We switched our textbook from a commercial publisher to Amazon a couple of years ago. The reasons were complex, but we have greater control over our new self-imposed model. One of the opportunities was to control what went in the book (we wanted to call it a Primer) and what resources we provided online. A book on tech applications, after all, should make some use of technology. A second desire was that we could write continuously instead of in the few months before the next edition was to be sent to press.
There are certainly challenges in Kindle publishing. The formatting is tricky and never seems to work out as intended. The revision has also been challenging to push out to those who already purchased the earlier version. The Amazon model supposedly allows updates to be pushed out to those who already made a purchase decision. It certainly sounds like this in the instructions. However, I have purchased a copy and to get the “automatic upgrade” I had to contact Amazon. The company was helpful, but the process should be easier.
The goal was to push out the revision so those instructors who were using the book in their classes would know that newer content was available for their students. Not having the book reps go door to door and promote a book is the one downside of self publishing. Convenience for the instructor is helpful. On the other hand, a sales force adds greatly to the cost students pay.
Grabe and Grabe revision is available through the Amazon store.
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