My new book, ‘Engines of Engagement: a curious book about Generative AI’ is published tomorrow. Pre-orders are already open, and it’s been really lovely to hear from people who have kindly already done so. We’ve even made it onto an Amazon bestseller list. The hardback book is really beautiful, and i’m very proud of it, but there is a compelling reason not to buy it. Because tomorrow, when it launches, it will also be available to download, for free, as an eBook.

So don’t buy it (unless you want it), because tomorrow i’ll give it to you. Which may sound rather odd.

This is the publishing model: the beautiful hardback book which costs you money, or an equally beautiful (although perhaps slightly less tangible) eBook which does not.

Almost all of my work is shared openly as part of a model of #WorkingOutLoud on the blog, and through open sessions like Quiet Leadership. Almost all of my books are also available as free eBooks. Sharing my work is part of the iterative and creative process.

A few books, like ‘The Humble Leader’ and ‘The Trust Sketchbook’ are only available in physical form – not because of any commercial limitation, but rather because they are designed as physical artefacts – one as a space for dialogue and the other as a space for reflection. In the real world.

Aside from that though, if you actually looked for it, you would find most of the content, and illustrations, shared on the blog as well.

Now i know that when i publish a book some people very kindly buy it to show support – and i do appreciate that – but the vagaries of publishing mean that the support does not equal much income. Selling the new book on Amazon for circa £25/$32 means i make less than £1/$1. And then you pay tax…

There is money to be made when you sell a lot of books, or when Organisations buy them in bulk – and one of the reasons i set up Sea Salt Publishing alongside Sea Salt Learning was honestly to ensure a sustainable and fair revenue stream, which allows us to undertake creative and experimental writing and publishing projects (like ‘The Identity Project’, or ‘The London Dereliction Walk’.

But for me the point of books is not directly to make money: it’s to build a community around this work. I’m very fortunate in this respect, that my daily writing is held kindly in the arms of tens of thousands of people who subscribe and contribute to the dialogue. And of course out of this community all our other work falls into being. Sea Salt Learning is a highly successful and high reputation global business. But not just from selling books.

I do hope that a lot of people read the Engines of Engagement. Not because i need validation of the ideas, but rather the opposite. The book is intended to help inform a stage for debate, and debate is about listening as well as speaking. I hope to learn through the process – writers are selfish like that – to hear challenges as well as support, and constructive iteration. As i’ve said many times, this is not a book of answers – it’s a part of that debate.

If you do download the eBook tomorrow, you will find at the start a message, it asks that people kindly share the work widely if they are able to. The discussion on Generative AI is still in it’s infancy, and the more people are engaged in it, challenging and thinking, the better. So that is my hope.

If you buy the hardback, i hope you enjoy having it on your shelf as much as i do. And if you buy the eBook, i hope you share your thoughts, reflections, and ideas, much as i have.

You can find all the links to buy Engines of Engagement here – and tomorrow this is where the download link will sit!