Audio Book Excerpts on dotProject!

I am working on audio book excepts from the dotProject book. I have an rough recording of Chapter 2, Installing dotProject and a smaller 7 minute recording of the section "Troubleshooting dotProject Installations". I hope members of the dotProject community find them useful.

Would I, Could I?

Occasionally I'll get asked to help someone customize their dotProject installation. I'm usually willing to help out. If the business looks like a scam, I turn them down.

What makes a business look untrustworthy? First, the web site. If it looks like a complete rip off of some other site or is very poorly done and lacks vital contact information, I'm suspicious. If they claim to be a successful business person and their site does not look organized and "businesslike", I wonder if they are really as sucessful or professional as they claim to be.

There are so many options today out there for businesses just starting out. Blogger and other hosted blogs and content systems are great ways provide a professional image, share news with potential clients, and reassure customers that you are serious. As a professional designer I see many scary pages that very professional companies are saddled with. A stable company hurts its image when the website is full of distorted images, old content, and overbearing animations.

The appeal of tools like Blogger and Wordpress is they are easy to set up and begin sharing with others. There is very little technical knowledge required, especially if a hosted solution is used. And most are free for basic services. The site can grow in complexity as the business does.

In Case of Errors...

James Moore and some of his techie friends have agreed to review my book and let me know if they see anything that needs to be corrected.

Found an error or section of the book that needs correction? Email me or drop me a comment. All confirmed issues will be posted.

Send it in a letter, tell you on the phone...

I was talking to my marketing guru at Packt Publishing this morning about different ways to spread the word about the dotProject book.

Here are some of my ideas:

• Email Signatures
• Regular Blog posts
• Contacting Friends and family to spread the word
• Contacting people to do technical reviews
• Press releases to news sources
• Viral video?
• Posters at college campuses
• Writing articles for news outlets

What other methods do authors use to spread the word about their book?

dotProject book is now available

The dotProject book is finally out. dotProject is an open source project management application. It is browser based, so it can be accessed from any computer on a network. The book is aimed at users new to dotProject or the management of a browser based application. It also contains information useful to administrators and current dotProject users, including tips on system administration and customizing dotProject.
Visit the Packt publishing dotProject book page for detailed information about the book and a special deal!

This was a very challenging book to write. The dotProject application is in active development, so I expect to be making revisions in the future as well. Let me know of any tips or updates you have for the book.