Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I do believe the book is finally going to hit stores in less than a month, as promised. I have finally seen a cover.


http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Aquaponic-Gardening-ebook/dp/B00BR4SAK0

I'll admit, I'm not sure I would have picked a shot of NFT lettuce with no fish, but such are the joys of working with a mainstream publisher - the author has no say on cover art.

For those who missed the original discussion, the "Complete Idiot's Guide" books are a series for intelligent people who want to learn a new skill or hobby even if they have no specialized knowledge. Kind of like me, back in the day, thinking a standpipe was an upstand... I'm pretty sure this will be the first book on aquaponics published by a mainstream publisher (Penguin Book Group).

Thanks to all of you who helped me during this project! As promised, I'll be sending you a copy of the book and will be contacting you in the next few days/weeks to find out whether you want a "real" book (B&W pictures) or an e-book (pretty color pictures on your favorite computer or reader), and how you want me to get it to you. Alas, hand-delivery is not a likely option, much as I wish it were.

If you find errors in the book, please let me know. I did my best to get things right, and I understand they were having an expert (possibly Dr. Rakocy) do a technical editing pass. But it seems a rule of all such things that once it's in print, there's inevitably an error. And with aquaponics, we're still learning and evolving new and better ways to do things, making yesterdays' truths today's errors.

Thank you again!

Look out, someone might make money from aquaponics.

Cue RupertOfOZ and the likes to step in and shoot the concept down with the "Why would you buy that when there's a free IBC of Aquaponics to download" blah blah friggin blah.


Good on you for this achievement, might even get myself a copy

WooHoo! I can't wait. Don't worry, Rupe already grilled her about it when she first announced that she was chosen to write it.

Hey chad For your surprise Rupert was one of her main supporters on this site and gave freely of his experience which he has plenty of. Check your facts and use the search engine before such criticism please. Have a nice day.

Yep Chad... perhaps you should review the original thread... viewtopic.php?f=45&t=13176

And gee... anyone would think that I was the only one that commented on the thread..

FYI Chad... Meg did send me a (then partial) draft for review....

Gunna buy a copy Chad... go for your life... buy ten.... see if I care in the slightest...

I'll be interested to see how the final product turned out Meg....

I think the difference, Chad, is that Meg is not claiming to be commercial. She is into it as a hobby like us, and was asked to write the book.

I didnt need to read the original thread to know there would be certain persons with their nose firmly stuck in it! Fact is, the political BS that gets posted on here is enough to make one cringe. Luckily I dont spend my every waking hour trying to throw my weight around from behind a keyboard as if I had some form of superiority complex. Someone needed more hugs as a child.

Wow... It might not seem like to new people, but Rupert does what he does because he cares, not because he wants to throw his weight around. Yes, he can come off as snippy at times, but that is because he is protective of AP and has seen too many charlatans. He has contributed VASTLY more here than you, think about what you say before blasting his behavior.

I know who missed out on the hugs, end of story from me.

You all make me smile - good to visit back here again.

If you want a complimentary hard copy of the book, please send me your snail mail mailing address at stoutmtc at gmail dot com. These are copies of the book you can get before the official publication date for the purpose of reading, reviewing, etc.

Someone on another forum responded to me privately that they didn't like me characterizing this book as the first mainstream book, so let me explain.

There have been numerous wonderful books written about aquaponics. And there are a few books that aren't wonderful. But all these books fell into one of two categories:

1) Vanity Press or Self-published books. These books typically go straight from the fingers of the author to the printed page or digital ink. No editor interposes themselves into this process. One can usually tell because the result is lacking in proper grammar, common courtesy, or some other attribute. These are the books most likely to be sold for ~$50 in association with a website that promises to teach you all about aquaponics while giving you computer viruses.

2) Books published by a traditional publishing house. These publishing houses assign an editor to the book, sometimes more than one editor. And these publishers pay the author. In some cases the pay is all up front - work for hire. More traditionally, there is an advance on expected earnings after which the author earns royalties for any books sold beyond the basic amount expected (e.g., earning out an advance).

Within the realm of traditional publishers, there are a vast number of publishers. However as recently as 2012 the majority of books were published by only six of these publishers. The Big Six were Random House, Penguin Group, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Hachette. These each have various "imprints" that give the impression of diversity and allow niche branding, but at the end of the day these big six publishers are in the game to make money, without regard to saving the world or furthering art. Saving the world and furthering art are allowed to happen, as long as the book in question is expected to make money.

So when I said the Complete Idiot's Guide to Aquaponic Gardening is the first mainstream book, I should have said that I believe the Complete Idiot's Guide to Aquaponic Gardening to be the first book on aquaponics published by one of the Big Six. There is a level of ruthless professionalism demanded by these folks which, frankly, made the final writing on the book a bit stultifying. There were so many things the editors didn't understand - or at least, they told me they didn't understand. I think they were standing in for "everyman," the mythical clueless Complete Idiot who might be expected to pick up one of these books and be able to comprehend without feeling either patronized or intimidated. But there were times when I couldn't attribute the editorial response to helpful channeling of "everyman" cluelessness. Like when they told me picture that was 3000 by 4000 pixels was "low res" simply because the dpi label said it was 72 dpi. Unfortunately I cut a number of pictures before I realized they simply didn't understand graphics (and I learned how to edit the dpi field on images).

::deep breath::

Between the helpful comments/grilling you and other wonderful aquaponics enthusiasts so generously gave me, and the well-honed "everyman" channeling provided by the editors, I'm pretty sure the book is mostly correct. Plus Penguin planned to hire a technical editor to comb through the book and correct anything where I messed up despite the best efforts of you and all the editors. I'm not sure who the technical editor ended up actually being, but I know Dr. Rakocy offered to do the technical editing. I do hope the technical editor was one of our PhD-level professionals with aquaponics experience, or at least I hope things I might have gotten right weren't "corrected" to now be incorrect.

Lastly, the DK imprint under which Penguin is publishing this book requires the publisher retain data rights. So that means I can't re-use any of the content in my own posts and website. Which means I'd have to re-write stuff from scratch, which is fine. It also means I was paid up front and won't be receiving any royalties. So it's no profit in my pocket if folks buy the book. If it turns out to be a good book, I'll feel free to hawk it without feeling like a self-serving salesman. Not that those who do get royalties and hawk their books are self-serving salesmen, but you know what I mean.

So Rupert and Ron, I need your snail mail addresses!

And back to the fun repartee that makes me smile... :-)

Duely PM'd Meg...

Congratulations Meg, I hope it's a great success!

This is going to get a bit like cricket stats soon... Rather broad sweeping statements there, hope you don't have virus..