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Book: Sales Soaring, Price Dropping, Cover Up
18 Feb 2004 by Matthew Linderman
This is the first in a series of posts about our upcoming book “Defensive Design for the Web: How To Improve Error Messages, Help, Forms, and Other Crisis Points.” The book is scheduled to be published on February 27, 2004. You can
pre-order it at Amazon now. Or
sign up to be notified by e-mail when the book is released.
Advance sales for the book are skyrocketing. Today it cracked the top 500 in Amazon.com sales ranking (454 at last check) and is currently #15 at the Computer & Internet top sellers page. Our publisher, New Riders, says this is “incredible for a book that hasn’t yet been released.” So to all of you who have purchased a copy already, thanks!
We’re also pleased to announce that the book’s price is dropping. Instead of the original list price of $29.99, the book will now have a list price of $24.99 (it will be 20-30% cheaper at Amazon, prices to be updated at the site shortly). This should increase sales even more. We’re stoked that the book is truly going to be reasonably priced (especially compared to other titles in this category). And if you already pre-ordered the book, don’t sweat it: You’ll only be charged the new, cheaper price when the book ships.
We can also reveal the actual front cover design now too. The design process was a tricky one since the cover needed to accomplish a few tasks. It needed to stand out on a crowded bookshelf in order to draw in bookstore eyes (yes, people do still buy books offline). It also had to quickly explain the potentially unfamiliar concept of defensive/contingency design. And it needed to be consistent with our usual 37signals style. The result is this simple yet striking cover — a bright yellow background featuring an alert icon that links to several of the topics covered in the book (i.e. crisis point messages like invalid entry, out of stock, 404 file not found). We could’ve gone for something more flashy (originally, we considered using an illustration) but in the end we liked the impact and clarity of this version best.
Stay tuned: In upcoming days, we’ll share quotes from some notable reviewers who read advance copies and also give you a sneak peek at the book’s interior.
17 comments so far (Post a Comment)
18 Feb 2004 | ~bc said...
Great news guys. Best of luck with it all. No offense, but I'm no fan of the book cover, though. Perhaps it comes across better on the dead-tree medium, but it simply hurts my eyes to look at. I like the idea of the "!" warning symbol, but the colors, yellow plus red, doesn't do it for me. A bit garish. Perhaps a more conservative dose of the yellow to draw attention on a calmer background would really draw you in, but as it stands, its shouts over the "!" Warning sign, which is supposed to be an attention getter itself.
Of course, you're in luck being in the 'for-computer' market, as many of the books in that genre have even uglier, less meaningful covers. I can't wait to thumb through it when my local store gets stock of it, though. It's the content that counts, after all.
18 Feb 2004 | ~mb said...
Good news -- you're up to number 7 now!
I like the colors. Can you make it too?
18 Feb 2004 | hahaha said...
Damn! The New Riders logo is sweeeeeeet!
19 Feb 2004 | Matthew Oliphant said...
Are there going to be "overseas" editions too? If so I guess that would mean new cover choices.
Good luck with the sales, and also the impact to all those hungry readers as well.
Does NR have any book signings scheduled for you?
Now I just have to get off my butt and work on my book. Thanks for the inspiration!
19 Feb 2004 | jupiter said...
Do you offer a link with your amazon partner-id to order the book?
Agree with ~bc about the cover and I don't think it will stand out too much with it's yellow-black design - especially from the ??? for dummies-books.
19 Feb 2004 | stone said...
The following quote appears on your site, "You guys are a pillar of professionalism in a field otherwise teeming with Frontpage jockeys and failed graphic designers. Keep up the fine work."
The line about "failed graphic designers" implies that those with expertise in one media are not ideally suited to design in another. If you agree with that implication, I would suggest that you hire a print designer to design your cover.
19 Feb 2004 | Charbel said...
Maybe this was answered earlier, but is there gonna be an eBook version available????
19 Feb 2004 | lameass idea generator said...
Maybe someone can start a "37better book cover" contest...? First prize winner gets a copy of the book with their cover color printed and spray mounted over the original.
19 Feb 2004 | Bryan H said...
I like the cover. It's clean, bright, and distinctive. Plus, it uses yellow and red which are caution colors (which is what the book is about).
19 Feb 2004 | ML said...
Update: Current sales rank is #205!
Some responses:
Are there going to be "overseas" editions too?...Is there gonna be an eBook version available????...Does NR have any book signings scheduled for you?
No plans yet on these.
Do you offer a link with your amazon partner-id to order the book?
Yes, all links to the book from our sites use our Amazon affiliate ID. You'll get a high five from us if you purchase this way. Just make sure to click on "add to cart" as soon as you get to Amazon (otherwise we don't get the commish).
I would suggest that you hire a print designer to design your cover.
The cover was designed in conjunction with the print design team at New Riders.
19 Feb 2004 | Tom said...
The book on amazon.co.uk is listed as being released on 1 February, 2004, I guess I will get shortly after the 27th.
19 Feb 2004 | jupiter said...
The cover was designed in conjunction with the print design team at New Riders.
I suppose before they received a 37signals training...
19 Feb 2004 | Charbel said...
About the cover of the book, remember that colors on the screen does not necessarily reflect the exact color in print...I think the book cover looks great, and these color combinations work really well in print, but not as well on the web...given the cover is in print, Kudos to the designers...
23 Feb 2004 | challenger said...
Advance sales for the book are skyrocketing...
it's now 10,502 and nowhere in the top 15.
23 Feb 2004 | Bryan H said...
I saw it at #3 and down to 102!!
23 Feb 2004 | wall street said...
if the publisher is dropping the price, it isn't a good sign. you lower the price when sales are bad. raise when good. simple law of supply and demand.
30 Jan 2005 | compatelius said...
bocigalingus must be something funny.
