The Story Behind the Book

The inspiration for PC Fear Factor came in a flash. For years, I had been tending to my own computers - my own collection of unstable equilibriums. I had acquired the knowledge and skills required for disaster prevention and recovery out of sheer necessity. Years before I wrote this book, it was obvious to me that personal computers are unstable equilibriums, and we are always computing on the edge of disaster.

I know other, less experienced computer users have the same problems, but don't know how to solve them - I field enough phone calls from friends and neighbors to know the unstable equilibrium paradigm is real, and it is here to stay.

One night, as I was out walking with my wife, I couldn't help but notice how many families were hard at work or play on their computers. It seemed that in every lit bedroom of every house, a father, mother, or child was sitting in front of a computer. And I suddenly realized all of these people could benefit from a book about disaster prevention and recovery, particularly if it were written for people who use computers, but know very little about information technology.

The Publishing Proposal

The next day, I sat down at my computer and started to write. By the end of the day, I had what became the first draft of the Introduction for PC Fear Factor.

"Well that was easy," I thought. Perhaps there really is a book in this. I began working in earnest on a publishing proposal. I came up with a table of contents for a book, and a summary of each chapter. I developed sections of the proposal that explained the need for the book and the target audience (non-technical computer users).

Two days later, I had a 24 page publishing proposal. It came out so quickly and effortlessly that I knew I had a great idea.

Curiously, I had no name for the book at this point. Nor was I concerned, because the idea was so good I was confident I could sell the project without a title. In fact, the book was under contract and under way before a name was determined.

From Proposal to Contract

In less than three days, I had managed to develop a detailed publishing proposal. I was now faced with the obvious question: "What the heck should I do with it?"

Any experienced writer will tell you that unsolicited manuscripts have two chances of being accepted: slim and none. They will all advise you to get an agent, and in fact many publishers will only entertain submissions from agents, because they know the agent has weeded out the wheat from the chaff.

The problem is that it can take weeks or months to find an agent, and I didn't want to wait. (Nor was I thrilled with the idea of paying an agent 15%.) So against all conventional wisdom, I went the direct route, submitting my proposal to several publishers via email.

A few days after submitting my proposal to Que Publishing, I received a non-binding verbal offer to publish, and a few days later I had a contract. I know a great deal of hard work was required on the part of my acquisitions editor Rick Kughen at Que to make the deal happen so fast. I am still in awe of how fast Que was willing and able to move on this project. This was tremendous motivation for me. I don't know the statistics, but I am sure it is unusual to go from concept to proposal to contract in less than two weeks .

The Challenges of Writing a Technology Book

Now the hard work began. As soon as I began writing, I realized that a technology book is a different animal in several respects. It became apparent quickly that I had three major challenges:

First, consider my favorite writer, Robert Littell, who spent several years researching and writing his latest novel, The Company, a novelized history of the C.I.A. over the last 50 years. Technology book writers don't have that luxury. It was immediately obvious to me that, once I started, if I spent a year or 18 months researching and writing PC Fear Factor, I would have to revise much of it before it could be published, because technology changes so quickly. I knew I would have to put the pedal to the metal and complete the book in as short a time frame as possible. Basically, I had to surrender my entire life to this project to complete it quickly so the final product would still be fresh and up to date when it hit the shelves.

Second, because PC Fear Factor was intended for home users who are not computer experts, I had the challenge of writing a technical book for non-technical people. This demanded a non-technical, conversational, expositional style of writing. I depended heavily on analogies to explain technical concepts, and humor to keep things light and interesting as well as informative. This very necessary approach added a lot of time and effort to an already difficult task.

Finally, because PC Fear Factor had to address the needs of all users of consumer based versions of Microsoft Windows, I had to cover the idiosyncrasies of three different operating systems: Windows 98, Millennium, and XP. This means that I needed access to computers with all three operating systems. As I only had two out of three at home, I had to travel frequently to my daughter's house to conduct research, take screen shots, and so on.

Producing the Manuscript

Over a period of about three and a half months, I labored for over 1000 hours to produce a manuscript of 420 single spaced Microsoft Word pages - an Introduction, ten chapters, two appendixes, and a glossary. I then applied another 200 hours of effort revising the manuscript after it had been edited by the development editor, technical editor, and production editor.

Working with Que was a pleasure - they were there for me when I had questions, and they left me alone to write otherwise.

The most difficult aspect was addressing the relatively new Windows XP operating system, which has an entirely different architecture than the Windows 98 and Millennium operating systems. I experienced the frustration of learning that some features in Windows XP I had hoped to be able to recommend - the included firewall and the backup utility - fell well short of the mark. Hence, I had to recommend other products in these areas.

The most pleasant aspect of the project was that it became very much a family affair. My brother, Phil Luber, himself an author, assisted me throughout the process, reading and critiquing the first draft of each chapter, and finding material that merited inclusion in the book.

My sister-in-law, Sherry Frank, did a great job on the illustrations that adorn the cover page of each chapter.

My youngest daughter developed the web site you are looking at, and my middle child helped with promotional activities. My oldest gave me access to her house so that I could use her computer.

I also enjoyed the support of several software vendors along the way, who answered questions and reviewed portions of the manuscript for accuracy.

From Manuscript to Book

The process of converting a manuscript into a finished product involves a number of highly skilled people. I was extremely impressed with the Que Publishing team - my Project Editor, Tricia Liebig; my Development Editor, Todd Bracke; my Technical Editor, David Eytchison; and my Production Editor, Megan Wade. It is truly amazing how their skills complement each other, and how their attention to detail has made PC Fear Factor the best product it can possibly be.

During this process, there wasn't a single disagreement over any issue pertaining to the book. Working with Que has been one of the most pleasant experiences of my professional career.

To The Stores!

This entire journey - from concept, to proposal, to contract, to manuscript, to edited manuscript, to typeset product, to the printer, to the warehouse, to the store - took exactly six months and would not have been possible without the dedicated involvement of so many outstanding individuals.

I hope you all enjoy PC Fear Factor as much as we all enjoyed bringing it to you.

Buy the book now Read the Introduction