Market research - 'Most Wanted' Luftwaffe books

[John Vasco]

Originally Posted by FalkeEins

Softbacks are not 'real' books.

I respectfully beg to differ...

[Dénes Bernád]

I second that, I also consider paperbacks books. Here is my first one (published in English), in 1996:

[Jukka Juutinen]

Originally Posted by Peter Kassak

aaand what else should be included? marriage status of pilots, their kids grades at school? or the mechanics obvious undiscipline habbit giving 0,5 bar higher pressure in the tyres (LOL)?

Are you aware that 99.9%of men involved in the WWII combats are not with us anymore? Also for those units that histories were NOT published yet, there is most probably a reason of it in a lacking archival materials and primary sources. So it is extremely hard to find some bits and pieces to put together even combat history, not speaking of something (not specified yet) what interests you to spice up the text... can you be more specific and help us "authors" to correct the "lines of the pen"?

Well, you have probably read Axel Urbanke's "Green Hearts"? That's an example of a superb unit history.

Second, as "Rabe Anton" wrote here ages ago, there is s difference between a chronicler and a historian. Chronicler catalogues events, historian analyzes them. For example, in naval combat history it is very common to analyze and comment on the actions of the participants from a tactical, or an art of war, point of view. For example, the actions of Bismarck's captain are analyzed in depth. How about applying the same idea to air combat?

[Jukka Juutinen]

Originally Posted by FalkeEins

...that's most of them (not counting German-language books). JG 53/JG 300 and JG 4 have been covered in English of course. I'm not including the three-part Classic softback on JG 1. Softbacks are not 'real' books. Only a couple of Jochen's JG 3 books have made it into English. If Erik (Mombeeck) can't sell more than a couple of hundred copies of a JG 2 history (which includes the Battle of Britain) - not enough to finance any further volumes- what chance is there of seeing any of the other units? Big unit histories don't sell. JG 300 apparently (allegedly) sold so few copies the authors received little in the way of royalties (or hadn't when I published an interview with Lorant in 2018, some thirteen years after publication) 'Little' unit histories don't sell either if Osprey's schedule is anything to go by..sad to say it strikes me that much of this five-page thread is just wishful thinking. I think it's a certainty that no publisher will ever produce the 'Hs 126 in 1940' in hardback....although Rabeder might perhaps do something on Nahaufklärung...or even 4.(F)/123 ..but that last 'title' is 109s again.

Neil, I am afraid that using Mombeeck's success with his books as an example is a very poor choice. Firstly, his marketing is utterly poor in all aspects. Second, had he made the decision to do those books ONLY in English, they would have sold much much more. I can understand him doing books in his native language, but not in German. The number of such German buyers who read only German and simultaneously are interested in the topic has been probably very mininal for many years now.

As for the English JG 300 set, as far as I know, the print run was very substantial (perhaps Judy Crandall wishes to comment?) and as far as I know, the books are out of print now.

Today good marketing is absolutely essential. And marketing must be understood in the widest sense possible, from making the book known among buyers and to making ordering easy. A part of the latter includes reasonable shipping costs. For example, a market-wise seller sends parcels to Europe (esp. EU) from Germany with its very fair postage costs instead of robbers like Belgium or Holland.

[richdlc]

Originally Posted by Jukka Juutinen

Neil, I am afraid that using Mombeeck's success with his books is very poor. Firstly, his marketing is utterly poor in all aspects. Second, had he made the decision to do those books ONLY in English, they would have sold much much more. I can understand him doing books in his native language, but not in German. The number of such German buyers who read only German and simultaneously are interested in the topic has been probably very mininal for many years now.

A part of the latter includes reasonable shipping costs. For example, a market-wise seller sends parcels to Europe (esp. EU) from Germany with its very fair postage costs instead of robbers like Belgium or Holland.

I would both agree and disagree with your first statement. According to my US distributer at RZM, the market for German-language only books is decreasing because a lot of buyers are older gentlemen who are dying off. However, my contact at Berlin Zinnfiguren tells me that bi-lingual books would be a good idea....so it's academic really. Personally I think that producing bi-lingual books is a waste of my time and money, and that English language books are what I should focus on.

As for your comment about postage costs and shipping stuff from Germany, you forget that if I, as a UK seller, did that, I would in effect have to register my business in Germany. Either that, or get a third party in Germany to buy and stock my products, then fulfil any orders I take in the UK for EU based customers. I'm afraid there really is no way I can think of to get around the VAT rules, other than move to a European country myself and, as mentioned, register my business there. Which is much easier said than done.

[edwest2]

A few comments. English language books appear to be the best choice. That will not, of course, stop other people from publishing books in other languages. Next, of course, is the postage cost. For reasons unknown, the U.S. Postal Service dropped a relatively inexpensive category called Surface Mail in 2007 due to increased costs, they said. (I say 'reasons unknown' because they somehow managed to live with Surface Mail for decades until that year.) The replacement for Surface Mail shipping through the U.S. Postal Service meant we lost 98% of our foreign customers due to their increased costs almost overnight. This was a boon to the young ebook industry who wanted the money that would have been spent on physical books. In the case of Luftwaffe books that cover rare and highly desirable subjects, a publisher can be almost anywhere, his books sell out and then some copies appear on the so-called secondary market at prices much higher than the original price. So, for some things, people will get those books regardless of the current situation with postage and VAT.

In the U.S., sales of physical books have grown, year over year.

A word about marketing. There are various outlets where a new book can be announced at no cost to the author or publisher. But authors write books that they have spent years on and are not familiar with marketing. Or copyright, ISBNs and even permissions for photos and other things. But someone must do it. If no one (outside of friends, family and perhaps a small group of people on the internet) knows the book has been released, it remains invisible to others and sales are lost. My company has gone to trade shows where some retailers are unaware of our latest releases. I am regularly doing online promotions for our books. So independent authors should learn how it's done.

[NickM]

Originally Posted by SteveR

Unit histories, as detailed as possible, especially for units for which there is no unit history.

JG 6 would top that list for me.

Detailed Unit histories 'cross referenced' with Allied records? That would be a +1 from me, too.

[NickM]

In addition to unit histories, I think the next 'point of interest', for me at least, are pilots' war memoirs. I think I've gotten just about all the ones that are in English, so every year, I await any new ones that get translated or rereleased.

[Jukka Juutinen]

Originally Posted by richdlc

I would both agree and disagree with your first statement. According to my US distributer at RZM, the market for German-language only books is decreasing because a lot of buyers are older gentlemen who are dying off. However, my contact at Berlin Zinnfiguren tells me that bi-lingual books would be a good idea....so it's academic really. Personally I think that producing bi-lingual books is a waste of my time and money, and that English language books are what I should focus on.

As for your comment about postage costs and shipping stuff from Germany, you forget that if I, as a UK seller, did that, I would in effect have to register my business in Germany. Either that, or get a third party in Germany to buy and stock my products, then fulfil any orders I take in the UK for EU based customers. I'm afraid there really is no way I can think of to get around the VAT rules, other than move to a European country myself and, as mentioned, register my business there. Which is much easier said than done.

Rich, I should have emphasized that I mean publishers in continental Europe. And it is not a question of avoiding VAT, it is about the actual shipping cost. Sending from the UK + VAT is often still much cheaper than pure shipping cost from especially Belgium or Holland.

I definitely see bilingual books very awkward if the book has any substantial main text. So English only, please.

[Peter Kassak]

Originally Posted by Jukka Juutinen

Well, you have probably read Axel Urbanke's "Green Hearts"? That's an example of a superb unit history.

Unfortunatelly NOT. It is a combat area and unit that is in my field of interest...

Originally Posted by Jukka Juutinen

For example, in naval combat history it is very common to analyze and comment on the actions of the participants from a tactical, or an art of war, point of view. For example, the actions of Bismarck's captain are analyzed in depth. How about applying the same idea to air combat?

Are you aware that Naval actions takes days, and air actions takes seconds? also to analize movement of few ships is something different than analyze movements of hundreds of bombers and their cover fighters and opposition. Unless we are speaking about dogfight, but there you do not know who made what move its not recorded.