Bristol: The Inside Story

[Kevin H]

I can see that POD (Print On Demand) may have a place in the world of educational text books on obscure topics, reference books such as dictionaries and thesaurus, novels (at the right price), or other disposable works, but I can't see the publishers of automotive history books being worried that POD will put them out of business any time soon.

When I look at my shelves of automotive books with their many different sizes, the weight of the paper and the quality of the printing, I can't really imagine them being replaced by books laser printed on 80gsm paper, with print quality that goes with that process.

That doesn't mean that I wouldn't buy the new Bristol book if it were a POD book, but I would still buy the next Bristol book printed by conventional means and sold at two or three times the price.

To my mind POD will only supplant traditional publishers if people who appreciate books for their aesthetic qualities as well as the content are a dying breed.

[Ashley James]

Hence my suggestion that Palawan might be a better place for an
authoritative book with useful photographs of original cars in it.
Otherwise the information is best disseminated via the web and the
wiki.

I recently visited Haynes Museum and looked through their books and I
wasn't overly impressed, the place needs modernising and some new ideas.

Ashley

[Claude]

Originally Posted by Kevin Howard

When I look at my shelves of automotive books with their many different sizes, the weight of the paper and the quality of the printing, I can't really imagine them being replaced by books laser printed on 80gsm paper, with print quality that goes with that process.

Umm, how do I politely say, Kevin, that your lack of knowledge in this area is showing? For example, consider this snip from one of our several POD suppliers...

Lightning Source Paper (one of their several choices in paper):
-------------
Color: Accent Opaque White
Brightness: 96
WT: 70#
PPI: 385
Opacity: 96
Finish: Smooth
Virgin Fiber - no recycle content
This paper is acid free and lignin free. It meets all ANSI standards for archival quality paper.
-------------
I believe their 70 pound paper is equal to about 110 gsm. Whatever the actual number, the paper is the same as the high quality traditional paper we use.

Same company, size specs
-------------
Perfect sizes - 12
5 x 8, 5.06 x 7.81, 5.5 x 8.5, 5.83 x 8.27, 6 x 9, 6.14 x 9.21, 6.69 x 9.61, 7.44 x 9.69, 7.5 x 9.25, 7 x 10, 8.25 x 11, 8.268 x 11.69
Case Laminate sizes - 4
5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 6.14 x 9.21, 7 x 10.
Cloth sizes - 3
5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 6.14 x 9.21.
Jacketed sizes - 3
5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 6.14 x 9.21.
--------------
Note: that other POD companies do much larger books as well as unusual sizes

POD print quality is now indistinguishable from traditional book print. Indeed in the last large colour-book run my publishing company did, we were rather frustrated that the traditional print job - from one of the most reputable printing companies in the business - came back inferior to the print-on-demand... and it took 3 months and twenty thousand dollars before we realised it. Yes they will rerun the job at their cost, but we will have to pay the dock & customs charges twice... and they are substantial

We have done art books, probably the most demanding of all publications using POD - full colour on coated paper, archival quality and outstanding... and more importantly, accurate, colour reproduction.

We use traditional printing because it is cheaper when we know the number that will sell. But we are witnessing a wholesale change in the market, where in 2009 POD is going mainstream. With companies like Lightning Source (that only sells to the trade and does not have a retail order entry), consumers may have no idea they just purchased a POD.

When you speak of 80 gsm paper using laser printing, you are not talking about real POD, which uses million dollar huge machines running an entirely different process. It's like comparing a Cessna 172 to a Boeing 737. Different industry.

The business case for the many different sized automotive books on your shelf cannot stand up to POD. Enjoy what is on your shelf, for sooner than we may think, much of it is mostly likely to go the way of engraved business and calling cards.

Claude

[Bellerophon]

Having been the co-author of a few books, the best known being The
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Motorcycles, I can tell you about our experience with
the publisher Hamyln.
They asked us to write the book which was printed in Hong Kong, however
there were several printing errors
which we pointed out, alas, they said the book is selling very well and we
seen no reason to change anything, we could do nothing.
Subsequently, the publishing rights were sold on several times with each
time a new addition being released, however, the last time all reference to
myself and all the other people who had a credits were removed.
So all I can tell you is that if your work is to be produced over seas be
very careful, as you can find that you have no control whatsoever.
The best of luck to all prospective authors.
My regards,
Bellerophon

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by Claude

Umm, how do I politely say, Kevin, that your lack of knowledge in this area is showing?

I don't profess to be an expert Claude. The extent of my knowledge of POD is reading a few "whether POD is right for you" articles, probably written by people who had a vested interest in the old way!

If it now matches the quality of traditional printing then you are right, there are interesting times ahead in publishing. Presumably it's probably only a matter of time before the big publishers start using POD for specialist books, if they aren't already.

As a self publishing author does POD change the challenge of marketing your book and getting retailers to sell it?

I guess not having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on your first print run would help because you could use those funds to market the book. I can see that POD would be suited to some genres more than others.

[Claude]

Originally Posted by Kevin Howard

...does POD change the challenge of marketing your book and getting retailers to sell it?

The book world is now dividing between those who buy at stores and those who use the internet. POD marketing tends to be internet based. POD is tied into the major wholesalers like Ingrams, thus libraries process their orders via internet. Retailers are not aligned with the internet, thus they are outside the scope of the question. The internet market is now big enough to allow one to ignore the retailing market entirely (except for customer demand walk-ins, who have their retailer order from Ingrams).

POD is being adopted by major publishers both for long-tail books and fast books (do I dare mention Sarah Palin's autobiography was a POD... good thing, no leftovers to dump). In the future nothing should be out of print... I was astounded recently to find my grandfather's PhD dissertation from the 1880's is now for sale on Amazon as a new paperback.

I have been amused to read the disparaging on-line comments about the new directions of the industry. It reminds me of Bill Gates' speech attacking Linux.

POD and self-publishing are actually different businesses. A friend of mine, a biologist, self-publishes... made over a million dollars US on his first book because he earned about 60% of the cover price rather than the more typical 5%. In his case, he traditionally printed the book. Self publishing is not vanity press. In self-publishing you have to be a good author, pay or be a good professional editor and hire or do a good job with typesetting and layout. More importantly, you then need to know how to get into the top ten of Amazon. My friend learned that skill (he took a workshop that offered a money-back guarantee which he did not get to collect as he hit it). Even today he ranks 154 in Amazon's total ranking. It's called viral marketing, and in these early stages of the internet, it still works.

In our case, books are written not as an end in themselves, but as a means to initiate billion dollar real estate developments. It was those friends who self publish and have international reputations that called my attention to the industry, and provided me with the insight to realise the usefulness of the new technology.

The decision to use POD was for us a cost/time projection question. Our prime book was traditionally printed (and makes higher profits), but it requires a back office. In North America and Europe we used POD both because the global shipping is difficult, and because we could find a huge spike in orders if we get a review from a celebrity. If we used a traditional printing house, we would lose the orders due to the lag time. In contrast with POD we get instant fulfilment. So far the traditional book is selling 7x that of POD, but this is because the POD is solely long-tail marketing at present.

So, in the end, these are just business decisions. But as Bristol collectors seem to be a literate sort, I thought it might be useful to let folks know that their business decisions have more choice than they did a decade ago.

Claude

[TLF799R]

In a message dated 05/07/2009 08:55:46 GMT Daylight Time,
webmaster@bristolcars.info writes:

(Please type your reply below this line!!)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hence my suggestion that Palawan might be a better place for an
authoritative book with useful photographs of original cars in it."

But Palawan have already done it and still have the copies on the shelf
getting very dusty that prove that the majority of Bristol owners do live in
the "real world" and won't spend hundreds of pounds on a brand new car
book....
Philippa


______________________
CURRENT MESSAGE FROM: Ashley James

Hence my suggestion that Palawan might be a better place for an
authoritative book with useful photographs of original cars in it.
Otherwise the information is best disseminated via the web and the
wiki.

[lansdownplace]

A very Private Car is beautifully produced but is priced at a level
that pretty much restricts it's appeal to someone who already owns a
Bristol. Mine took a good six weeks to arrive which suggests that it
wasn't 'on the shelf'. Perhaps they send the already printed sheaves
off for individual binding when you order?

Bristol: A Private Car, is a limited edition of 1000 books (of which
100 are in leather at a pretty big premium). At #300 each the project
revenue would be #300,000. Give say 50k to the author and 25k to the
photographer, and say 30k for the printing the break even point comes
up after 350 sales. It is a similar proposition to the offerings of
the Franklin Mint in that respect. My book is No. 616 so the project
is a good one!. That book was a bit of a one off in that it was
written by a nationally known magazine car writer who had a widely
publicized lifelong association with the marque combined with portrait
photos of all the major cars in a coffee table book. It was aimed at a
small niche and will probably take 15+ years to sell out. I doubt
there is room for a direct competitor book. Although that said it
would be interesting if there was a series of books, one per model
with a very specific history of that particular car.

I am looking forward to the Balfour book, which from what I have heard
will contain a lot more of the facts than we might expect, or even
hope for!. It is priced at a level which opens interest in it up to
more than just owners. As we don't actually know until next year we
can but speculate.

One benefit of using Haynes is that they have a distributors like
Borders and WH Smith on their lists, this in turn means that there
might just be a Bristol Cars book to choose in the automobile section
which in turn might increase interest in the marque.

I have always thought that what is really needed is a history of the
company. not based on it's products but as a business. It is one of
the most unusual companies in the country in terms of it's niche
position, business model, resilience, the longevity of the staff and
cast of characters. Especially where the man who wired the very first
400 still works full time as a Director. The film rights to such a
story would be worth a fortune.

Paul

[geo]

Originally Posted by lansdownplace

Give say 50k to the author and 25k to the
photographer,
Paul

If only!! Paul, I think you risk being trampled to death by the rush of authors and photographers wishing to work for you.

Geo

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by lansdownplace

A very Private Car is beautifully produced but is priced at a level that pretty much restricts it's appeal to someone who already owns a Bristol.

It was reading this book that got me interested in Bristols, before I bought one

Originally Posted by lansdownplace

Mine took a good six weeks to arrive which suggests that it wasn't 'on the shelf'. Perhaps they send the already printed sheaves off for individual binding when you order?

Maybe they do that with some of the leatherbound versions, but going on my personal experience with Palawan it is unlikely that they do that with the clothbound versions. I've bought a number of their books, both for myself and as presents for other people. None of them have taken more than a 48 hours to be delivered in the UK or two weeks if being shipped to Australia.

Quite a few of their titles have sold out in at least one format but it would be possible to have a guess at which books are more likely to sell out and only get all of those bound.

However, I can't help wondering if a company that produces a book titled "The Atlas of Rare Pheasants – Vol I and Vol II" at £2500 really cares whether it has a few unsold volumes on the shelves!

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by TLF799R

In a message dated 05/07/2009 08:55:46 GMT Daylight Time,
webmaster@bristol.... writes:

(Please type your reply below this line!!)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hence my suggestion that Palawan might be a better place for an
authoritative book with useful photographs of original cars in it."

Philippa, please quote the original author of the text, rather than a quoted version. Your message above makes it look like the comment came from webmaster@bristol.... , but it was Ashley James who originally said that. Also please do not include originating email addresses when quoting. Thank you.

Originally Posted by TLF799R

But Palawan have already done it and still have the copies on the shelf
getting very dusty that prove that the majority of Bristol owners do live in
the "real world" and won't spend hundreds of pounds on a brand new car
book....
Philippa

It doesn't prove anything of the sort. I know many Bristol owners who have bought the Palawan book. I think you will find they have sold around 700 copies (you could ring Simon Draper and ask him). I can't imagine many of those went to non Bristol owners.

Kevin