OnQ

On Travel

I got my passport in the mail last Friday. Let's see how the travel checklist looks now:

Passport - check
Airline reservations - check
Hotel reservations - check
Conference registration - check

Yep, looks like everything is in order to make a trip to Amsterdam in the not too distant future!

Why am I going? Sure, I love the idea of going back to Amsterdam 19 years after my first trip through. Sure, I'm excited about getting to promote the SBS 2003 Unleashed book in Europe. But I'm mostly pumped about the 3 Magical M's getting together for the first time in person!

Oh, I'm sure there's other stuff, but that's the big news for the trip. Better start packing now...

On Discovery

I was browsing through a local book reseller this evening and, as is my custom these days, I went straight to the compjuter section looking for a certain title. Lo and behold, there it was in all its printed glory! Yes, the Borders in Lewisville, Texas, has a single copy of Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed on its shelves.

Do you have your copy yet?

On Confirmation

After much wondering and guesswork, Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed is finally hitting bookshelves around the US! For some reason, delivery has been a little hit and miss, as there are some bookstores that still show the book as "unpublished" but reports are beginning to trickle in of sightings on shelves in brick and mortar locations.

Those who have preordered copies from Sams Publishin should start receiving them soon. Those who preordered from other resellers will hopefully start receiving their copies around the first of the year.

On Sightings

Tim Barrett has one. Amy Babinchak got hers. I'm still waiting on mine.

But the book is out there. I know of at least two people who have not only seen it, but have held it in their hands. If you have received yours already, or if you have held it in your hands while in a bookstore, please drop me a note (comments below are just fine) and let me know where you saw said book.

Of course, I'm talking about Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed from Sams Publishing. In case you didn't know...

On December 13

It's official, the book is out! An actual printed copy has been sighted!

Tim Barrett, one of my co-authors on the book, just IM'd me and said that he just got his hands on one that he will be using to promote sales of the book in his user group meeting tomorrow night. He assures me that the cover is in fact orange as we expected.

Those of you who preordered copies should start receiving them soon. Those of you who didn't, well, now that you know it's out there, you can go order or pick up your copy.

Apparently, no special consideration was given to the primary author's home town. A quick check of my local bookstores yesterday and today revealed that they have no copies to put on the shelves. I'm sure that's just an oversight...

On December 13

That's the current expected shelf date for Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed. Keep an eye on your store shelves and let me know when it actually arrives in your area.

On Completion

All the proofs have been reviewed and returned, so my part in the production of this book is officially over. Nothing left but the presses.

I did find out yesterday that Sams wants to "early ship" the book, so hopefully that means it goes straight to the front of the printer queue (same terminology, different technology) and gets moving quickly.

More info as I know it...

On Proofing

Well, I'm down to the last step in the process where I have any involvement with the publication of the book - the final proof. I got the PDF copies of the book elements, and with the help of my co-authors, I've been going through and catching the last little items. Things like typos that somehow slipped through the earlier editing passes, figures that didn't get cropped exactly right, and words that you never would have used in a sentence that somehow flowed out of your fingers and into the electrons.

After having a break from working on this for a while (not to mention having surgery, etc.) I'm looking at the content again with fresher eyes, and I'm still pleased with what's been accomplished. I'm getting excited about the upcoming release (it's up for early shipment if I can get all the proofs done by Friday afternoon) and based on the presales numbers, a lot of the SBS community is, too.

Almost there, almost there...

On Release

I've been getting hammered with questions about when the book will appear on store shelves. Trust me, no one is more anxious to see the book finally hit the streets than I am, because I've been working on it for almost a year now.

So, here's the latest:

We're still hoping for a mid-December release. There are three steps left in the process: layout, proofing the layout, and printing. I've been told to expect to receive the proofs next week, and once I approve the layout, it goes off to the presses. I'm going to have several folks help me with the proofing, because I want to make sure we got it as right as we can before it goes to press. If there are any changes needed after reviewing the proofs, that will further delay printing, which will delay the release date.

As many eyes as have gone over this tome with a fine-tooth comb, I'm expecting that the proofing process will be straightforward and (hopefully) a rubber-stamp of the work that has already been done. Then I can only hope that the six weeks I've been told it takes to actually print the book is an overestimation and it won't take quite that long.

There have been A LOT of preorders for the book, which has been great news, and it's not too late to take advantage of the special that Sams is running (35% off list price and free shipping in the US). Visit http://www.samspublishing.com/smb for more information and to place your preorder, if you haven't already.

So, best case guess, the book will release around December 15. We may not see it until early January if we hit any bumps over the next couple of weeks. As soon as I know something firm, I'll post it here and other places.

On Completion

Talk about a relief! 100% of the initial writing of the book was completed this past week. 24 chapters, an appendix, and an introduction, all done. The actual time span of the initial writing took just over six months, due to a lot of time conflicts. But, the source material is done, and 75% of the initial review has been completed. Still should have the book out in December.

So I can take a moment to celebrate reaching a small milestone in the project. Well, I guess it's more than a small milestone, but it's not the end of the project by a long shot. Still, I don't have to worry about having more chapters to write.

On Preorders

Sams Publishing, who is publishing Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed, is running a special promotion for those who preorder from their site. Until December 15, you can preorder the book at 35% off the $59.99 cover price. Also included in this promotion is free shipping in the US. Several of the authors, including Amy Babinchak, Susan Bradley, Javier Gomez, Chad Gross, and Anne Stanton, will be pitching the book at SMB Nation coming up this weekend. If you prefer, you can also preorder the book on Amazon.com instead.

On Publishing

I've been working on a book for Sams Publishing since the beginning of the year. It's a book on SBS 2003, Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed, and I've been collaborating with several other authors on the title. Since we're getting close to wrapping up the submission of all original content, I decided to peek at Amazon and see if they had the ISBN for the book registered yet. Needless to say, I was surprised to see what came up.

Not only did Amazon have a listing for Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed, but they also had the front cover image, the expected publication date, and an author bio. I had no idea that they were this far along in marketing the book.

This morning, I decided to see where else there were mentions of the book on the web. Here's what I came up with:

• Wal-Mart
  
• Overstock.com
  
• BestPrices.com
  
• Bookpool
  
• ACM Portal
  
• elx.com.au
  

Interestingly, it's not listed on the Sams Publishing site just yet.

Even though it's going to appear that way on the book cover, I can't take all the credit for the book. A number of SBS community members stepped up to the plate to contribute to the title, including a couple of MVPs. They are, in no particular order: Amy Babinchak, Anne Stanton, Chad Gross, Ed Walters, Henry Craven, Javier Gomez, Susan Bradley, and Tim Barrett.

More news about the book as it's fit to print, so to speak...