Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Books, Developer, iPhone, App Store, TUAW Bookshelf
TUAW Bookshelf: Inside Secrets to an iPhone App
Many TUAW readers have probably bought an iPhone app and had the thought "I could do better than this!" go through their minds. Sometimes you're wondering when someone else is going to write an app to do just the thing you want to do with your iPhone or iPod touch. Carla Kay White was one of these people. She had an idea for a "Gratitude Journal", where you keep track of the everyday things you're grateful for. It's a great concept, and it can keep your spirits up when a prescription antidepressant fails you. Carla was writing her gratitude into a paper journal when she realized that her iPhone was just the platform for this tool. One problem, though – Carla didn't have any iPhone programming skills.
What she did have was a good idea, a background in project management, and some minor funding to bring her concept to light on the iPhone. Inside Secrets to an iPhone App is a short (88 page) tome that not only tells the story of how she brought Gratitude Journal (click opens iTunes) to market, but how anyone with an idea for an iPhone app can do the same.
The subtitle for the ebook says it all -- "The essential non-developers guide to creating an iPhone app". One section of Carla's book that I felt was the most powerful was the section titled "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" Here Carla does a reality check for anyone who thinks that they're going to take an idea to the App Store and become the next Bill Gates overnight. She describes all of the hidden costs and foibles of becoming an iPhone developer. This is something that all potential developers should read.
Inside Secrets to an iPhone App is an extremely fast read, written from the viewpoint of someone who has gone through all of the heartache and thrills that all would-be iPhone developers experience. There are some minor typos and grammatical errors that should be corrected, but they don't subtract from the overall value of the text.
As an author for the TidBITS Take Control series of ebooks, my personal opinion is that this book is slightly overpriced at $13.99. But, being the value-oriented person that Carla is, she also throws in two other books as a bonus – "Interviews with the Best", which consists of interviews with the developers of best-selling iPhone apps like Classics, WeightBot, and Koi Pond (clicks open iTunes), and "How to Successfully Promote Your App". The latter book thoughtfully covers the topic of promoting your app on a shoestring budget.
Gratitude Journal is still doing well in the App Store, and Carla has even been approached by Apple about using it in one of the "There's an app for that" ads. I'm pretty sure Carla's waiting for some clever TUAW reader to come up with the next great app for her iPhone!
Get a WordPress.com Blog
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Segenthaler Warefield said 2:08AM on 5-13-2009
Short. Tome. Funny.
Reply
mr. Obsession said 5:40PM on 5-12-2009
Sounds intriguing...but it's priced about $4.00 more than I'm willing to pay.
Particularly for something without a preview .
Reply
dagamer43 said 8:58PM on 5-12-2009
As great as this sounds, writing an app takes a LOT more effort than you might think if you want it to:
a) actually work
b) be better than the app you're criticizing
c) be free of bugs
Even an app from a simple idea can get quite complex because of "feature creep." When developing, you get an idea for new ideas you want to implement right away without finishing the ideas you originally had. This quickly leads to spaghetti code that takes forever to unravel.
In the end, I think it's easier to build NEW apps that aren't on the App Store rather than try to outcompete existing ones. I think you'll be a lot more successful that way (speaking from personal experience).
Reply
Farris said 10:03AM on 5-13-2009
Um... wouldn't Notes work well for that?
Reply
Henry said 11:40AM on 5-13-2009
Do not give this person your money.
No delivery of the book, no customer service and no reply to direct email.
Fortunately, I used a credit card, so I'll only have to go to the trouble of disputing this transaction, following up to make sure it is credited correctly, and then finding another resource for iPhone development.
Never ceases to amaze me how people with good ideas screw it all up with poor customer service. Caveat Emptor!
Reply
Jean said 12:55PM on 5-13-2009
Did anyone else have issues buying this ebook?
Harkonian said 1:26PM on 5-13-2009
The email to download the zip file with the ebooks in it arrived in my mailbox within a few seconds of confirmation. Make sure it didn't go to your spam box.
Henry said 1:04PM on 5-13-2009
Yes, several have the same complaint...see the following link where customer service is supposed to reside:
http://getsatisfaction.com/happytapper/products/happytapper_inside_secrets_to_an_iphone_app
Reply
Ian said 10:57AM on 5-16-2009
I had a problem with receiving the download link email as well, but after I emailed Carla, she responded promptly. She was helpful and polite, and after a couple more attempts, I received the download email through her intervention to another email address.
After only reading the marketing PDF (one of the bonus bundled books), I was very impressed. I'm an iPhone developer, and have done quite a bit of research on marketing, but I felt that just the marketing book was worth the asking price alone.
YMMV, but I felt I had a good deal.
Regards,
- Ian