Via Scott Mitchell... Brian Bischof has put together some very interesting tips based on experience with self-publishing. You can find the article here. There's tons of interesting stuff on how to write and publish your own book about a technical subject. I especially like the section on "The Bookstore Scam":
"Oh yeah - here's something I learned about how bookstores work. You have to pay them to take your book! Yes, they charge you to carry your book. Every few months that have these "promotions" where you can have your book listed in a catalog that they review for purchasing. If you want to be listed in the catalog then you have to pay from $1,000 to $3,000. They say that this lets them know that you want to establish a strong relationship with them. What a scam! I had no idea that all these books in the bookstore were paid to be there. Another scam is that they will do a new book promotion where they will put your book on a special table where it will get people's attention. Again, this costs thousands. When I saw those book tables in the aisles I always thought that bookstores did that on their own just to sell more books. I didn't realize that the publishers are paying big bucks to get their books put there."
I wish more people would share their first hand experiences like this on other topics!