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By One of the most common emails we get around here at Head First is the "Will you please publish Head First XXX?" Usually, there are little touches of individuality sprinkled in with these requests... maudlin stories about a child who won't ever get their ITIL certification without our books, or perhaps a photocopy of a failing grade in a systems class at the local college.
I'm still waiting for undergarments.
Anyway, many of these requests continue to result in the same response: "I'm sorry, there's just not enough of a market." One of the nasty truths about book publishing is that we don't create markets, we respond to them. It's a bit of a surprise to most folks, because there's a bit of an assumption that if we put out a book, then people will pick up that book, learn the technology, and increase that particular market. In other words, a published book will increased a small(ish) market.
It doesn't work. Doesn't now, probably never will.
What that means to you is not, your favorite topic -- Visual Basic, ASP.NET, migration habits of wood-loving swans -- won't ever get published. It does mean that the market has to grow before we can reasonably publish books (especially in a series like Head First, where each book is extremely labor-intensive).
So if you're pitching an idea for a smaller topic, give us some data! Does everyone at your local college hate the textbook, and your professor's willing to join in and ask for a better book? Do you know the heads of 50 user groups across the country that might chime in and support your request? Give us something to justify a book... because we love satisfying our customers.
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What an attitude. ;-)
Don't you love what you can post when it's private? :-)
I do think it would be cool to have a more tactful public blog post where we talk about why we publish the books we do. Something we could refer people on the forums to when they complain that we're not publishing Head First Lisp :)