"Getting Real" PDF book from 37signals

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Mar 1
2006

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"Getting Real" PDF book from 37signals

37signals just released their PDF book/manifesto, "Getting Real." (Disclosure: I'm quoted in the book.) I read this a couple of weeks ago in one sitting, and really loved it. I suspect that half the people who read it will react with complete opposition -- just like many did to my "Web Development 2.0" post -- and the other half may love it a little too much (as I did). The interesting question for any product development team is, why do we love it or hate it? I'd bet this will be one of the best mirrors on which such a group could reflect at the moment. Very much worth checking out, both to understand how 37signals makes their products, and to understand better what you want to make with your life.

(Of course, I'm also interested to see them selling it as a self-published PDF book. There's a lot to like about that model...)

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Comments: 7

ilya [03.02.06 10:13 AM]

There is indeed a lot to be said about this self publishing in pdf. But i am curious about what people in de "traditional" pdf publishing industry think of the price point. 19$, seems steep for a book where there is only a pdf, or am i just a scrinchy dutch whiner?

Tony Stubblebine [03.02.06 11:50 AM]

$19 seems cheap considering that I get immediate delivery. Plus for the technical books that Pragmatic and O'Reilly are putting out I'd prefer to have electronic format (it travels better).

What I really liked was the $49 option to buy a group copy that I could send around the office. ORA and Pragmatic should immitate this since people are going to pass around these books anyway.

Jeff Carr [03.02.06 01:04 PM]

I think this self-publishing model is only as good as the history of the folks writing it. Isn't the success of this particular book really just a comment on 37 Signals success as a company? In my opinion, a true test for a new self-publishing paradigm is one that's successfully applied to a more moderately successful or compelling author, and not a hot property like 37 Signals.

Murray [03.02.06 04:26 PM]

There is a lot of people making money from selling pdf books online. The price of these books ranges from $10 to $100.

Publishers are able to upsell many of these people to courses costing $2000+.

A friend of mine sells a lot of ebooks and courses online about "how to make money from selling ebooks and courses online" - his blog is here http://underachieving.blogspot.com/

Of course a lot of people who try this dont sell much but if you've got a niche market, good references and dont mind taking a hard sell, infomercial approach you can sell quite a lot.

At the end of the day the price of an item depends on the value to the buyer not the cost of production

Arnie McKinnis [03.02.06 06:05 PM]

I'm more inclined to download a manifesto for free - I go back to the whole Seth Godin "Idea Virus" thing. Self publishing a PDF is no different than putting out your own software - it's just "stuff".

Marc Hedlund [03.07.06 11:39 PM]

Sure, free manifestos are great. :)

Rizwan Sheikh [10.13.06 08:21 PM]

I am a Software Developer