My best selling books

Have I mentioned that my best selling book are in the C# area?

Links to my books

Recent analysis of my blog stats indicates that people are looking for links to the many computer books I have written, so here they are...

Learn to Program with VB.Net 2008 Express
ISBN: 978-0-615-24843-1 (Smiley Publishing, August 24, 2008)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order via Amazon
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)

Learn to Program with Visual C# 2008 Express
ISBN: 978-0-615-24842-4 (Smiley Publishing, June 20, 2008)
Note: If you already have the Visual C# 2005 Express edition, please don't order this one. The changes in the Editions, at the Introductory level of this book, are miniscule. Only screen shots have changed.
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order via Amazon
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)

Learn to Program with Visual C# 2005 Express
ISBN: Not Assigned Yet (Smiley Publishing, April 7, 2008)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)

Learn to Program with VB.Net 2005 Express
ISBN: Not Assigned Yet (Smiley Publishing, May 16, 2007)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)

Learn to Program with JavaScript
ISBN: 978-1-84728-999-1 (Smiley Publishing, September 20, 2006)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order via Amazon
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)

Learn to Program with C++ (using the Borland C++ Batch Compiler)
Original ISBN: 0072-225-351 (Osborne/McGraw Hill, April 23, 2002)
ISBN: Pending: (Smiley Publishing, February 14, 2007)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)
Read a sample chapter (Chapter 6)
View Table of Contents

Learn to Program with C# (using the .Net C# Batch Compiler)
Original ISBN: 0072-222-611 (Osborne/McGraw Hill, April 23, 2002)
ISBN: Pending: (Smiley Publishing, December 11, 2006)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)
Read an article on Installing and configuring the C# Batch compiler
View Table of Contents

Learn to Program with Java
Original ISBN: 0072-131-896 (Osborne/McGraw Hill, November 2, 2001)
ISBN: Pending: (Smiley Publishing, August 13, 2007)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)
Read an article on Installing the Java Development Kit
Read the bonus chapter, Chapter 14 on Applet Creation, which is not in the book
Read a sample chapter (Chapter 7)
View Table of Contents

Learn to Program with Visual Basic.Net 2002/2003
Original ISBN: 0072-131-772 (Osborne/McGraw Hill, January 11, 2002)
ISBN: Pending: (Smiley Publishing, February 14, 2007)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal)
Order a copy for $39.99 via Lulu.com
Order an Electronic Version for $13.95 ($12.95 via PayPal)
Read a sample chapter (Chapter 8)
View Table of Contents

Learn to Program with Visual Basic Objects
Original ISBN: 1902-745-048 (Wrox Press, December 1, 1999)
ISBN: 1929-685-165 (Course Technology, March 1, 2001)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 (Sorry, sold out)
Order via Amazon
Download the China Shop Project as of the end of the Intro book/beginning of this book
View Table of Contents

Learn to Program with Visual Basic Databases
Original ISBN: 1902-745-035 (Wrox Press, July 1, 1999)
ISBN: 1929-685-157 (Course Technology, March 1, 2001)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 ($45 via PayPal) Hurry, only 1 left!
Order via Amazon
View Table of Contents

Learn to Program with Visual Basic Examples
Original ISBN: 1902-745-06X (Wrox Press, May 1, 1999)
ISBN: 1929-685-157 (Course Technology, March 1, 2001)
Order an Autographed Copy for $38 (Sorry, sold out)
Order via Amazon

Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6
Original ISBN: 1902-745-000 (Wrox Press, November 30, 1998)
ISBN: 1590-591-518 (Apress, July 3, 2003)
Now being published by Smiley Publishing (September 1, 2007)
Order an Autographed Copy for $48 (Sorry, sold out)
Order via Amazon
Order via Lulu.com (Coming soon!)
View Table of Contents

Fan Mail of the week---Monday, December 1, 2008

I just received this very nice email from a reader of my C++ book in Iraq. My C++ book is the most heavily pirated, illegally downloaded book in the world--but I don't mind if it helps people learn this very tedious, sometimes difficult language.

Leon was wondering how to get the book in Iraq or Syria--my print on demand company, Lulu.com, assures me they will ship there. And he asked about a Part 2 of the book, something I am working on now.

Here's the email...

Hello John Smiley!!

How are you?

I've been reading your great book called " Learn To Program with C++(2003) "actually it is very very easy to understand C++ , like i live with the real Professor in classroom, but unfortunately, I have this book in PDF file only, not the real book in my hand, Ii want to buy this book, from where?

Because i live in Iraq, we don'thave this book,is there are a library in Syria that they can have this book? Because alot of Iraqis are traveling to Syria and back to Iraq after few days, maybe I will inform someone to buy this book,and if you don't know, just tell me the way to get this book, but not byMailbox, because it is not work here.

And, is there are a 2nd part for C++ ? like more details about drawing desgins and more C++ codes for expert programmer.

Thank you

Leon

Another Plagarism Site

Any computer authors out there?

See if your book is being plagarized here...my C++ book is...

http://hates.home.anadolu.edu.tr/books/Computer/

Fan Mail---Letter of the week

I just received this very nice email from a student/reader who bought my book last week---nice emails like this inspire me to keep writing in the face of overwhelming obstacles to just quit and watch the Eagles frustrate me with another close loss :)

By the way, here is the Amazon.com link to the book this reader is talking about....

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Program-C-John-Smiley/dp/0072222611/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227460659&sr=1-7

It's listed as being out-of-print, but I have the rights to sell it, and have republished it under my Smiley Publishing brand. I have a hundred copies right behind me if anyone needs one.

Hi John,

I hope you remember me. I purchased your book about a week and a half ago. I already passed half the book and I can tell you is that this the best introductory book I have ever read..It's worth every penny.

You know, I was getting frustrated with other books and sometimes I got to a point where I thought programming was not for me, but your book is so nicely written and so understandable that I am have progressed more in this short time then ever before.

I just want to thank you and I really really appreciate you took the dedication and time to write this book.

I think, thanks to your book I can eventually have a sucessful career. I am eager to learn more. By the way, do you have a continuation book for C#?....It would be great if you did. Or if you don't, can you recommend me one from another source....

I need to get up to pace because I would eventually like to get Microsoft Certified in .NET in the near future.

As you can tell I joined your C# group in Facebook but I am the only member there.

Plagarism on Scribd.com

As a published author, it's always disconcerting to find my published materials posted online. Here's an email I recently sent to a site (http://www.scribd.com/) that had several pages of one of my books posted...and the reply. Why is it 1000 times harder to have it removed than it is to post it---and once removed, it can be put back up in the blink of an eye...

Someone has copied some pages from my book

Learn to Program with Visual Basic Examples

and placed it on your site---would you please remove it?

Here's the link to it

http://www.scribd.com/doc/5634529/How-to-create-MS-Access-as-backend-database-for-VB-application

John Smiley

Here's their response...

---

Thanks for contacting the Copyright Department at Scribd.

Scribd is a self-publishing platform that enables users from around the world to publish and/or read written works, documents, and rich content over the Internet. Scribd takes the rights of intellectual property owners very seriously and complies as a service provider with all applicable provisions of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") of 1998. We expeditiously remove infringing material and terminate repeat infringers when appropriate.

I sincerely regret that one of our users posted your content to Scribd without your authorization.

Your email was very clear, but it's missing some elements that would allow me to accept it as an "authorized statement" under specific legal criteria established by the DMCA.

To avoid making this any more tedious than it has to be, I've attached a template of a valid DMCA request below. The information in this template is the absolute minimum that we can accept under United States law. Simply substitute everything in [brackets] with the necessary information. Then send the request back to me, and I'll remove the infringing content as soon as possible.

Remember, your DMCA request is a legal document. You must include your FULL mailing address and phone number along with a valid email address. We are unable to remove content based on email addresses alone.

Your takedown request must include a direct link (URL) to each and every infringing document that you want us to remove. We cannot remove documents based on keywords, search terms, title, author name, cover design, or resemblance (physical or otherwise) to another document.

There are absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS to these legal requirements, regardless of your country of origin.

Your DMCA request can only apply to infringing documents on Scribd.com up to the date of the request. Your DMCA request does not cover possible future infringements. Most documents on Scribd are indexed by Google within 24 hours, so a Google Alert is an excellent way of finding out - usually within minutes - if your work has been posted on Scribd or another site.

Thanks for your understanding.

Please contact me if you have any further questions.Jason Bentleyjason@scribd.com***

========== BEGIN SAMPLE DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICE ==========

Attn: Jason Bentley, Scribd.com,
Pursuant to 17 USC 512(c)(3)(A), this communication serves as a statement that:

(1). I am [the exclusive rights holder the duly authorized representative of the exclusive rights holder] for [title of copyrighted material being infringed upon, along with any identifying material such as ISBNs, publication dates, etc -- or, if the material is a web page, the URL];

(2). These exclusive rights are being violated by material available upon your site at the following URL(s): [URLs of infringing material];

(3) I have a good faith belief that the use of this material in such a fashion is not authorized by the copyright holder, the copyright holder's agent, or the law;

(4) Under penalty of perjury in a United States court of law, I state that the information contained in this notification is accurate, and that I am authorized to act on the behalf of the exclusive rights holder for the material in question;

(5) I may be contacted by the following methods (include all): [physical address, telephone number, and email address];I hereby request that you remove or disable access to this material as it appears on your service in as expedient a fashion as possible. Thank you for your kind cooperation.

Regards,[your full legal name]

========== END SAMPLE DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICE ==========

I write computer programming books

Someone just emailed me on Lulu.com (My Print-On-Demand company) and asked me how I am able to write 600 page books when they can't get beyond 150. Here's my reply.

I write books on computer programming--it's a bit easier in that I develop a computer program that has explicit steps that have to be completed.

I illustrate these steps in the book with screenshots and explanations.

My books are a bit unusual in that the project is developed in the context of a real computer class with people, dialog, character development and interaction.

It's great for learning on your own---elearners, Distance Learning Programs, learn on your own.

Not your average computer geek book.

I was scared my eBooks were being stolen

I thought that my eBooks were being stolen again...actually, my C++ eBook is probably the most stolen eBook in existence. It seems that there are 100's of links to it on the Internet.

I was more scared about my new books, Introduction to Visual C# 2008 Express and Introduction to Visual Basic.Net 2008 Express.

My web statistics indicated that there were 100's of page views of those 2 eBooks yesterday, but in terms of download bandwith, just about 20.

I was scared because all eBook sales go through me---and as you well know, if you are a regular read of my smog, I mean blog, business is bad and I haven't sold anything since November 1st.

I forgot that I had sent out a number of emails to teachers providing them with links to the eBooks--it's great to see that they are downloading them.

Self Publishing

I was just going through some old emails, and came upon one from Linda Carlson, who made contact with me shortly after my publisher went out of business :(

Her website is a good one for self publishing

http://lindacarlson.com/

and includes some valuable links...particularly the one to the Independent Book Publishers Association...

http://www.pma-online.org/

Are my eBooks being stolen?

My writing/teaching/consulting business has been very poor in November---extremely poor.


While going through some Web statistics yesterday, I discovered that I had 10 downloads of my Visual C# Express 2008 eBook from my Web site last week---pretty interesting in that I only sold 1 eBook.


You see the disparity---10 download vs 1 sale---that's 9 too many.


The obvious conclusion I can come to is that 9 people who didn't pay for the eBook have downloaded it. There may be other reasons---some customers download it to their hard drive, then forget where they put it or delete it, and download it again. Some customers may download it to multiple computers--that's fine with me.


However, a ratio of 10 to 1 gives me reason to think something is up.


I don't ask for much for these eBooks---$12.95 via Paypal, or $13.95 via regular credit card, cash, money order, etc.


I sell about 40 of these a month which helps out with the bills---for some reason, I haven't sold a single one in November.


Could it be that someone has posted a link on the Internet to my site?


It's possible. The eBooks are password protected, and in my instruction email to my readers, I ask them to please NOT share the password. I also tell them if they of someone who can't afford one, then to have that person contact me and I will work out something with them---and I have gladly provided free eBooks to needy people.


I just spent 10 minutes changing the password of all of my eBooks---that may help.


More likely what will happen is that someone will post the eBook on a file sharing site, the way they have with my C++ eBook, and make it available for free to millions of people.


My books take about 6 to 9 months to write, and help pay for my two boy's college tuition.


I don't ask for much that people pay for my hard work, do I?

Self Publishing

I started self publishing last year---primarily putting out of books back in print.

This year I wrote and self published two original titles---not (and never) available anywhere else.

The only source of supply for these books is my Print on Demand company lulu.com---if anyone buys a book, I know about it.

That's why it's really interesting to find that my 'new' books are now being sold all over the world as used books.

Could someone be printing these on their own and selling them as mine?

Tsk...tsk...shame on you.

My first book now under my control

I published my first book, Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6, in November of 1998.

The rights to the book were purchased by Apress in July of 2003 when my original publisher, Wrox, went out of business.

In September of 2007 I asked for, and received the rights to the book from Apress, with the intention of self publishing it via own imprint, Smiley Publishing.

New Publisher Found

You may recall that the publisher of my first book

Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6

Wrox Publishing, went bankrupt and my book has been in 'limbo' since.

I'm pleased to announce that the rights to the book have been purchased by Apress Publishing and will now be printed and distributed through them.

The ISBN is changed from 1902-745-00 to 1590-591-518.

The book can be purchased online at Amazon via the following link...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590591518/ref=nosim/professorsmileys

My Java book to appear on the Sopranos!

I received word from my publisher that my Java book will be used in the context of the plot of HBO's Sopranos.

If you're familiar with the characters in the show, Svetlana, who will be taking care of Uncle Junior this year, will be using my book to teach herself Java and set up some kind of Web based business.


I'll let you know when I have a firm air date

My Java book to appear on the Sopranos!

I received word from my publisher that my Java book will be used in the context of the plot of HBO's Sopranos.

If you're familiar with the characters in the show, Svetlana, who will be taking care of Uncle Junior this year, will be using my book to teach herself Java and set up some kind of Web based business.

I'll let you know when I have a firm air date.

Fan Mail---March 4, 2000

Just received a very nice piece of fan mail about my books in which the author describes the 'novel' approach of my book

I would just like to say that I enjoy your books on Visual Basic. I have two and am going to buy another soon.

These are the first programming books that I have ever read that aren't extremely boring.

The book is more like an interesting novel because of the way you do the dialogue instead of just spitting out pages and pages of boring, hard-to-follow facts.

I bought the first book in the series about beginning Visual Basic so that I could learn Visual Basic and get a summer job doing programming. I am not even done with the first book, but I still bought the book on objects in Visual Basic.

I used to program in Q-Basic back in the ancient days of un-user-friendly DOS and a year ago, I made an attempt at learning Visual C++, but I now know more in Visual Basic than in both Q-Basic andVisual C++.

Thanks!

Danny

My book is outselling Harry Potter

For one day anyway, my book

Learn to Program with Visual Basic 6

is the number one selling book on Amazon--and Harry Potter is second!

Just published my first book!

I'm happy to announce that I've just published my first book,

Learn to Program With Visual Basic 6
Wrox Publishing
ISBN 1902-745-000

It will be published under Wrox's ActivePath imprint.

You can order copies online at Amazon using this link...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590591518/ref=nosim/professorsmileys