Seek sponsors for printed book

[nickvidal]

Some maintainers and other readers would be interested in a printed book. We are seeking sponsors to have it printed.

[Delta456]

Where does one sponsor for the book release?

[nickvidal]

My hope is to have a printed version and to give it as a gift to all of you who have contributed with your stories.

I pitched this idea to GitHub and also suggested giving this book to all attendees of GitHub Universe 2025. Fingers crossed! :)

[Delta456]

I hope that happens 😄

[desrosj]

I pitched this idea to GitHub and also suggested giving this book to all attendees of GitHub Universe 2025. Fingers crossed! :)

Wow, really neat idea!

Do you have any idea of the ballpark cost per copy? Or per X copies?

[nickvidal]

The pages are black and white, with a full-color cover, so the price per copy would be quite affordable: around $3.

[JakobJingleheimer]

How many books are you looking to have printed?

[nickvidal]

GitHub Universe 2025 will receive 3700 attendees, but I'm not sure if GitHub will want to distribute this book at this event. I would like to gift the 50+ maintainers who shared their stories.

[desrosj]

@nickvidal I'm asking around and one question I have gotten is around placement and recognition for sponsoring. For example, would they receive their logo on the front or back cover with a "thanks" message? A full page in the book? Or are you looking for more silent/passive sponsorship.

[nickvidal]

Thanks, @desrosj, for taking the time to look into this!

I’ve been reflecting on the best path forward, and I believe our strongest approach is to seek sponsorship from organizations that genuinely support maintainers and are aligned with the spirit of the book.

Since the stories have already been collected, we’re now looking for sponsors after the fact. So a branded edition makes a lot of sense. Each sponsor could choose to print x number of copies of the book with a dedicated full page placed anywhere in the book. They can then share these branded books with their clients, communities, or conference attendees, helping to amplify the voices of maintainers while associating their brand with meaningful Open Source stories and experiences.

I also think it’s important to give back to all who have contributed to the book. That’s why I’ve set up a profile on Open Collective (currently under review), to transparently distribute sponsorship funds and reader donations to all the maintainers who shared their stories.

I'm open to ideas on how we can share this knowledge in a fair, impactful, and meaningful way. Thank you again for your support!

[RaisinTen]

Hey folks! I don't know if GitHub is still being considered for this but I noticed that Zerodha provides financial contributions to various Open Source Funds - https://zerodha.com/open-source. Their CTO - https://github.com/knadh is also invested in Open Source. Maybe they can also join hands in contributing something to the pot.

[nickvidal]

We now have a donations page at the end of the book and it points to our Open Collective profile at:

https://opencollective.com/maintainers

Every donation we receive will be distributed equally among the authors.

[nickvidal]

I would like to propose the following payment structure:

Donations (from readers)

• Goes entirely to authors, distributed equally.
• Donations Call to Action (CTA) displayed at the end of the book.

Corporate Sponsorships (branded books)

• Pays for printing and to the author who closed the deal, who would be responsible for the printing and logistics.
• Donations CTA continues at the end of the book.
• New sponsor page(s) added anywhere in the book.
• If we use Amazon for printing, author copies can be acquired at printing cost but offset printing is cheaper for bulk orders.
• We recommend that sponsors give the books as a gift to clients, communities, or conference attendees.

Fees by Open Source Collective are at 15%.