Bob Gardner's Book

[Bob Gardner]

A note to forumites to ask for advice on the form of my next book on British WW1 props.

The second edition of my book on British WW1 props is about ready for publication. The first edition was published in pdf format on a CD.

We plan to publish the second edition as a high quality hardback book of about 450 pages and 550 photographs. It contains a further three year's research.

The advice I would like from as many of you as possible is;

Should I publish it as one book, which will be bulky and expensive?

Or, should I publish it in several smaller volumes of about 40-50 pages? These would each be published at intervals of several weeks and would therefore spread the cost. An added advantage is that the info that I have on some prop makers is sufficient for one of these volumes, so I could for instance produce stand-alone books on Bristol, Ebora and Lang props. Other volumes would describe several makers.

We are currently talking to Schiffer Books about publishing it but may well publish it ourselves.

I would appreciate your advice.

With kind regards,

Bob

[Dave]

First of all kudos to you for undertaking this as well as past efforts to collect and document all this information. It's a major undertaking and helps fill a huge void in our current reference options.

I personally would think the smaller volumes would be the better choice, perhaps with some overlap of common information that might be included in each of them. For one thing, I suspect that some people who own a particular propeller may want to individually buy that volume. I also find that large volumes of anything tend to be harder to look through, although I suppose 450 pages is certainly manageable. Down the road, would revisions be easier if you tackled one at a time? I'd think it would be, and could be focused based on how new information is discovered relative to the topic of each volume.

[Bob Gardner]

Thank you for your kind words, Dave.

My inclination is to publish the book in several volumes but I thought some market research on this forum would be a good idea.

I also plan to publish at some time in the future a booklet, perhaps on CD, which will describe the data on British, French and German props of WW1. The British data will include AID nos and G and N numbers.

And in theory, I shall then tackle French WW1 props and I continue to gather info and photographs for this, although there are already some good books on the subject in French.

With kind regards,

Bob

[MWP_Lamar]

I love books and a 450 page volume wouldn't be difficult for me. However, for the practical reasons Dave noted above I suspect individual volumes would sell better and be of greater assistance to most.

Thank you for all the time and work you have put into your excellent prop references Bob.

Lamar

[Bob Gardner]

Thank you Lamar. My inclination is to publish it in several parts.

Fellow Forumites

I would like your view too. No need for a lengthy reply (although welcome).

Just click the POST REPLY button below left and type in either; One Book or Several volumes

With greetings to everyone,

Bob

[oinkitt]

Book

I would be happy to get a copy in any format, smaller volumes could be of benifet though.

[Bob Gardner]

Thanks. I am more or less certain now that I'll produce the book in about twelve parts, which will enable customers who have a specific interest in one type of prop to buy the relevant description.

Bob

[lion65]

Several volumes.

Greetings from Holland,
Gert de Leeuw

[Bob Gardner]

Goedemorgen Gert,

Thanks for your advice. Everyone that I have spoken to is in favour of several volumes. They are ready to be published. I am just waiting for Schiffer books to decide if they wish to publish them. If not, I will publish the first in January.

Hartelijke Groeten,

Bob

[tomsocket]

How to Publish

Bob,

your research will be a fountain of knowledge and i , for one, would greatly appreciate a definitive single volume.

I have always loved wood, the craftsmanship, the engineering and the history. I am currently restoring the oldest "One Design" keel boat in the UK - she was "born" in 1898 , and returns to the water on her 112th birthday. My Propeller purchase is at my third auction attempt.

I would be proud to save, and then invest, in a single weighty reference tome where I could immerse myself in the entire subject matter, and reflect on the heroes who's sacrifice allowed us to live in a free Europe.

I will , of course, purchase in whatever format - but a Software Free page turner is an exciting project.

Tom

[Bob Gardner]

Hello Tom,

Thank you for your advice on my book and for buying the CD of the first edition, which I have packed and will post first-class this afternoon.

I am still awaiting a reply from Schiffer Books in America but have more or less lost patience with them and next week will begin the process of publishing myself the second edition of my book on British props, in about twelve installments made of real paper. The complete book is about twice as big as the first edition.

After that, I'll produce the remaining half of my book on German WW1 props in CD format.

With kind regards,

Bob

[Tue]

Self publish

Hi Bob

If you want to publish the book yourself, have you thought about services like:

http://www.blurb.com/
http://www.lulu.com/

I have never tried these services myself, but it looks to be a great way to keep cost down and make sure you get the widest audience possible.

Best,