any publishers reading this?

If you already have this written, write up a proposal for a publisher and send it off to whoever publishes the robotic books of your choice.

Try McGraw-Hill. Their websites list their contact information.

As long as you specifically state that the manuscript is already done, you shouldn't have much of a problem.

However, this same subject was written about in thesis form and is available via Amazon. I would, of course, like to see a more human-readable version.

-- D. Jay Newman

"It.. ..can be understood and implemented by a high school student who does not have a math background."

Rich

: I have about 300 pages of step by step : tutorial on autonomous robot navigation.

I have an busted duplexing xerox machine at the office. Send me the PDF, if it's any good I'll fix the Xerox and print up a few hundred copies. :-)

Seriously, most comments I've seen from authors indicate the payments from books aren't that great (Gordon, coudl I be thinking of something you posted ?) Might be worth thinking about putting up some sample pages, and selling a PDF version. At least you get to keep all the money.

Go over to Amazon and check out who's publishing robot books. The "main" ones are few: McGraw-Hill, A-Press, Wiley, and a few others. Then visit their Web sites and look for the page for author submissions. They'll have all the info you need to package up a proposal for their consideration. The proposal is used by the acquisitions editor and sales staff to judge the economic viability of the book. Take your time doing a good proposal, as it will become the tool they'll use the sell the book into their sales channels.

Since you've already written the book you might as well look for ways to capitalize on it, though as the others have pointed out, eBook is an option. Amazon can take a PDF and add a DRM wrapper around it. You can then sell it via Amazon, where you take the publisher's cut instead of the usual 8-10% "net" author cut. However, keep in mind that Amazon is only 1/10th or so of the bookseller trade.

A third option is to put together a kit of parts, and sell the book (Docutech printed, or even as a PDF on a CD-ROM) with the kits. For a couple of bucks you might add a custom circuit board that will hold the sensors you use, etc. If you don't want to do the order fulfillment yourself, consider working with one or more of the online robot stores, like Acroname or Jameco.

Profit margins are constrained in hobby-level books (and sales are constrained in academic books), because you must operate within existing sales structures, where others dictate the selling price. Your profit margin for an educational kit/curriculum is whatever the market will bear, and can be set individually based on value.

-- Gordon

That was what I was agreeing with.

-- D. Jay Newman

Gordon McComb wrote in news:42C80E8C.5086 @NOgmccombSPAM.com:

IF you are only looking for a publisher, you might also try TAB books.

Joe

FWIW, TAB was sold to McGraw-Hill some 10 years ago. It's now merely an imprint of McGraw-Hill Professional.

-- Gordon