Network Flow Analysis is due from the printer on June 21, 2010, or two weeks from today. I’ll get my copies later that week.
No Starch Press is contractually obliged to give me six copies of each book I write. They’re generous folks, though, and I usually get a bunch. The number varies with the book’s size, cost, and how many can be wedged into whatever spare box the printer has on hand, but can be usefully described as “more than I can realistically use.”
Some copies I give to good causes –e.g., the charity auction at BSDCan. Others go to people who help me write the book, who provide valuable feedback or testing, or who feed me. (Especially if they feed me gelato.) That’ll still leave me with most of a box.
This time, I’d like to give away copies to people who will write thoughtful reviews on Amazon. (Reviews on blogs would be OK as well, but Amazon reviews are the most effective.) I’m sure I’ll have more volunteers than books, though. I’d like to find some fair way to hand out these review copies; I’m thinking some sort of small contest. Any suggestions, folks?