books a little bit at a time, and see them evolve. I love the fact that I can ask my readers for feedback. I can apply agile and lean principles to my books.
Why do you use Leanpub?
Leanpub fits my workflow. I use TextMate, so I already was accustomed to Markdown. Being able to see my work in progress? Outstanding. Being able to sell it and get feedback? Priceless.
How did you discover Leanpub?
Jason Little told me.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Previewing the book. Seeing the book as I create it really helps me see what I’m doing. Sometimes, what I do is not so hot. I don’t go too far down the wrong path before I catch myself with the preview!
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I have asked for feedback. I have asked for reviews of interim and final books. I have asked for cover reviews.
Some of my readers have used my early writing, and declared it “good enough.” I was quite surprised. I would never have thought it was good enough. But they did.
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 only know about my books. It’s certainly good for me and my non-fiction books.
My readers have provided substantial feedback about the ideas in “Manage Your Job Search.”
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
I published “Hiring Geeks That Fit” when it was mostly done. I published “Manage Your Job Search” when it was much less complete. I am working on getting over my perfection rules so I can publish earlier. I find it difficult.
How can we improve Leanpub?
I find the InDesign export difficult. I’ve written to you about that. Going to print is still not easy, but I’m not sure it can be.
Julien Bayle
Who are you?
I’m Julien Bayle. I’m a french minimalist digital artist working at the crossroads of sounds & visuals & data.
My work explores the relationship between data & art through music pieces, live performances & A/V installations. If my technology under the hood is often described as “complex and intriguing”, this is the result of a long process in which each step became a refinement in which the superfluous is each time removed. I’m teaching the approaches of digital arts course at Marseille’s Arts School, as a guest artist and professor, and leading some workshops there about how we can use data to create visuals, sounds and more. In 2013, I published 2 books, including one in both languages french & english: C Programming for Arduino & Max for Live Ultimate Zen Guide. I’m also known in electronic music scenes as protofuse. I’m the founder of the minimalist & idm label named bitsquare records.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I published one book in one shot and I have another one unpublished and about 40% finished.
These are technical books about technologies related to artistic creation and live performance.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Leanpub is the best solution for self-publishing because it provides a very easy and straight way from the production to the market. I really love the google groups for support. It works very fine, fast and efficiently.
Why do you use Leanpub?
At first, I was looking for a self-publishing platform. Then, I saw the markdown power and I just jumped into it. The high royalties rate is also a game changer. Indeed, as an author, I can imagine to write more book and to be paid for my work, that seems impossible with ANY publishers. I won’t go back!
How did you discover Leanpub?
Dan Roden gave me your name on fb while I was discussing about my problem with my publisher that wasn’t promoting my first book as it had to.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Markdown + publication process. So easy, so fast, so efficient!
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I had my fanbase, and I promoted on social networks only.
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 think it is good for technical books, but not only. Novel and fiction book can be spreaded progressively, like a series.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
It was finished and 100 pages.
How can we improve Leanpub?
without giving toooooo much options, I’d be happy to be able to format/design the landing page. Only that. No more. Even amongst a couple of templates.
Luc Beaudoin
Who are you?
I am President of CogZest. We help boost our customers cognitive productivity. We draw on a broad spectrum of Cognitive Science for the design of all our products. I’m also Adjunct Professor of Education at Simon Fraser University. My Ph.D. is in Cognitive Science. I was a first-round employee of two of Canada’s most highly-valued tech startups (Abatis Systems and Tundra Semiconductor).
We’re about to release a very innovative cognitive science-based app to help people fall asleep more rapidly: Sleep contributes to productivity!
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I’m writing Cognitive Productivity: The Art and Science of Using Knowledge to Become Profoundly Effective. It is 99% complete. Cognitive Productivity addresses this problem: We process an enormous amount of information using technology designed for “surface processing”. Most workflows are designed to “get things done”, not to develop ourselves. Cognitive Productivity proposes ways of working with information that help readers learn deeply from knowledge gems. The goal is to be able to apply more of the knowledge gems that we process.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Leanpub is a publishing platform that works very well for authors and for readers. It enables them to synergize.
Why do you use Leanpub?
I selected Leanpub because I wanted to be able to reach readers before the completion of the book. I wanted them to have an opportunity to contribute to the development of my book. My book is very pertinent to knowledge workers, and hence to Leanpub customers.
Leanpub is also aligned with my book. Cognitive Productivity explains why learning from PDF is a great way to learn. I’m opposed to DRM. Also, in my book, I use Lean Startup as an example. Leanpub enables me to practice all these things that I preach: It leanly provides DRM-free books in PDF and other formats.
How did you discover Leanpub?
I believe I was searching for self-publishing platforms. Leanpub caught my eye. Peter Armstrong’s O’Reilly presentation made a big impact on me.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Being able to push the publish button frequently! I also ADORE writing in markdown.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I haven’t done a lot of marketing yet. I offered free coupons to several people. I also blog, tweet, and occasionally respond to related posts on the Internet.
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 love the lean approach. It’s great for technical and scientific books. It gives readers early access to cutting edge knowledge. It allows authors to have their work reviewed by a much larger number of people. It is also a great platform for peer review. I have several peers reviewing my book. Peer reviewers can pick up the latest copy from Leanpub just like everyone else, without me needing to coordinate closely with them. My copyeditor also gets the copies straight from Leanpub. That’s huge.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
I had written 13 of the 15 chapters in Scrivener. In hindsight, I waited too long. I would star-toff in Markdown. (I’ve switched all my business’s internal documentation to Markdown too.) And I would publish earlier next time. My next books will also be a lot shorter.
How can we improve Leanpub?
We need to find a way to make PDF annotations robust under file changes. This will require modifications to Skim.app. Otherwise, when people receive a new revision, their annotations may be in the wrong locations. CogZest might address this.
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.
Manuel Kiessling
Who are you?
I’m a software developer and systems administrator by heart, and an IT team manager by profession. I like to work at the intersection of software (JavaScript, Python, PHP), systems (Linux), and methodologies (XP, behaviour-driven development, continuous deployment), and I try to improve the performance of IT teams through them.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I have one completed book, The Node Beginner Book, which tries to provides a solid introduction to Node.js for software developers that are completely new to it, and one in-progress book, The Node Craftsman Book, which is a follow-up on the first book that tries to take more topics, in more depth.
What do you think about Leanpub?
It’s hard to overstate the significance of Leanpub. Github catapulted the way people work on Open Source Software to a whole new level - Leanpub did the same for book publishing. It also answers the question whether people can earn money by publishing texts without any copyright protection on the Internet with a clear and unmistakable Yes.
Why do you use Leanpub?
The whole platform, process, and interaction with the Leanpub team has a brainfuck value of exactly zero, for authors and customers alike. This makes it a member of a very, very small club of online businesses for which I would say the same.
How did you discover Leanpub?
On April 21, 2011, I got an eMail from Scott Patten with the subject “The Node Beginner Book on Leanpub?”. That is what started it all, and I’m pretty sure this is the single most important mail I ever got in my professional life.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
The Dropbox integration. I guess I wouldn’t have started publishing through Leanpub at all if I had to transfer files manually from A to B, that’s how lazy I am. And the use of plain markdown is really, really convenient. I was once part of a book review / publishing process that was built around MS Word files, Visual Basic Word extensions, and FTP transfer, and I can tell you that was no fun, to say the very least.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Yes, more than once. I always get interesting feedback through the Leanpub Discus forum, and it’s especially valuable for in-progress publishing.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Keep the spirit, and it will keep improving. I think it’s as simple (and hard) as that.
Mike Vizdos
Who are you?
My name is Michael Vizdos and I am a published author on both Leanpub and out in the traditional world. I am
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
My current Leanpub book is called, “The Pirates’ Cavern” and it is still a work-in-progress. It is a children’s book and it’s a project between my oldest son (he is the illustrator) and myself.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Leanpub rocks. Period.
Why do you use Leanpub?
Easy. Fun. Can test new ideas rapidly (and fail fast if needed).
How did you discover Leanpub?
I am impressed by all the “real world” people I know within the “Agile Community” internationally who use this platform. That’s my initial discovery point.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Getting an e-mail letting me know I have a, “New Reader.”
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Yes. It’s still a small readership on this platform but I have a great engagement with my readers to date.
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?
It’s a novel approach. People either love it or hate it – and that’s good. It’s polarizing and disrupting an age-old industry. Any author – or wanna be author – should use this platform.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
It’s still pretty early for me.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Keep listening. Keep delivering. Thank you!
Patrick Kua
Who are you?
I am a Tech Lead balancing the delicate line between technical and non-technical worlds. I am passionate about working with people, helping them develop and introduce change which is why I’m passionate about retrospectives.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
At this time, I have two books on Leanpub. “The Retrospective Handbook” was my first and now complete book. I wrote this book based on practical experience targeting facilitators keen to make the most impact with retrospectives.
The other book, “Talking with Tech Leads” collects stories from various people playing Tech Lead roles to help people better understand what the role entails. This is an in-progress book.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Leanpub helped me focus on writing the contents of the book, rather than worrying about the editing. I love the quick responsiveness of the team and I believe was the first to ask them for features that helped me make my ebook available in printed form. I’ve been very happy with this powerful combination all within my control.
Why do you use Leanpub?
I was drawn to Leanpub as an experiment and keep to it because it helps me focus on what’s most important to readers - the content. They take care of the formatting and make it easy for me to focus on completing the book (not an easy task with writing).
How did you discover Leanpub?
I can’t exactly remember but I would probably say it was through hearing about other authors talking about the service at a conference I spoke at.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
I get excited every time I get an email when someone purchases the book. I didn’t expect to sell as many copies as I did, and each email reminds me that someone’s retrospectives could be better because of it.
That definitely makes the effort worth it.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I use my blog, twitter and talk about the book at (relevant) conferences. I probably could spend more time marketing my book but I have not focused too much on that yet.
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 think Lean Publishing is extremely useful for writing about tools and technologies that have a short lifecycle and time to market is important. It is probably useful for books that add more body and act as a reference book.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
I’m a bit more of a traditionalist. For the topic I wrote about, I felt that people would not read the book in increments and would prefer to read a book like mine in its entirety.
I see feedback through targeted reviewers who would be representative of the audience I’m looking for. My first book wasn’t “published” until it was pretty much complete.
I was happy with this process and not looking to change it for the current book.
How can we improve Leanpub?
As the types of books continue to evolve, I’d like to see a little bit more fine-grained control (or more options) around formatting. I’d also like to see features that help me test out or target an audience for an idea to gather better feedback (more structured) than just leaving it very open.
Paul Bradshaw
Who are you?
Paul runs the MA in Online Journalism at Birmingham City University and is a Visiting Professor in Online Journalism at City University London. He also runs Help Me Investigate, an award-winning platform for collaborative investigative journalism. He is the author of a number of books and book chapters about online journalism and the internet, including the Online Journalism Handbook and Scraping for Journalists.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
The books include a longform investigation, a report on the state of online journalism, a technical book that was published in-progress but is now complete, and an introductory book on spreadsheets.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Leanpub is a wonderfully flexible publishing platform that allows me to publish for users on multiple devices, providing updates when needed, while retaining control over pricing and timing.
Why do you use Leanpub?
The update facility and high royalty rates.
How did you discover Leanpub?
A colleague - Andrew Dubber - recommended it.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Push updates.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Twitter and my blogs. I also have a Facebook page for readers of one book.
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?
It’s excellent for books where the context is still changing - for example technology. Also as a way of maintaining the profile of a book beyond a one-off ‘launch’.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
A couple thousand words. I’d still publish at about that threshold, depending on how long the eventual book was likely to be.
How can we improve Leanpub?
More information on the recommended and bottom prices when sold (in the sales data). The ability to create tables - Markdown tables don’t seem to work.
Pedro Teixeira
Who are you?
My name is Pedro Teixeira. I’m a geek,a programmer, freelancer, and entrepreneur. I’m also the author of some Node.js modules, the Node Tuts screencast show, the Hands-on Node.js e-book and overall fervent proclaimer of the Node.js creed. I’m a co-founder and Partner of The Node Firm, organiser of the Lisbon JavaScript Conference and Lead Software Developer for BrowserSwarm.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I have one book in Leanpub: Hands-on Node.js, and it’s finalised.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Leanpub empowers writers and gets out of the way by offering a powerful and cost-effective publishing platform.
Why do you use Leanpub?
Because it works well and supports book bundles.
How did you discover Leanpub?
Through a friend writer.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Bundles.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Through my blog, my nodetuts.com website and through Google Ads.
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?
Lean publishing is good for getting rapid feedback and funding for your writings. I think it works specially well for technical books, since a reader is probably willing to put their money behind a subject they’re eager to learn about.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
It was around 3 months writing. I would have published much earlier if I had used Leanpub from the start.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Some workflow for approving bundle changes.
Ros Barber
Who are you?
Ros Barber: scholar, novelist and poet, holder of the first UK PhD to focus exclusively on the Shakespeare authorship question. Debut novel The Marlowe Papers (Sceptre 2012, St Martin’s Press 2013) was winner (in manuscript form) of the Hoffman Prize 2011, long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) 2013, and winner of the both the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Authors’ Club First Novel Award 2013. Director of Research for the Shakespearean Authorship Trust, a Visiting Research Fellow in English at the University of Sussex and part-time Lecturer in the English & Comparative Literature Department of Goldsmiths, University of London.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I have one, Shakespeare: The Evidence, just published last week and a very long way from complete. (I estimate 8% - that might be generous). It’s the first book to look at the Shakespeare authorship question from both sides, corralling all the evidence, arguments and counterarguments of those who believe William Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the works attributed to him - and those who don’t. There is a huge amount of evidence and argument to pull together here - but reader involvement is going to make it easier to achieve a fully comprehensive, updatable resource.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Leanpub is incredibly author-friendly and a great way of building an audience for your book and getting them involved. It’s especially helpful where you have a project, like mine, that will benefit from - even rely upon - reader input.
Why do you use Leanpub?
A friend suggested it would be perfect for what I had planned - a comprehensive, hyperlinked and updatable e-book that corrals a vast amount of knowledge into a concise, well-defined format. I’m particularly happy about the ability to release the book in instalments: not only can I make much of it available long before it is finished (allowing me to capitalise on a recent surge of interest in the authorship question) but I can make it a much better book by getting feedback as I go along.
How did you discover Leanpub?
All down to that friend and a simple cup of coffee. Sometimes a cup of coffee is priceless.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
The ability to ‘publish early, publish often’ has to be the tops. It meets my needs both as a perfectionist and as someone who is incredibly impatient.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Social media, mostly. I enjoyed making a Youtube trailer for it - it’s had over 400 views in less than two weeks. Twitter might prove useful in the long term, so long as I’m gentle. But I’ve also used my real life contacts, written a press release, had a summary placed in a conference programme, e-mailed my mailing list, done interviews with bloggers in my field of interest.
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?
Clearly it began with coders - and it was a coder who recommended it to me - but it can go to many places. It seems an excellent platform for non-fiction projects generally. Any project that will benefit from the expertise of its readers is likely to do well here.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
22,000 words. That seemed a substantial enough chunk to ask for money and to give the reader a good idea of what they will be getting. I think it was the right time; I had to feel ready, and also have the time available to promote it.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Keep listening to your authors and being as responsive as you currently are.
And for those of use who want to quote poetry, it would be great to have a version of the A> tab that honoured line-breaks. Currently I have to make all my quotes double-spaced.
Ryan Bigg
Who are you?
I primarily write books about Ruby. I started off with Rails 3 in Action (now Rails 4 in Action) for Manning Publications and found the writing process frustrating. I started a new book, Mutlitenancy with Rails, using Leanpub instead and I found it a joy to work with. Put the files on Dropbox and then hit “Publish”. Genius.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
The books I’ve written are technical books that vary anywhere from 600 pages to the little one I’m working on at the moment that’s about to cross 50 pages.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Leanpub is to book publishing as Apple is to computer hardware. Clean, beautiful and it works terifically.
Why do you use Leanpub?
My last experience writing for a large publisher left a sour taste in my mouth. I had to use SVN and then a system that was written in the early 90s that had no care in the world about user experience. Here’s a typical flow in that old system:
- Commit to SVN.
- Log in to web site
- Find book in list of all books by all authors.
- Click little gear icon.
- Find the chapter that was just updated.
- Scroll down list of all revisions ever committed for that chapter.
- Click tiny radio button to select latest revision.
- Click “Update”.
Leanpub is:
- Copy files to Dropbox.
- Sign in to Leanpub (optional)
- Hit “Publish”.
Smooth as.
How did you discover Leanpub?
I called out to the Universe (read: put a message on Twitter) and the Universe (read: some random on Twitter) answered back. The rest is history.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
I know it’s going to sound greedy, but this is it: the part where I get a decent royalty pay. 90% - 50c is great. Other than that, the interface is clean and extremely easy to use.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I get emails from them occasionally submitting feedback from the book and we primarily communicate through that.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
I think that was about 50 pages long at the time. I think it was at the right stage to publish… the groundwork was laid, a chapter outline was present and it was clear where we were going with the book. The second time I published was way earlier, about 20 pages of content. Someone actually emailed me and complained that the book was too short! I replied and told him it was in beta and they haven’t yet got a refund, so I guess they were happy with the reply.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Amass a huge amount of money and buy out the other publishers. Replace their systems with yours. TAKE OVER THE WORLD.
Simon Brown
Who are you?
I’m a software developer and have spent most of my career working in London for IT consulting companies where I built software for a wide range of organisations. I now live in Jersey (the largest of the Channel Islands) and work as an independent consultant, helping teams to build better software. Much of my work over the past couple of years has been helping software teams understand software architecture, technical leadership and the balance with agility. I primarily work with teams across Europe, teaching them about software architecture and how to adopt a “just enough” approach to up front design.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
My Leanpub book is called “Software Architecture for Developers” and I describe it as a software developer-friendly guide to software architecture. Despite having some fantastic mentors during my career, I didn’t find it easy to understand what was expected of me when I was moving into my first software architecture roles. Sure, there are lots of software architecture books out there, but they seem to be written from a different perspective. I found most of them very research oriented or academic in nature, yet I was a software developer looking for real-world advice. I wanted to write the type of book that I would have found useful at that stage in my career - a book about software architecture aimed at software developers. It’s still in progress, but nearly complete.
What do you think about Leanpub?
I love the Lean Publishing concept and Leanpub provides an excellent platform that anybody can use to self-publish their own books and, unlike traditional publishing, actually make some money. The team are also super-friendly and responsive.
Why do you use Leanpub?
I use Leanpub because it allows me to focus on writing content. The platform takes care of creating and selling e-books in a number of different formats.
How did you discover Leanpub?
I pitched my book idea to a number of traditional publishing companies in 2008 and none of them were very interested. A few years later I decided to self-publish my book instead and I was about to head down the route of creating a PDF and EPUB version using a combination of Pages and iBooks Author on the Mac. At first I considered simply giving the book away for free on my website but, after Googling around for self-publishing options, I stumbled across Leanpub. Despite the Leanpub bookstore being fairly sparse at the start of 2012, the platform piqued my interest and the rest is history.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
That I can write some super-simple Markdown, sync the files via Dropbox and publish a new version of my book within minutes.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I’ve mostly been using my blog, Twitter and conference talks to reach out to potential readers. It’s worked very well so far. I also provide a coupon at the end of my conference talks that attendees can use to purchase a discounted copy of the book. Every little helps!
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?
As I said previously, I love the Lean Publishing approach and I can’t think of any type of book that couldn’t be delivered using an iterative and incremental approach. My book is a collection of short essays that cover a number of topics related to software architecture. Rather than starting with essay number one and progressing in order, I tried to initially create a minimum viable book that covered the basics. I then fleshed out the content with additional essays once this skeleton was in place, revisiting earlier essays as necessary.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
I signed up for Leanpub on January 22nd 2012 and clicked the publish button four weeks later. That first version of my book was only about ten pages in length but I started selling copies immediately. I probably wouldn’t wait four weeks next time!
How can we improve Leanpub?
I’d like to see a focus on building a community around books; including reviews, ratings and a more integrated feedback system. I’d also like the ability to have different prices for different parts of the world, as I suspect that there are huge untapped markets in India and China. I’m a techie so I have no problem with Markdown, but I know other authors that do. I can see the potential for a really nice user-friendly authoring system too.
Thomas Davis
Who are you?
I am predominantly a web developer and have released a few open source projects which millions of developers use every year.
When I’m not programming, I study literature, philosophy and science in an attempt to transition from programmer to full time writer / technocratic philosopher.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I currently have one book on Leanpub and it will definitely not be the last. It’s a simple collection of tutorials on implementing a framework called Backbone.js and how you can go about harnessing the power of single page applications.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Due to the nature of the content of my book, it frequently has to be revised and updated. As far as I know Leanpub is the only movement which has fully embraced the shift away from the traditional paperback model. It would be hard to argue against the advent of e-readers and as technology grows observably at an exponential rate the possibility of having digital textbooks in every school over the next decade doesn’t seem unlikely. But with all great devices of the modern era, the hardware isn’t the only prime factor of adoption. Leanpub is creating a sustainable market place that meets users intuitive demands akin to Google Play/App Store.
Why do you use Leanpub?
Leanpub is built elegantly in a way where one doesn’t simply “use” it, it just integrates frictionlessly into your work flow. There are simply no alternatives at this point for digital publishing, only vain attempts.
How did you discover Leanpub?
My book originally started as a website but I wanted people to be able to read it offline and also in a more readable way when using mobile devices. I believe I stumbled upon it via Google search for a service to convert my content to e-reader formats.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
The payment slider which lets users choose how much they wish to pay I think is definitely the way forward for intellectual property. I find that the consumer and the author feel much more empowered. As the author I don’t have to feel guilty for those can simply not afford to pay the same prices as everybody else for what I would love everybody to read.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Only for updates, I prefer that to not treat it purely as a marketing funnel and hope the community has similar values.
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?
As I said before, we cannot for eternity cut down forests and waste fresh water so simply through necessity the world will have to switch to fully digital content. Lean publishing to me is just a step forward on top of the idea and absolutely makes sense for technical/mechanical content to embrace a culture of revision based off feedback.
Though I would tend to believe that traditional literature and philosophy won’t really benefit from “Lean Publishing” and there is only a small movement towards collectivist literature and philosophy inside the “high brow” scene. What makes literature and philosophy an antidote for my prosaic life is not merely “content” but the lens given to me by individual living in a time and place.
I imagine that fan fiction, pop-erotica and potentially other genres that shift more towards consumerism will benefit more from lean publishing.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
A lot of my content was prepared before I first published. Though I do plan on publishing as soon my first chapter is done for my next book. I can’t think of any reason not to.
How can we improve Leanpub?
The core values seem quite ideal, the only difficult thing will be maintaining them as you grow.
- Git integration
Thomas Kilian
Who are you?
IT consultant (retired) and author with focus on Sparx’ Enterprise Architect (EA) with overall 30 years expertise and 10 years particularly in EA.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
Two of my books are complete. However, they get updates every now and then. One book is approximately at 80% completeness. More books are planned. All my books deal with Enterprise Architect.
What do you think about Leanpub?
Great idea, great people, great product! I never thought publishing books could be so easy.
Why do you use Leanpub?
Actually it was recommended to me. However, I never felt the need to look elsewhere as the system is almost self-explanatory and support (if needed at all) is excellent.
How did you discover Leanpub?
Recommended by another author.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
So easy to use!
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
I just publish in a forum with a link to my book page on my server which itself points to Leanpub’s store.
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?
It’s ideal for technical writing where you can start with basics and add additional information later.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
About 50 pages. Personally I like to have a basic structure before publishing.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Leave it as it is. Too much features spoil the concept. (Though I can easily think of a lot features I’d like to see ;-)
Vsevolod Dyomkin
Who are you?
Lisp programmer, also a part-time lecturer
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
1 complete book - a collection of interviews with programmers called “Lisp Hackers”. The interviews were first published at my blog http://lisp-univ-etc.blogspot.com and then bundled in a ebook and made available on leanpub for free
What do you think about Leanpub?
The two things I appreciate about leanpub are: - it’s noticable that they strive to make the service easy to use - a personal approach: the team went out of they way to transfer my roalties which was not easy, because I’m in Ukraine were paypal doesn’t support incoming payments
Why do you use Leanpub?
There’s no reason not to use it - it’s a great distribution channel for your ideas and you can even get some money out of that :)
How did you discover Leanpub?
Through other books published via it.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Well, I guess, markdown->ebook publishing is essential.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Through my blog http://lisp-univ-etc.blogspot.com
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 think, it suits any kinds of books centered around pure text content in which illustration, design and typography don’t play any significant role.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
I’ve used leanpub after I had 99% of the book material ready, so it was just a matter of doing the technical work to publish which went rather smooth.
How can we improve Leanpub?
First of all, there’re ways to improve the core publishing experience: support a richer variant of markdown, provide better error reporting. Also, even more streamlining of the user experience is possible (but not at the sake of removing features).
Willem Larsen
Who are you?
For the past 20 years I’ve designed cutting-edge learning tools for all ages in both the environmental education and language acquisition fields. I’m currenlty the president of Language Hunters, a 501(c)(3) non-profit teaching communities to revitalize their endangered heritage languages.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
I am the sole author of a couple books on applying principles of accelerated learning language to language acquisition, I’ve begun publishing selections from my person blog (“the College of Mythic Cartography”), and I’m co-author with Diana Larsen on a people’s guide to bringing accelerated learning into any skill domain.
What do you think about Leanpub?
It has completely changed how I think about writing and publishing - I’m very happy that I found it.
Why do you use Leanpub?
Leanpub allows me to start a book without drowning in all the countless formatting and logistical details that constantly bedeviled me. I can dive in and start writing, and feel the book forming around me. I have some pretty terrible memories of formatting tables of content, pagination, chapter orders…all those are now almost forgotten. Now I just write.
How did you discover Leanpub?
I’m not sure, honestly. I’ve been here almost since the beginning.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
The publish button. I press it a lot.
How have you reached out to potential and existing readers of your books?
Yes, I keep readers updated on the progress of the book and what new stuff they can expect in the current edition.
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?
It’s good for action-oriented writers who tend to drown in the details of the writing/publishing process. It’s perfect for the content-focused writer. Fussing over fonts is right out.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
It was probably half done. I think I published at exactly the right time.
Yves Hanoulle
Who are you?
As a creative collaboration agent, I’m helping people to work better together. My current challenge is finding great teams I can join for one week and learn about them, by helping them become even better.
Can you describe your Leanpub books? Are they in-progress or complete? What types of books are they?
Our books are community books. We publish as fast as possible and then keep adding content. We have learned that publishing the lean way, is making the books so much better. And when we do it, we find more people that want to help out.
What do you think about Leanpub?
For years I have been asking agile leaders why they did not write their books in an agile way. They have always said it’s not possible. Now I understand their answer was: we don’t have the right tools. With Leanpub we have such a tool. My answer to : is it possible to write a book in an agile way? It’s not only possible, it’s also desirable.
Why do you use Leanpub?
Because of the people behind leanpub. They understand what it means to focus on the highest priorities. I’ll send them a lot of idea’s and they pick up the ones which bring most value to their community. And when someone has a great idea, they’ll implement it directly. All while thinking about long and short term. Not many companies can do this. Leanpub excells at it.
How did you discover Leanpub?
I bought Laurent Bossavit’s book. And I understood that this was the service I was waiting for.
What’s your favorite Leanpub feature?
Republishing a book, and all our readers get an update.
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?
Writing any book can happen in a lean way. It’s reading a lean book that is hard.
So any book with a community, can be written that way. Yet most book won’t reach a big audience this way. The audience comes after that.
For technical books, I can see that audience being bigger while writing it.
How long was your first Leanpub book when you first clicked the publish button? Would you publish earlier or later next time?
I don’t remember, I think it was one month old or so. Would I publish earlier? yes, that is what I have been doing and asking everyone who helps out for the local country version of who is agile.
How can we improve Leanpub?
Find a way how readers can see the version differences between books. Find a way to make it easier for readers to interact with authors.