eBooks and eArticles

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi guys,

Many thanks for the comments.


Richard,

We also still prefer the printed book, and that’s why our significant book projects will appear in that format. Although print runs will decrease as the years go by (at the moment print runs are between 1,000 and 1,500), we will continue to publish hard copy books for as long as people keep buying them. However, the eBook and eArticle format is something that will grow in the future, and we’d like to try it. It also allows us to publish projects that simply wouldn’t be economically viable as printed books.

I guess most people aren’t familiar with the economics of the publishing world. The Luftwaffe market is a tiny one, and there are only just enough potential customers to make a fully illustrated printed book project of more than 176 pages worthwhile, especially if, like Air War Publications, you want to write and publish about topics that hasn’t been covered before (rather than more popular topics like the FW 190 Dora and Ta 152, the Me 262, and late-war Bf 109s).

We want to be able to publish our hard copy books about the ground-attack guys and other aviation history topics not previously covered. However, we have many projects that simply couldn’t be published in the traditional printed form because the market for them wouldn’t be big enough. For example, Adam Thompson and I have been working on a unit history of the short-range reconnaissance units 2.(H)/14 and 4.(H)/12. I can’t imagine this would sell any more than 400 copies (worldwide), and that simply isn’t enough to cover printing and distribution costs for a 176+ page fully illustrated book. Still, it’s a really interesting project, and it could see the light of day as an eBook.

Richard mentions not having a reader device, but our eBooks and eArticles will be available as standard .pdfs for use on both a regular computer and a reader (if you have one), and will be fully printable if you wish to do so.

Photos and illustrations will always be reproduced in better quality digitally compared to the printed form. Those who have seen our first title, Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in the Battle for Sicily, will know the standards we aim for, so there would be no problems viewing any part of our eBooks or eArticles.

We’ve had articles published in magazines, but how many board members purchase Wartime magazine, where several of my articles appear, or can read the German versions of our articles in Flugzeug Classic? Putting them all online in one location seems a real step forward in having our research published and available. Another benefit of eArticles is that we won’t have to tolerate waiting 18 or 24 months for them to see the light of day after being submitted to the magazine. We’ll make less money publishing our articles via the website, but I’m quite certain that they’ll be available to more of our small, specialist community that way.

Of course the chance of technology moving on is an issue, but for the next decade at least, eBooks in the current format will remain very relevant. Apple and Amazon are not going to let the technology die. The .pdf format has been in existence for twenty years, and is not likely to disappear for a long, long time to come. If the technology is to become obsolete, print it out on paper and you’ve got yourself a hard copy.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments Richard, it’s always appreciated. I hope the above addresses your points adequately.


Ed,

Your first two points are two of the main reasons we are contemplating this option. Regarding your negative point, a solution might be for us to combine several articles together as one download, to make it better value for money.


Jukka,

Please see my comments to Richard above regarding publishing in magazines. The issue for Morten and I is that we don’t want to spend the time and money dealing with printers, storage space/costs, transport costs, distributors, bookstores, etc. for small printed books and booklets. We don’t mind dealing with those issues for our large book projects, but not for something of 1 to 175 pages. Selling smaller publications of that size as eBooks is a much easier way to go. We approve the payment when it’s made via our website, and then the delivery process is all automated – no trucks, air mail, handling, increasing postage prices, print shop prices etc.

We want to enjoy our hobby doing some research and writing, not dealing too much with the business side of things.


Srecko,

Thanks for your comment. Our prices for eBooks and eArticles are not set in stone at this point. However, I would think that US$10-15 for a well-researched, fully illustrated, properly laid out A4 size 100 page book is very good value for money. Regarding the articles being too expensive, as I said to Ed above, perhaps a solution would be to combine several articles about a similar topic into one download, to make them more affordable.


Andreas,

> “for at least part of our hobby E-books and E-articles are the way to go”

This comment sums up our attitude entirely! We want to be book publishers, producing hardcover, high quality aviation history books that you can hold in your hands. The eBook and eArticle idea is just a way to make other research by ourselves and some of our friends available for a reasonable price, without the regular publishing hassles that I outlined to Jukka above.


Larger aviation history publishing companies will go in this direction soon as well. We just seem to be the first ones to raise the issue publicly! We look forward to any other comments.


All the best,
Andrew & Morten

Air War Publications – www.airwarpublications.com

[Jukka Juutinen]

Last year a Finnish publisher published a 224-page history of a Finnish fighter squadron. Price 59 euros, and the publisher told me the book is selling very well. A history of the 23. Panzer-Division sold 4-figured numbers in about 2-3 years and was priced at US$95. I'd not hesitate to pay 50 euros for a 496-page large format book, if the topic interested me (and the book did not have ragged right etc.).

[edwest]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

Dear Andrew, Morten, and Ed,

I remain a printed book dinosaur. Even my son, who works for Google, is devoted to printed books, even though he has been connected to the Google books project. To me, it is the feel and longevity of a book, its ability to be quickly thumbed and rapid conclusions reached as to merit, and the photos and illustrations that, somehow to me, just aren't duplicated on a screen. Flipping back and forth - just how does one do that in an eBook which, to be honest, I don't have a reader for anyway?

Now, on the other hand, there is the huge benefit of being able to conduct a word search, something you can't do with a printed copy.

I also am somewhat of a bug on photo reproduction quality. Reproduction quality varies all over the map in printed books, quite frequently dropping far below my standards. I'll look at a book, sigh, say to myself I guess it's passable, but it certainly isn't going to win any prizes.

Are there some other dinosaurs out there who remember the oohs and aahs we used to express for Monogram's books and the really nice photos they had? If you looked, you'd find they were printed in the Far East, which is where the best technology existed and, perhaps, still does.

I recently bought a copy of the USSBS report on Fieseler in Kassel, Germany. I got a .pdf copy on disc for a really cheap price - $5.00 plus $2.50 S&H. Well, I read the report and, while I could read the text, which had marginal definition, the print in some of the tables was really too small to be able to read. The photo reproduction, likely from a microfilm copy, was very bad. The point is, with something supplied electronically, it just may not have the definition you'd want.

This is a community of sharing. If my friend Joe would like to see a copy of the photo on page 20 of your eBook, will it be electronically locked up so that I can't share it with him?

As for eArticles, which is just saying articles in electronic format, there is always the alternative of publishing in a magazine, preferrably one of the higher grade, specifically focused ones.

Then there is the ephemeral aspect of something provided in electronic format. At NARA II, researchers can look at motion pictures on honest to goodness motion picture film or on Sony 1-inch tape. Of course, everyone has a Sony 1" tape player, don't they? Well, NARA II went down that path, only to be stuck with obsolete equipment that is in terrible shape. The tape, itself, isn't in great shape, either. Now, before everyone panics, these are just researcher viewable copies and NARA II does have both the original motion pictures and first generation copies, the latter supplied to contractors to provide copies for the public. The originals and likely the first generation copies are kept refrigerated.

And, of course, we all have our 8-track tape players and RCA laser movie disk players, don't we? Notice the gradual transition from DVD to Blu-Ray. So, that eBook I buy from you guys, uh, will I have something it can play on in 20 years? Will someone be able to repair my ancient gadget? For that matter, will the coating on the disc disintegrate in 20 years and make the disc permanently useless?

Then, there is the printed book. It uses the latest Mark 1 eyeballs to read it. Same as when they whipped out the Gutenberg Bible.

Each to his own.

Regards,
Richard

Dear Richard,


I suggest no one demean themselves for preferring a printed book. I work in the book business and allow me to point out a few bits of interest: 1) Resistance to buying an e-reader is growing, Currently, it's up to about 46%. 2) While having a search function is nice, I think a good index is just fine. 3) Technology to enlarge maps and charts exists.

And you are absolutely right. Personally, I am sick and tired of all the changes in electronic playback devices. I will not be buying a blu-ray or g-ray or whatever their next device is. Period.

I have purchased a book that is over 100 years old and that suits me just fine. I can read it.

I can drop my book and not worry about it breaking or about its remaining battery life.

Finally - craftsmanship. Luftwaffe im Focus is a high quality publication. And it's not just about nostalgia. While some can say, "I've got a hundred books on my hard drive." If it crashes, you now have nothing.

I am 100% against sharing a book or part of a book. It means lost sales. My company spent a lot of time and money on a book only to see it on a "file sharing" site 30 days later. I will never buy an electronic text that has such capability and I will never buy an e-reader. My primary reason? I spent most of my day in front of a computer screen. I do not want to spend my free time staring at another screen. They can keep their e-ink technology and whatever's coming down the road.



Best regards,

Ed

[edwest]

Originally Posted by Pilot

E publishing and new range of various devices (like Samsung Galaxy and so on) which is put on wider use, give additional burst to E publishing. Some publisher get more and more sales of their digital version f the paper magazines.

I think that your proposed prices are tooooooo hot... few € could be all right for article (if it is 15 pages). Don't forget it is crisis now and people try to reduce their expenses. Also point of the E publishing is to turn part of the hard core printer publication users on your side.

Cheers

I don't understand your last sentence. I buy a book because I want it. I don't care about electronic formats - at all. And by the way, as a professional editor, I know manuscripts from people who don't know how to write are flooding the market with unreadable junk. I don't care if I can buy junk for 99 cents, it's still junk.

Physical books will be around for a very long time, and you can't sell your copy of German Military Truck Tires, 1939 - 1945 on eBay or a used bookstore.



Ed

[Nokose]

Another problem that your looking at is the program that your e-reader displays as they read books only from the company supplying the ebook. I have the Kindle Fire which I enjoy but maps are not the greatest on it. Pictures are fair to okay, depending on what was published a lot of times. I mostly get books that have text. You can highlight parts and with Amazon it's possible to share your ebooks. I wouldn't waste money on looking at profiles and charts on it (just to small).

[edwest]

Originally Posted by AndreasB

So am I. But going through the motions of trying to get books published, with the treatment authors receive from publishing houses these days, makes me think that for at least part of our hobby E-books and E-articles are the way to go. The way this business is going is not sustainable, and if you want to have good quality research published, in many cases books are no longer an option, in my view.

All the best

Andreas

Dear Andreas,

You can self-publish today. Even a few copies. No need to go through any publishers.

And I hope your "not sustainable" argument is properly considered. New publishers are springing up. I would encourage you, and others, to look at positive solutions. Respectfully, it's too easy to throw up your hands and say 'this doesn't work.' What can work is people getting together and finding solutions. Personally, I won't buy anything electronic. So, perhaps an e-mail to Axel Urbanke at Luftwaffe im Focus or one to Jerry Crandall at Eagle Editions, who both self-publish, will provide ideas for going forward.



Best,
Ed

[edwest]

Originally Posted by Jukka Juutinen

5,000 is a biggish print run, no denying, but the point is that the physical cost of the printed book is not the decisive factor, i.e. book editing costs are often higher. And if you use plenty of photos from European archives, they cost a lot. E.g. official Finnish Army archive photos cost about 50 euros per photo, and that is, AFAIK, not even near the most expensive archives out there.

Many specialist publishers have no clue about effective marketing. And proper marketing means the difference between sound and unsound business.

Then we need to address the marketing issue. I regularly post about new book releases here because I know that. Respectfully, more people need to do the same. And it doesn't require a specialist, just the cover of the book, size, number of pages, a basic summary, and info about photos, maps, etc. and a release date.

I'm involved with marketing the books my business produces, and part of it is simply finding those sites which already cater to the people you want to sell to, like here and the Luftwaffe Experten Message Board. So every time we produce a new book, I go the sites I know and announce it, and include a link.



Best,
Ed

[edwest]

Something else to consider is this. Because my company wants to produce more books this year, we have had offers from people willing to assist with editing and other things like layout and design for free. I imagine there are those in English speaking countries who, for various reasons, have the time and are willing to do editorial work for very little or for nothing. They may have lost their job - which is very true in the US - but have the time, the skills and the passion to consider doing something, including those who are retired, are Luftwaffe enthusiasts, and need and want to do the work again.

And give other publishers a call. When I started here, that's exactly what I did. Ask them about their print runs and market conditions. Sure, some may say no to your requests but some may say yes. I also keep in touch with distributors that sell our books. I ask them about market conditions and what they see happening. I encourage people not to guess, but to try to get answers.

The sad thing about too many internet forums is the pervasive atmosphere of negativity. I see it on my company forum all the time. We cannot be successful unless we get the facts and act on them.




Best,
Ed

[AndreasB]

Ed

I tried four publishers. One responded with what I felt was a reasonable offer but my collaborators weren't budging on some issues.

Since I am not working on a marketable topic such as 'King Tigers of the Luftwaffe in Colour', I am rather limited in my choices. Which is what I meant - for some interesting aspects of our hobby that are not that marketable, there is no niche in publishing, in my view.

All the best

Andreas

[Jukka Juutinen]

What is your topic? How about this Jay Slater fellow who has been looking for manuscripts on this forum?