I finally got my copy of Agile Java from the publisher on Tuesday, after some typical production delays. The way things worked out, some other fortunate consumer got to see it before I did! Ahh well. At least he was kind enough to email me some positive words on it.
I’ve spent months waiting for the book to ship. I wouldn’t have guessed that I’d relinquish the joy of opening the first copy from the publisher to my wife Kathy. But she was home when the FedEx guy dropped it off, and I gave her permission to go ahead and rip it open. I even let her open the boxes of additional copies sent by the publisher. Jaded? Maybe. Or maybe just detached and disbelieving. When I did open it, I was impressed with how much it looked like a real book, like something I couldn’t have possibly had anything to do with.
But I did, and now that it’s done I don’t even want to think about the countless hours I spent on it. Writing, coding, rewriting, editing, reworking, cleansing. A conservative estimate is perhaps 750 hours over the course of 18 months; maybe one hour per page.
And it’s still not complete. I’ve noticed a number of small problems that should be fixed and several sentences that I’d like to reword. I’m hoping to sell enough copies to warrant at least a second printing. Not so much for the money, but for the opportunity to make it an even better book.
As with code, technical writing is never perfect, and there’s always a way to improve on it. I hope I get the chance.
