Posts Tagged ‘wiki’

A couple of months ago I told you about my love for PDF books, and talked a bit about the notion of “beta books,” or pre-release access to the book’s contents in exchange for reader feedback. That example used a PDF generator to send periodic updates to readers. Today I’ll share how one publisher is using a wiki to push transparent authoring even further.

O’Reilly is a publisher of technology-oriented books (they’re the ones who release books about programming languages with animals on the covers). They have their own PDF-based early adoption model for their library, but for the forthcoming iPhone Hacks: Tips & Tools for Unlocking the Power of Your iPhone & iPod Touch, the authors (David Jurick, Adam Stolarz, and Damien Stolarz) are taking a new approach: Direct editing of the book’s contents on a wiki. The result: The contents of iPhone Hacks are available online, as the authors add or edit material. Eventually, the wiki’s contents will become a printed book and available through the usual book-buying channels.

A few things are worth noting about this:

First, editing is closed off–only the authors (or people they allow) may edit pages in the wiki, unlike most traditional wikis. (For what it’s worth, this is the same model we use for the Stratepedia Guidebooks–only Amber and I may edit the pages there.) However, the authors are asking for reader feedback, and collect this feedback via a discussion board for each chapter.

Second, updates are not delivered in a batch, like in the PDF method. Rather, readers are notified of updates page by page, via RSS, so you can be sure you’re referring to the latest version of the material.

Finally, the contents are not free. Well, the first chapter is, but if you want to read beyond that it will cost you $5.99 a month for a subscription. Personally, I prefer the Pragmatic Programmers’ payment setup, in which the reader pays a one-time fee to access the PDF throughout all phases of development, including the final copy. If Jurick, Stolarz, and Stolarz take their time writing iPhone Hacks, this could become a pricey book for early readers.

It may or may not be worth noting that nobody’s contributed to the forums as of yet–whether that’s due to the fact that this wiki is brand new or the pricing model is anybody’s guess. At either rate, this is an interesting new model for transparent authoring and interaction with one’s readership. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on it.