A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

Hello to all

Have you seen this : http://www.luftwaffe.be/ what’s new?

Hadn’t Don Caldwell written a very comprehensive study on JG 26?
I hope that this new enterprise will bring many “new” things to the light.

Interesting !

Phil

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

http://www.luftwaffe.be/pictures/boo...201%20what.jpg

Looks like an ambitious plan for a new multi-volume work on JG 26.

http://www.luftwaffe.be/pictures/boo...202%20what.jpg

Which work well combined with the other Kanalgeschwader, JG 2.

That brings me to a question that I really like to see aswered: what are the current developments for translations? Erik told us that he has dropped german as a language (what about JG 5 vol 3 btw?). But what about English?

Need to know, because if translations to either German or English are not likely, than I have to jump in with the French edition of JG 2 before they are out of print.

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

Well, I learned a new French adjective from all this "photos époustouflantes" = amazing photos.

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

...last time the subject arose, the appearance of the translations was tied-in to adequate sales of the original language editions. Seems slightly bizarre but one of the pitfalls of self-publishing I suspect..

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

Well the German sales seem to be lukewarm, so that might bring the JG 5 work to a stop. Will Vol.3 be published at all?

As for JG 2, it must depends on the popularity in France, but I won't keep my breath. Probably end up ordering the French language.

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

..given the comparative lack of decent Luftwaffe subject matter in that language French sales are probably quite good. (the French edition of the JG 4 history currently available is a two volume re-issue...).

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

Hello,

Many thanks for your interest.

Yes, Jean-Louis and I decided to start also a very comprehensive study on JG 26. Certainly not because Don’s work is now become obsolete (he has done fantastic books), but we now have found so many new documents, that it would be a pity to keep that all just for us.

Now, some considerations regarding the publication in different languages.

German : I was pleased to publish the chronicles in German to be able to offer my veteran-friends the result of their support. I think that most of them enjoyed much the books, they often were pleased to (re) discover what happened to this or this comrade, to explain their children how they lived this very hard period of their life. As you know, my main topic is the human aspect; this is the reason why I feel important to publish as many war-time letters and accounts, post-war memories… which can give a more or less correct image of what happened 60 years ago… that is also what we want to develop in the JG 26 chronicle.

But I was a bit upset with the sales of JG 5 vol. 2 which was, I think, not too bad. I then realised that a great part of the potential readers unfortunately had passed away or were not any longer able to enjoy reading. That was not the case for the earlier books loke JG 1 and JG 4.
I don't think that the youth is not interested by this history, but it seems that they feel it difficult to spend much money for books on this subject. Nevertheless, my friend Hans G. Berger, former Stk. of JG 1, and professional translator pushes me to finish and finally publish the volume 3 of JG 5, what we are doing now.

French : this is our mother language, and since Jean-Louis and I really enjoy writing, this is important for us to be published in our language. Of course, JG 2 and JG 26 were stationed in France and Belgium which interests French speaking readers. The sales are motivating us to go further in French. Not, of course, that we earn any money with these books, we won’t ever, but we are able to cover +/- our costs. The Luftwaffe history is and will remain a hobby for us.

English : apparently, it is a very risky affair for an English or American publisher to start the publication of a German Fighter unit chronicle in several volumes. Thus, we are really thinking to do this ourselves but with big doubts too.
How many copies would we be able to sell? If we could be sure to have 500 readers, we would go but the figure of 500 (which sounds relatively small) seems, in fact, to be also difficult to reach.
Storage, distribution, how to get the money, weakness of the dollar face to the euro… that all would be other problems to fight with. And what is now a hobby could become a nightmare.
Nevertheless we have good cards in the hand like a very fine and expert translator, the support of many enthusiasts, and the will to do it…

Any consideration about the market for Luftwaffe books in English would be most welcomed. This would help us to build an idea and take a decision.

Best regards

Erik

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

From a purely antipodean perspective, the biggest problem to an English translation will be shipping/middleman costs. From experience, selective Luftwaffe titles are difficult to come by in Australia and usually require a lengthy wait and a not insubstantial shipping cost which considerably increases costs. Specialist books I can buy in England for less than GBP40 (c.AUD90), regularly costs me AUD$150 and up. Case in point being the latest purchase for my thesis - C. Goulter's 'Forgotten Offensive'. Via Amazon.uk on a good day it is quoted as GDP65 (c.AUD140) but cost me AUD199.95 in the bookstore. That's a big difference!

If you can come up with a way of cutting out the middle man and keeping costs for the consumer at a minimum, then I think you will have a much better chance of success.

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

Well, it seems there is a solution to avoid extensive shipping costs.

Re: A new JG 26 Chronicle?
 

Thanks Erik for all the answers.

I think I'll get the french edition of JG 2 (well not ASAP, but this year).

However one possible avenue would be through pre-sales or at least pre-orders. There is a risk when it comes to getting the price right, but you can get an idea of potential sales. Monogram offered pre-sales ahead of publication, the advantage was a discount.

Just an idea.