Paul McFedries - Web Design Playground: HTML & CSS the Interactive Way

The English essayist Joseph Addison once described an editor as someone who rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm. I dont know if thats true for editors in some of the more sedate publishing nooks (novels and cookbooks and such), but I think it applies perfectly to the rigors of computer-book editing. Why? Well, the computer industry (and the web in particular) is so exacting that even the teensiest authorial (or editorial) lapse could result in a book that sows confusion and consternation rather than certainty and delight.

The good folks at Manning Publications minimize book blunders by subjecting each manuscript to a barrage of reviews, not only by editorial specialists, but also by a team of dedicated outsiders (in a process I call gang reviewing). Instead of a process in which single-digit numbers of eyeballs look at the manuscript, a Manning book is scrutinized by dozens, so you get a book that contains accurate and relevant information and a book that has passed muster with some of the sharpest eyes and ears in the business. My name may be the only one that appears on the cover, but tons of people had a big role in creating what you now hold in your hands. Those reviewers were Conor Redmond, Eric Cantuba, Itai Polatnick, Jose San Leandro, Liam Kemp, Nitin Ainani, Prabhuti Prakash, Richard Fieldsend, Sachin Kumar, Scott Dierbeck, Sebastian Maier, Shawn Eion Smith, Thomas Overby Hansen, Vasile Boris, and Zoheb Ainapore. Of those I worked with directly, Id like to extend warm thanks to publisher Marjan Bace, acquisitions editor Brian Sawyer, development editor Karen Miller, editorial director Bert Bates, development manager Rebecca Rinehart, designer Monica Kamsvaag, review editor Aleksandar Dragosavljevic, MEAP coordinator Matko Hrvatin, assistant acquisitions editor Nicole Butterfield, technical editors Doug Sparling and Helen Sparling, technical proofreader Louis Lazaris, copyeditor Kathy Simpson, proofreader Michelle Melani, production editor Deirdre Hiam, design editor Janet Vail, and quality reviewer Barbara Mirecki.

The members of the editorial team arent the only people who had their fingers in this publishing pie. Flip back a few pages, and youll find a list of other professionals who worked long and hard to produce this book. I tip my authorial hat to all of them. Id also like to thank all the people who took the time to review the early manuscripts of the book and to offer comments and suggestions. Your couple of cents worth was very much appreciated.

Finally, Id be remiss if I didnt extend a hearty and heartfelt thanks to my agent, Carole Jelen, whose hard work made this project possible and whose breathtaking knowledge of the technical-publishing industry fills me with awe and makes me grateful every day to have Carole working on my behalf.