What is the No Starch Press 'Early Access' Program?

Between writing, editing and technical reviews, most books can take a year or more to complete. But that doesn’t mean you have to wait that long to start digging into a new title. Our Early Access program lets you immediately read digital files of chapters throughout the production process—months before the release date, and while they’re still being worked on. Just keep in mind that book chapters selected for Early Access may not have received a final proofread, and could still be receiving corrections as they move through our editorial process. Nevertheless, we know that many of our customers want to read certain books early!

How does the program work? It’s simple. When you pre-order an “EARLY ACCESS” print book or ebook from our website, you’ll receive a PDF file in your nostarch.com account containing all available EA chapters (indicated in the Table of Contents with red font). We’ll continue loading completed chapters into your account until you have the finalized ebook, and send you email notifications whenever there’s new material to download. Or, you can access these files by logging in under your user profile (https://nostarch.com/user).

NOTE: You may exchange an Early Access book within 30 days of purchase for a similarly priced title in the Early Access program.

Click here to view our current Early Access titles.

Still have questions about the program? See below, or email us at [email protected].

Early Access Program FAQs

Do I need a nostarch.com user account in order to get Early Access content?

Yes. Your user account is where we add a title’s Early Access (EA) files when you make a pre-order purchase, as well as where we upload any new EA chapters whenever they’re ready. Because your account is connected to your email address, you’ll be instantly notified when EA materials for an upcoming book are in your account and ready for download.

If you’ve purchased anything from our website previously, a user account (with a temporary password) was created for you with the email address you provided at checkout. Should you have any questions about your account or are experiencing trouble logging in, please email us at [email protected].

Does it cost extra to use the Early Access program for upcoming titles?

No. When you pre-order a print book or ebook from us and see “EARLY ACCESS” as part of the package, it means that the title is in our Early Access program. Once you pay for the pre-order at checkout, all of the available EA chapters of that title will be added to your user account for free, and are immediately ready for download.

What format do the ebook files in the Early Access program come in?

Early Access files are provided to you as PDFs, which can be easily downloaded from your user account and read on desktops, laptops, or tablets. And of course, like all of our ebooks, Early Access files are DRM-free.

Once the finalized ebook is complete, the PDF format is bundled with the epub and mobi formats at no extra charge. The epub format works with most ebook readers (Apple’s iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, Android, Nook, Sony, and other popular eBook platforms); Amazon Kindle uses the mobi format.

How can I tell which chapters are available when I buy a title in the EA program?

Easy! When you are on the landing page of a title in our Early Access program (listed under “Coming Soon” on the home page), scroll down to the Table of Contents. Any chapters in red font are ready for download once you complete your pre-order purchase.

How complete are Early Access ebooks?

Trick question. By their very nature, none of the Early Access ebooks are technically “complete”—even if the bulk of their chapters are ready for download. Early Access means that you’re getting to read the title while it’s still being written, edited, and crafted. (As soon as the book is published, the final ebooks will be added to your user account.)

That said, the level of completeness varies by title, and often depends on the timing of your purchase. Typically, the closer we are to the release date, the more EA chapters are ready. We’ll notify you by email whenever more Early Access materials become available and are added to your account.

If I find an error or want to comment on an Early Access book, what should I do?

The Early Access program lets you read significant portions of an upcoming book while it’s still in the editing and production phases, so you may come across errors or other issues. We value your feedback but please keep in mind that our rigorous editorial process and review will catch most typos and other editorial issues.

Our authors especially value your feedback on content, whether those are general comments on structure or topics covered, or about technical issues, version concerns, etc. 

To report errors (“errata”), please follow this link and complete the Google form, or email us at [email protected] so that we may review your comments—use whichever method is most convenient for you!