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REBOL FOR DUMMIES

 [1/13] from: ralph:abooks at: 11-Aug-2000 11:03


I've been assured by the publisher that REBOL FOR DUMMIES is still on track for September (next month) release. If anyone would like to see the cover, check out my REBOL page at http://abooks.com/rebol/. --Ralph Roberts

 [2/13] from: danny:rebolpress at: 18-Oct-2000 14:19


Just in time for Christmas...<g> REBOL FOR DUMMIES by Ralph Roberts (five-star general in the REBOLution!) is now being shipped by REBOL Press Online -- weeks ahead of availability from Amazon, B&N, or the corner bookstore. If you've already ordered in advance (THANK YOU!), they will be shipped over the next couple of days. If you haven't ordered yet, please see http://www.REBOLpress.com for more information including the table of contents, sample chapter (on CGI with REBOL), and ordering information. Remember our exclusive offer: Ralph Roberts will autograph every copy of his book purchased through REBOL Press Online. But hurry, he's getting writer's cramp! Thank you, REBOLs!!! Danny Ramsey, Publisher, REBOL Press The Official Source for REBOL Books http://www.REBOLpress.com

 [3/13] from: danny:rebolpress at: 18-Oct-2000 14:19


Just in time for Christmas...<g> REBOL FOR DUMMIES by Ralph Roberts (five-star general in the REBOLution!) is now being shipped by REBOL Press Online -- weeks ahead of availability from Amazon, B&N, or the corner bookstore. If you've already ordered in advance (THANK YOU!), they will be shipped over the next couple of days. If you haven't ordered yet, please see http://www.REBOLpress.com for more information including the table of contents, sample chapter (on CGI with REBOL), and ordering information. Remember our exclusive offer: Ralph Roberts will autograph every copy of his book purchased through REBOL Press Online. But hurry, he's getting writer's cramp! Thank you, REBOLs!!! Danny Ramsey, Publisher, REBOL Press The Official Source for REBOL Books http://www.REBOLpress.com

 [4/13] from: list:brando:rebol at: 19-Oct-2000 2:29


---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:01:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Brian C. Robinson <[bcr19374--pegasus--cc--ucf--edu]> To: [list--rebol--com] Subject: Re: [REBOL] REBOL FOR DUMMIES! On Wed, 18 Oct 2000 [danny--rebolpress--com] wrote:
> REBOL FOR DUMMIES by Ralph Roberts (five-star general in the > REBOLution!) is now being shipped by REBOL Press Online -- weeks ahead > of availability from Amazon, B&N, or the corner bookstore. >
I'm curious why the second book on the REBOL language is in the For Dummies line? I don't think many developers take these books seriously regardless of their content. Why is any object we don't understand always called a thing? - Bones | JA2 FAQ: come.to/ja2faq | JADG Mailing List: www.onelist.com/group/jadg |

 [5/13] from: capolunghi:att at: 19-Oct-2000 8:59


Personally, I don't care what they title the book "Rebol for dummies" They can call it Rebol for the blinking ignoramous. I still intend to buy it. Joe

 [6/13] from: ralph:abooks at: 19-Oct-2000 9:35


> > REBOL FOR DUMMIES by Ralph Roberts (five-star general in the > > REBOLution!) is now being shipped by REBOL Press Online -- weeks ahead
<<quoted lines omitted: 3>>
> For Dummies line? I don't think many developers take these books > seriously regardless of their content.
I'll speculate on that, being both a longtime computer book author and publisher. Generally a software company has no control over which publisher deems to do a book about their product. In fact, the significant victory here is that REBOL has already attracted two major publishers (with at least two others I know of seriously interested, as well). Contrast this to the literally hundreds of thousands of software packages available on the web right now that DO NOT have books about them. REBOL is far ahead of the game compared to most startups. Commendably so! Now, to answer your question further: a package-specific book aimed toward developers will sell a few hundred or few thousand copies (limited market). That's why they are usually priced in the $30-$50 range, or higher. They cost little more to print than a book selling in the $15-$25 range, thus the profit is much greater. But it has to be since sales will be fewer units. Unit sales is EVERYTHING in publishing--you learn that quickly or you go out of business. The Dummies series is aimed at the general populace--i.e. end users. The average sale of a Dummies book I've been told by someone in a position to know is over 30,000 books. So it logically follows: which is best for REBOL--a limited book that reaches a few hundred developers or one that reaches tens of thousands of users? The latter, of course, as it gets word of the language out there and introduces people to its power. Those people will actually use it and spur more developers to start looking at REBOL. Yes, no developer may ever read REBOL FOR DUMMIES, but there will still be a lot of developers infuenced by it. REBOL FOR DUMMIES is SMART for REBOL's growth. --Ralph Roberts

 [7/13] from: ralph:abooks at: 19-Oct-2000 9:52


> Personally, I don't care what they title the book "Rebol for dummies" They > can call it Rebol for the blinking ignoramous. I still intend to buy it. > > Joe >
You're a good man, Joe.<g> Thanks, --Ralph

 [8/13] from: capolunghi:att at: 19-Oct-2000 11:15


Ralph, Thanks. I've seen the Dummies books. They are very useful. Good luck! Joe

 [9/13] from: gmassar:dreamsoft at: 19-Oct-2000 9:35


As being a professional developer, I am still buying Dummies books. You'll never know what you are missing in those books unless you buy them, believe me. Geo...a long time developer [list--brando--rebol--net] wrote:

 [10/13] from: bcr19374:pegasus:cc:ucf at: 19-Oct-2000 12:28


On Thu, 19 Oct 2000, Ralph Roberts wrote:
> REBOL FOR DUMMIES is SMART for REBOL's growth. >
Thanks for the well thought out reply. I agree with what you've said. I can see that the For Dummies book can be an important step in REBOL's growth. Why is any object we don't understand always called a thing? - Bones | JA2 FAQ: come.to/ja2faq | JADG Mailing List: www.onelist.com/group/jadg |

 [11/13] from: tsummerfelt1:home at: 19-Oct-2000 13:44


On Thu, Oct 19, 2000 at 02:29:01AM -0700, [list--brando--rebol--net] wrote:
> I don't think many developers take these books > seriously regardless of their content.
it's too bad too . the dummie's book (despite their name) are a great way to get up to [intermediate] speed with a particular topic. i bought 'the official guide' because it came out first, but i would have picked up the dummies book had it been first. i have a number of dummies books, and when i'm finished with one of them, i pass them on to someone who can use it... -- *---------------------------------------- | |http://members.home.net/tsummerfelt1 | |remove myspleen to email | *-----------------------

 [12/13] from: targhan:amigaonline at: 22-Oct-2000 23:33


Ralph: I concur with Joe. I agree to the point that I ordered the book allready. In fact, prepare yourself for another "John Hancock" !! Dave

 [13/13] from: steve:shireman:maxonusa at: 7-Nov-2000 8:05


Great book, Ralph. I just bought the last copy of REBOL for Dummies in Kansas City last night. (paying college tuition for my daughter has taken a toll on my discretionary spending, so I used a Border's gift bond I had--my main excuse for taking so long to buy it.) Just wanted people to know that the book is being stocked, and being sold out as well in the Midwest. Need to start a users group... Well, back to parsing our rcs archives...Rebol has officially replaced my awk metrics scripts... ;-) Steve Shireman

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