Literally taking a page out of its own books, O’Reilly Media is using the agile development model to publish Todd Sattersten’s Every Book is a Startup in which the author argues that most books should be developed using the same principles as tech startups. To that end, last week, O’Reilly released the first two chapters (28 pages) as an e-book with more chapters to follow. Consumers who buy the book now pay $4.99 and will get updates at no further charge. For consumers who buy directly from the O’Reilly Web site, the company will send the updates as soon as they are available, explained Joe Wikert, general manager and publisher for O’Reilly.
In the book, Sattersten included a “get satisfaction” page on which readers will provide feedback on the type of topics that would like to see covered in upcoming chapters. As chapters are added, the price of the e-book will rise. When the project is completed some time later this year, O’Reilly will release the title in a print version as well. The print-only edition will sell for $24.99, while the print-and-e-book bundle will be priced at $27.49.
Every Book is a Startup is part of O’Reilly’s short-form content series that it is releasing under its Tools of Change brand.
