Background
After designing the ArtAlphabet and Brancel Medical Reference apps, I started giving some talks about mobile user experience at design conferences. I also was directing a web conference at the time, at the University of Minnesota. These events put me in contact with book publishers, and I developed a relationship with Peachpit Press based in San Francisco, a premier publisher of books about digital design and photography.
Actions
I submitted a book proposal about a specific technique that I had learned during the Brancel app work, the ability to design using web standards (HTML, CSS, and Javascript) but publish as a native iOS app for distribution in the App Store. Peachpit was interested in publishing this book on their New Riders imprint, and I was offered a book contract.
Results
I wrote "The Web Designer's Guide to iOS Apps" in 2010. Due to its success, I then submitted two more proposals for a mobile UX book and later a digital product management book. Those books were published in 2011 and 2013, and led to more conference speaking engagements including SXSW Interactive in 2011 and 2012.
