πŸ“˜ A Book About Hype (2021 Digital Edition) [Now Available]

Side ways, you are probably jumping up a layout to one of the larger one.

When I am testing I add a text box on the layouts telling me its name. Then use a debug js (trur/false) to show it or not.

(Actually just thinking about that I may add that as a hash location check in a js function. So I can check from anywhere. )

App Rejected

Now we dance, emails back-and-forth until Apple either approves the app, or I activate my contingency plan.

It got hit with minimum functionality, which is false. If I simply took the "Abacus" template β€” which is only one interactive example in the book β€” that would likely be approved as a standalone app.

A whole interactive book is minimal functionality?! :angry:

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A Book About Hype 4 (Digital Edition) Is Now Available

After a devastating rejection from Apple, the contingency plan was activated. The idea was to find another place to sell the app. This was always a longterm plan for Photics, but now something was needed quick. After careful consideration, Etsy was chosen as the place to go

Why Etsy?

  • Wow, so friendly β€” It was really refreshing to feel like I had an ally in e-commerce. Their customer service was helpful.
  • Downloads β€” This was a big one. If you have an account at Etsy, you can download the files from previous orders. That's so nice! (This was one of the biggest issues with previous books from Photics.)
  • Not too expensive β€” Their listing fee thing was a little confusing to me, but overall it's not bad. Very good actually.
  • Nice Website β€” It's a lot to absorb at first, but the quality is quite apparent. They did the work!

Two Versions β€” App & ePub

While I like the App version, with the cool interactivity and the fact it was built with Hype, I realized that people would want search or to use their traditional e-readers. That's why I put in the extra work to create an ePub version. The ePub doesn't have interactivity, but I do enjoy those page curls in Apple's β€œBooks” app.

The "Vertical Scrolling" mode is cool too, great for speed reading. However, I learned something while converting the book to ePub. The β€œcalibre” app is phenomenal! If you need to make your own ePub, it's outstanding!

It's also a good e-reader, that's available on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The included editor provided some interesting stats about the book...

If this was just an ePub alone, Lulu would have been good enough, but Etsy allows the .zip extension as downloadable files. I also liked that they let me add a promo video. The plan is to retire the printed book at the end of the month. It might come back one day, but right now it's a little out-of-date. There's not much difference between the digital and printed versions of the book, but there are a lot of minor changes to the text.

Now What?

There is a downside to Etsy. The upload limit is 20 MB per file. (The app version is really close to that cap.) That means there isn't enough space for video. The plan is to start a YouTube channel. It's a good book, so it needs marketing. Tutorial videos about Hype seems like a great way to promote the book.

One of the main reasons for the existence of "A Book About Hype" is how it can it can make the modern web more interesting. With Flash dead, Hype is the most likely successor. But to unleash that power, training and experience is needed. Hype starts off easy, but wow there is a lot to learn.

Also, I'll be following the feedback on the book. It's off to a great start! I like the comments that people can put in the orders... and thanks Patrick for the nice review on Etsy.

The plan for the rest of today is to update Photics.com. In the short-term, the links and description for the book need updating. I just wanted to share the good news with you first.

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First, congrats on finishing the digital version. Second, thanks for making both ePub and app versions available. I was one of those holding out for digital, so time to show the money.

Small item: typos are inevitable; maybe consider an errata page on your site. Easy fix with digital.

Kudos, Michael.

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What great news! Congratulations
I think you forgot to put the link. Here it is ( it can be done, right?). :roll_eyes:

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Congratulations Michael! Honking Horn left

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Immediately purchased and downloaded. Let the reading commence!

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@Photics .

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That's more copies than I have. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Very nice!

Looks like the print version should return at some point... maybe for Hype 5 or perhaps later this fall. I'm still planning to take the printed version offline at the end of the month.

I really appreciate the time and effort you have put into creating a digital version of the book that is available as a download on your Etsy. I've been wanting to look at it, and it's already helped me to prepare aspects of my Workshop. Are you offering any discounts for people who have already bought the hard copy of the book? Although the price is already great …

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There are no coupon codes available at this time. :frowning:

Wow, you're really good at Hype, so it's nice to see that the book helped you.

Hey, that's pretty neat. Etsy lists "A Book About Hype 4" as a "Bestseller".

One of the reasons for going this route was "Etsy marketing & SEO". The idea is that more people might learn about Hype through Etsy doing their marketing thing. That hasn't seemed to kick-in yet, but hopefully now that the book is a "bestseller", they might be more willing to trust my account.

Photics.TV on YouTube and Etsy is still in early stages, but that's part of the grand vision. More people need to know about Hype. The more people know about Hype, the more Tumult sells copies of the app. The more the app sells, the greater demand for educational material like video tutorials and eBooks, and then more people get paid to make things with Hype.

Everybody wins... especially people on the Internet, who get more beautiful and more functional websites. :blush:

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Etsy is getting ready for their "Early Holiday Event", so I'm considering the possibility of running a Black Friday sale. Is there anyone who hasn't bought a copy of the book because it wasn't on sale?

Also, does anyone miss the printed version? Once the book moved to digital, I've only received one inquiry about a printed book.

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I've got the wrapping app on my wish list. PM

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So, I've decided what to do with the holiday sale.

A Book About Hype and Wrapping are set to be 20% off during November 2021.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! :slightly_smiling_face:


UPDATE (November 1, 2021) β€” The sale is now live. Also, the β€œPhotics” shop on Etsy is now rated as a β€œStar Seller”. Thanks for the 5-Star reviews!

photics-star-seller

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Too bad I didn't see the offer. :disappointed_relieved:
For the moment I'm sticking with the paper book although having the animated examples is a real temptation. :wink: