Electronics Blog
This blog is dedicated to the discussion of electronics, and electrical engineering, and for that matter anything else I find interesting.
Oct 31, 2007 - Bioplastics Links
Its now possible to buy affordable disposable plastic cutlery and paper plates without feeling guilty. The following two links sell these items to the public:
http://www.internationalpaper.com/
- Biodegradable paper food containers.
Eco-friendly products.
Dec 24, 2006 - Self Publishing of Engineering Books
I work on so many projects in any given year, and read so much engineering literature, that it's hard to keep track of all of the nuances of each project, unless I keep detailed notes.
This is why I have created such an extensive web site, to archive my knowledge.
It would be nice to actually make a bit more money off of this knowledge, than through click through advertising.
I've considered publishing some of my engineering experience and knowledge that I've collected over the past years in booklet form, and sell these books on www.amazon.com.
I've worried about publishing the material in electronic form. It seems like it would be just too easy for it to be ripped off.
There are several companies which will do low quantity book publishing:
- www.BookSurgePublishing.com will print 100 copies of a 200 page soft cover book for only $8 per copy.
- www.deharts.com has similar rates.
In addition you need an ISBN and a bar code.
- www.barcode-us.com - $10 per barcode
- www.isbn.org - 10 barcodes for $245.
Amazon needs 10 copies to stock the book. They have a $40 annual fee, and take 55% of the listed price.
That means the profit from sales on a $30 booklet is only $10, which isn't so great.
It means if you spend 200 hours on an engineering booklet, you need to sell 2000 units to break even at $100 per hour ($20K), not to mention the head aches associated with shipping the book.
I'm sure there are services that take care of shipping.
The topic needs to have wide enough appeal to generate the sales of at least 2000 units.
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