eBooks and eArticles

[Andrew Arthy]

Dear forum members,

We have recently given some thought to selling eBooks and eArticles on the Air War Publications website, as a way to release our work between major printed book projects. We’re curious to see if there is interest in this concept amongst the Luftwaffe community.

All eArticles and eBooks would have the same layout as our printed books, including photographs, colour aircraft profiles, maps and other illustrations. They would be available in A4 size .pdf format, and could be downloaded immediately after completing the straightforward payment process from our website. Any revised versions would be sent to buyers free of charge.

We aim to publish eArticles written by ourselves, and also some written by well-known Luftwaffe authors. These would be 5 to 15 pages in length. We are also thinking of publishing some of our smaller book projects as 50 to 100 page eBooks. However, it is important to note that our major book projects (‘Air War Courland’, ‘Fw 190 Defending Southern Italy’, etc.) will appear in the traditional printed form.

Would forum members be interested in paying 4-5 euros for eArticles and 10-15 euros for eBooks about Luftwaffe and aviation history subjects of interest to them?


All the best,
Andrew Arthy & Morten Jessen

Air War Publications – www.airwarpublications.com

[edwest]

Dear Andrew and Morten,


I think this is a good idea for two reasons. 1) Some publishers are really struggling right now, and this also allows those who have corrections or additions to come forward for any revised versions. 2) Keeping new material flowing to the Luftwaffe community is always welcome and each new title will keep interest up.

The only negative for me is that I expect, or at least, have become accustomed to a minimum of 64 to 100 pages of quality content. Buying less means I eventually buy 5 -15 pages for 5 Euros times say three, as opposed to paying a similar price for a larger ebook.



Hope this helps,
Ed

[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

[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

[Jukka Juutinen]

I was going to put something bluntly, but Richard covered it so well that I just agree with him! As for those articles, have you offered them to e.g. Aeroplane Monthly? Or how about publishing the articles as a booklet series (softback, staple bound so the costs would be low, yet printed to premium paper with highest printing quality)?

[AndreasB]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

Dear Andrew, Morten, and Ed,

I remain a printed book dinosaur.

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

[Jukka Juutinen]

Andreas, remember that one option is self-publishing. Another point to consider is that the actual physical production costs of the printed book are not that high. That of course depends strongly on the printing run, but I asked a Finnish printer how much would it cost per copy a 500-page hardcover book in A4 format on glossy art paper with a print run of 5000 and in black-and-white (colour covers). The The reply I got was for a 496-page book, and included all physical costs (paper, printing, binding etc.). And the single copy cost was about 7 euros.

[AndreasB]

Okay if you think you can sell 5,000 copies this way, or you have EUR 35,000 lying around and don't know what to do with them (in which case, please give me a call).

Self-publishing has an upfront cost of no less than several hundred EUR. That may or may not be affordable. It also requires technical skills in order to produce a good product you can be proud of. We are looking at self-publishing for one of the books, but I wouldn't go near it without help from an experienced friend, since I neither have the time nor the skills to do it.

All I am saying is that to insist on books means to insist on an ever-declining offer of information for our hobby. That's fine, but one should be clear about it.

All the best

Andreas

[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.

[AndreasB]

But the physical cost per book increases with decreasing runs. And its not linear either. I would be surprised if they quoted you much less than EUR 20 for a print-run of 2,500. At which point there is no way you can sell them, since the sales price would be too high (probably EUR 50 taking into account margins and VAT).

Volume publishers, who know about marketing, unfortunately will primarily be interested in Dreck, while the specialist publishers (and I take your point) will not be able to push the volume. All of which just reinforces my point.

All the best

Andreas