Be An Author, Not a Writer: Breaking Into Retail-Market Computer Book Publishing  

Many experienced technical communicators already have the skills and experience required to be successful authors of retail-market computer books. What they generally lack, however, is an understanding of the retail computer book publishing industry: the roles of the various players, options and techniques for landing that all-important first contract, navigating the ins and outs of money and contracts, developing book proposals, and working on their own. By learning more about the industry, technical communicators gain two things: an increased chance of becoming a first-time author and, more importantly, whether this is an appropriate career choice for them.

Benz, Christopher J. and Michelle Corbin Nichols. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Writing>Publishing