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