Required Reading: Eric Sink On The Business Of Software


As a general policy, I don’t like to review books on this blog but every now and then, when something particularly exceptional comes along, I make an exception.

I just finished “Eric Sink On The Business Of Software” this week.  The book is an aggregation of content previously posted on Eric’s blog.  I’ve read everything Eric has written, ever since he started posting his content publicly years ago.  Despite the fact that I had read all of this before, I found myself once again drawn into it.  This book easily makes my “Top 10” list of books for software startup entrepreneurs.  The content is well written, insightful and fun

Of course, you may be wondering why I would suggest you go buy the book if the content is freely available on the web anyways.  That’s a good question.  I think you should do both.  Read the content on the web as soon as you get the chance (in fact, if you have to choose between the OnStartups blog and Eric’s blog, read his – I won’t be offended).  Then, go buy the book.   Here’s why:

Reasons You Should Buy The Book
 
  1. In some small way, you give credit to Eric for his efforts.  Though it’s unlikely any of the geek writers will make millions of dollars, I’m sure they appreciate knowing that they have readers out there.

  1. You may be slightly more inclined to read all of the content in hard-copy.  If you’re like me, you tend to “scan” content on the web (because you’re doing 18 things at once) whereas when you’re reading a physical book, you might be more focused.  This content is worth focusing on.

  1. You can help train the Amazon engine so that it’s more likely to help you find other exceptional books that you’d be interested in.

  1. Least important is that your use of my Amazon link to buy the book generates a small associate’s fee for me (think of it as a referral bonus).  Though the money is not particularly significant, it gives me a cheap thrill to know how many people clicked through and bought the book.


And, to cinch the deal, I’ll make the same guarantee I did when I recommended Guy Kawasaki’s book.  If you buy the book and read it, but still don’t think the price of the book was worth the value you got, send me a simple email with your PayPal address and I’ll reimburse you.  

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