A Book About Hype (3.5+Pro) 📘

Photics · January 29, 2016, 1:37am

Heh, how does that work? They just added your logo to their homepage without even telling you?

That reminds me. I probably should make a logo for my website. Here's a link to a good video about logo design...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBTiTcHm_ac

For a while there, I was wondering if I should even leave the book on iTunes. Then out of nowhere, the book is back as the #1 Internet book. So, it's a nice combo.

JimScott · January 30, 2016, 3:31am

Thank You Michael - your book has been a great kickstart in my understanding (and appreciation) of Hype. Having all the essential material laid out in a cogent flowing fashion while making good use of the interactive features of iBooks. I look forward to the follow up edition: “Tricks of the Hype Pro Masters”.

michelangelo · January 30, 2016, 5:35am

@Photics I held the top spot for the resource page.
great book Michael

Photics · January 30, 2016, 6:21pm

It looks like you're not using an affiliate link. Apple has a program where links to iTunes can earn commissions...

http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/

It looks like Tumult switched over to the affiliate link... Tumult Hype — Tutorials ...over on the tutorials page. It might not be a lot of money to Tumult, but I like to think it adds up to enough petty cash for pizza parties or something nice like that.

I think it's a bit early for another Hype book right now. For some more advanced tricks I posted some free Hype templates... Template – Photics.com ...at my website. It's a way to promote A Book About Hype. However, I am considering a possible sequel... Creating Games With Hype 4.0 ...or something like that. It depends on the success of the current book.

Photics · February 19, 2016, 10:23pm

I’m wondering, is A Book About Hype helping people? I’m still seeing book sales, but the reviews have stopped. Did the information in the book lead to an awesome project? Did it save you time? Did you get better at JavaScript? Did you just play with the bouncing ball?

gxxr · February 21, 2016, 10:47am

Hi Michael,

yes, it’s helping

As a developer, I wasn’t looking for an introduction to Javascript and I’m pretty sure I could’ve discovered most features on my own - but it would’ve taken me a lot of time.
If there is good material available, I’ll always buy it, and I’ll scan over it quickly. That allows me to get an idea of the features available.
I like having a reference book - I can search for specific terms when I have a question, and move along quickly. As a reference, a book just works so much better than video tutorials.
The hype documentation is good - but the book takes a different angle and has a lot more detailed explanations.
It shows that you invested a lot of time into creating the book. There are so many useful details, and you don’t stop at Hype itself but include useful hints about other tools or background information (mp3 licensing etc.)

As mentioned in my introduction, I’m considering (and have actually started) making a course about interactive elements for eLearning with Hype. It’s a relief to not have to explain all the basics in detail. Instead, I can always just say “if you need more information, you’ll find it in A Book About Hype”. This leaves me time to focus on my specific application.

So - thanks for the book!

carolyn · February 23, 2016, 3:35am

I am also curious about other’s experience with the book. I’m not as well versed with coding as a number of you are around here, so it seems like it might be helpful there, as I really appreciate what a piece of code can add.

Also, @Photics , re your Hype-to-App chapter – is this with Swift or Objective C? (Long thread that I’ve been skimming through, and I think I saw something about Swift.)

Heh, and there’s never pleasing everyone. I’ve always been impressed with the Hype team and if the book revealed something new, that’s great. We all get into our grooves with regards to our workflows, and it’s easy to overlook things, no mater how experienced we are.

Photics · February 23, 2016, 10:32pm

I'm glad that you liked it!

It's with Swift.

carolyn · February 23, 2016, 11:07pm

Thanks!

C

Daniel · February 25, 2016, 9:38pm

6 posts were split to a new topic: Troubleshooting Controller (via ‘A Book about Hype’)

Photics · March 3, 2016, 10:46pm

So far, the book has decent longevity. With the latest Hype update, version 3.5.1, there were no significant changes. The update only says, “Bug Changes”. So “A Book About Hype” is still up-to-date.

There’s only one review for Hype and not enough votes to show the rating. So, it’s a bit of a sleepy time for Hype.

warrenao · March 10, 2016, 12:48am

They appear to be distributing Hype, actually, with an affiliate discount now. Very cool.

Photics · March 14, 2016, 11:31am

It’s Pi Day, so I’m feeling a little silly. I thought I’d celebrate with a sale for “A Book About Hype”. Today, if ordered through FastSpring, you can save $3.14 on “A Book About Hype”. Just use the following coupon code…

PI-3-14159265

Remember, this sale is an exclusive through FastSpring – not iTunes!

jessicatwilbeck · March 15, 2016, 1:48pm

Just bought the book. I’m very excited to get started! Thanks for the hard work.

peterdanckwerts · March 15, 2016, 1:57pm

That was a nice touch, @Photics! Hope you sold some extra copies.

Photics · March 17, 2016, 6:44am

I probably should have started the promotion earlier for a better result. It was just a spontaneous thing. It was fun.

Photics · March 23, 2016, 11:26pm

If people have been following this thread, wondering if they should publish their own book on iTunes / iBook Store, I have some interesting data. For the last 30 days, iTunes sales have outpaced FastSpring sales almost 2:1. In other words, almost double the sales are from iTunes.

That was surprising to me, as I’ve had trouble with iTunes before. Furthering the surprise, I’ve stopped pointing traffic towards iTunes. Instead, I favor FastSpring sales.

This shows that Apple’s iBooks Store does have merit. I went back and looked. It seems that learning from my past mistakes… https://photics.com/ibooks-author-try-again/ …helped to make “A Book About Hype” a success.

So while the iBooks Store does have some glaring issues, simply disregarding it would have been a mistake. I think the issues of iTunes are offset by FastSpring, so it’s a nice combo. Tumult is doing the exact same thing with Hype, so great minds think alike.

peterdanckwerts · March 25, 2016, 2:53pm

It’s a very different model, isn’t it, @Photics? FastSpring sell on commission for you, rather than acting as publisher, like Apple, and paying you a royalty which means, I think, that if one is based in or sells into the European Union, one has to be registered for VAT. There’s no such hassle with iBooks.

What sort of trouble have you had with the iBookstore?

Photics · March 25, 2016, 10:27pm

FastSpring collects VAT too... What is VAT Tax? Information on Payments & Collection - FastSpring

Apple supports many more countries for Apps than iBooks – even though they're both digital downloads. (There's even a book section in the iTunes App Store.)
With the Japanese Consumption Tax issue, I felt like Apple just dumped it in my lap. Why don't they just step up like FastSpring did?
iTunes Connect is a mess, while FastSpring sends me an email with every sale.
FastSpring is better with promotions, as FastSpring has support for coupons.
FastSpring doesn't have a lengthy review process. I can publish / update files instantly – even during holiday weeks.
FastSpring pays faster

Ultimately, it's a digital download. I feel like Apple could make the process less frustrating. Apple's iBooks Store does have advantages.

Better sales
Digital Rights Management
Better known, so probably greater trust with potential customers
iTunes Gift Cards
Apple does marketing, FastSpring is focused on e-commerce.

So if Apple takes 30%, while FastSpring is around 9%, that's a 21 point difference. It depends on the cost of the product, as FastSpring has minimum transaction fees. But for "A Book About Hype", Apple takes more than triple of what FastSpring takes. That's more money for Apple, while enduring more frustration. That's the point of this article...

Apple’s iBooks Store – Worth The Effort – Photics.com

Even though I've been frustrated with Apple, iTunes and the iBook Store, the extra effort seems to be justified.

Photics · April 1, 2016, 9:33pm

This is just a helpful message. If you order “A Book About Hype” through FastSpring, you should receive the download link (via email) soon after your order. If you do not see the message right away, the problem might be related to spam filtering. So, you’ll want to allow email from fastspring.com or check your spam folder in your email account.

If you’re still having trouble, you can use the contact form on Photics.com… https://photics.com/about/contact/ … I usually respond within 24 hours. You can also try contacting FastSpring support.

Update: 4/3/2016 – If you visit Photics.com today, and see an issue about an expired SSL certificate, that’s because the replacement SSL certificate is still being processed. It was ordered, but it’s not yet in place. If this make you nervous, that’s good! The Internet is becoming a scary place. It probably should be back to normal within 24 hours, when the new 2-year certificate should be in place.

I use HTTPS on Photics.com to protect visitors. It also has other benefits, such as a boost in SEO. Here’s an article about it… https://scotthelme.co.uk/still-think-you-dont-need-https/ …but unfortunately, it does add more overhead to site management.

Meanwhile, here are the direct links to where A Book About Hype is available…

FastSpring – https://sites.fastspring.com/photics/product/a-book-about-hype
iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-book-about-hype/id1060339894?mt=11