For all of you who read ebooks in formats other than Amazon’s Kindle, my book is now available on Smashwords in almost every format imaginable:
Since Smashwords distributes to various online booksellers, this means it may show up at Barnes & Noble and the iBookstore sometime soon. I have no control over who decides to carry the book, but if you happen to see a copy for sale anywhere, I’d love to hear about it!
Advantages of using Smashwords: In addition to all the different format choices, Smashwords also gives you access to free updates whenever I change the file. (I have found a few typos I need to correct one of these days…) Also, the free sample is slightly longer than the one at Amazon.
Disadvantages: You have to load the file onto your ebook reader manually (try the free program Calibre). Also, some of the file formats are wonky, because Smashwords insists on using its automatic “meatgrinder” program — for instance, the html format didn’t handle exponents correctly, the mobi file had a couple of bad links in the table of contents, and the epub included every single answer-to-sample-problem in its ncx toc. If you’re reading on a Kindle, the hand-formatted Amazon file is much nicer.
Up and Down the Roller Coaster
Meanwhile, at Amazon.com, my book has been having a great time riding up and down the sales-rank roller coaster.
I’ve made is as high as #1 in Teaching Math and #2 in Homeschooling on the Kindle bestseller lists, and even reached #26 in the overall Homeschooling bestsellers (which includes print books). And I’ve also been so far down on the lists that I disappear. That’s life!
Today, I’m proud to find myself in the Top 10 for Teaching Math — in company with Paul Lockhart and Liping Ma. 🙂
In Other News…
I’m still slogging away on my Let’s Play Algebra book, rewriting whole sections and adding more explanations to the parts that confused my beta-readers. In addition, I’ve added two more books to my “Coming Soon (I Hope)” queue:
Multiplication Ninja:
How to Master the Times Table Without (Much) Memorization
When their children struggle with multiplication, many parents resort to flashcards, worksheets, or race-the-clock computer games. Denise Gaskins recommends a different approach: Challenge your student to a joint experiment in mental math. This book will show you how to use the world’s oldest interactive game — conversation — to explore multiplication patterns and build pre-algebra skills while memorizing as little as possible.
[Based on my Times Table Series blog posts.]
Word Problems from Literature:
Creative Story Problems Solved with Word Algebra and Bar Diagrams
Do your children struggle with word problems in math? Featuring problems from Mr. Popper’s Penguins, The Hobbit, and other classics, this book will teach you how to use two powerful tools for solving story problems: word algebra and bar diagrams.
[Based on my Elementary Problem Solving Series blog posts.]
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 
Is there a print version for those of us who like to hold paper?
Not yet. I can’t afford a page designer, so I’ve been learning to format it myself. I’m getting better at making InDesign obey what I tell it to do. But all the graphics still have to be updated (72 dpi works for ebooks, but print needs higher resolution) and other new ones created, which takes time.
Also, there are still so many things I want to change in the book (for instance, I would like to totally revise the high school chapter). So I’m torn between issuing a print book now, as-is, and then releasing another edition later, after my tweaking is done — or just waiting until I have a “final” version before I commit myself to paper.
But then, will there ever be a “final” version, as long as I’m still learning new things about teaching math? …
I’ll hope you make enough money from the digital versions to pay someone else to format your print version. :^)
And nope, there will never be a perfect final version. (I’m glad to be working with someone else on my book, so that I’m not in the same situation. I have to just finish a few things, so we can get the book out.)
Yes, having a friend to say, “No more. Enough!” does add some discipline to the project. 🙂