My latest book The Voyage is Done & the Winds Don’t Blow

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

My latest book, listed here, Fixed Price. Similar site to Ebay and it only takes a minute to register as a buyer.

Bob

 

http://www.specialistauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=1543268

Edited By Bob Wilson on 09/12/2011 12:36:27

Edited By Bob Wilson on 09/12/2011 12:37:34

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Going quite well now, with 15 copies gone since the 9th. Latest listing:

Bob

http://www.specialistauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=1543521

Edited By Bob Wilson on 12/12/2011 06:48:33

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

The response to this book has been disappointing, to say the least. We had fifty copies produced in December 2011. Now, after 7 months, 16 remain. We were required to supply six complimentary copies to the British Library and several more to people who had contributed images.

We had hoped to produce a subsequent volume covering the years 1939 to 1992. Although this manuscript is now about 75 per cent complete, it has now been shelved and it is unlikely that it will ever be produced.

Initially, sales were going well, but we made the mistake of getting an ISBN number. This cost about £118.68 for the minimum number of them (10). This put the book on an international book register with the effect that it is now advertised in many countries , including, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Australia, Estonia, New Zealand and Japan.

This may be demonstrated by entering:

ISBN 9780957158306

In Google Search

Unfortunately, as far as we can see, not a single one of these online booksellers has any in stock! Some say they are “not in stock,” whilst others, such as Amazon, say“temporarily out of stock,” although it seems they never had any anyway!

Should anyone try and purchase copies from these sellers online, they are simply told (after a suitable delay) that they are “not available!” Amazon advised us that they didn’t have any because they were not available from official “book distributors!” Goodness knows how many sales have been lost because of this! If I registered with them (Amazon), they advised me that they would be pleased to purchase some at LESS than they cost to produce. Then, to add insult to injury, they expected us to pay the postage as well! Neither will they remove the adverts!

So, we decided to abandon further publications along the lines of Merchant Navy history. Unfortunately, few people in the UK even know what the Merchant Navy is (or was), so one is fighting a losing battle in trying to raise interest.

We have been in communication with other self-publishers of nautical books, and the above experiences are, unfortunately fairly standard!

 

The title of the book just about sums it all up!

The Voyage Is Done & The Winds Don't Blow!

 

I give up!

 

Bob

 

Edited By Bob Wilson on 04/08/2012 19:03:00

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Finally, Amazon are stating that they have the book in stock and more are on the way, but they haven't actually ordered any from me!

Anyway, only seven copies left now as they have trickled out over the past few weeks

**LINK**

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Sales eventually picked up slightly and there are now only SEVEN good copies left, plus two with slight printing faults in them. The two with slight printing faults ( 1 page on one and 2 pages on the other),are available at considerably less – details on request. In All Things Floating, I have placed a limited offer for Free Downloads of the manuscript. Several members have taken me up on them and the transfers are now proven to work OK. The free offer will end at 1800bst tonight (Saturday, 29th September, 2012) after which there will be a small nominal charge.

A download is not really as satisfactory as an actual book, as it would cost a fortune to print. so anyone who is interested in the physical book may purchase one from http://www.specialistauctions.com where they will be listed until they are sold out. It is a similar site to Ebay and takes only a minute to register as a buyer. Usual payment methods, Paypal, cards etc. The actual book is professional printed on very high quality 130gsm silk paper.

Here is a direct link to the nautcal page where you will find the book:

**LINK**

Bob

[Tony BellParticipant @tonybell46537]

Printed books are on the way out and this is especially true for speciallist subjects. The cost of manufacture/distribution are prohibitive as you have found out.

I saw a programme where an American bookshop holds all it books on a database. You choose your book and they print it off for you.

I have transcribed my great grand father's dairys. George Curgenven was the 3rd mate on the Morayshire when they took the descendants of the Mutiny on the Bounty from Pitcarin to Norfolk Island in 1856. It includes the journey out from London as an Emigrants ship and two trips Sydney/Manila for cargo.

The history of the boat and its design are fascinating, perhaps a future model.

The diarys and love letters can be read on http://www.curgenven.co.uk. Relatives of the descentants contacted me with questions and information

To make some money and a wider audience, I am going to convert all my text to be read on Kindle. It appears to be sucessful, one guy wrote a book about carpentry, priced it at 75p and made £70,000. He originally priced it at £2.50 and only sold a few.

Regards Tony

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Tony,

I feel that you will find reality very different. A book on carpentry might well be successful, but hardly anyone evens knows what the Merchant Navy is these days. Take my book (above) for instance. I offered it free of charge as a download for a limited time and only had about six people who wanted it! If I had been charging 75p a time, I doubt if anyone would have bought it as a download.

I have tried a Kindle and found it dreadful. Took it back and got a refund. They are too small and too tempremental. Then I tried a Kobo and fed the above book into it in PDF. It came out OK, but again, the pages were too small and all the images were then black and white and it was rather too tedious to bother reading. The Kobo was also tempremental and I took it back, and the shop had the same problem, pages would not turn, downloads took ages, it kept freezing etc and again I got my money back.

As far as I am concerned, nothing can equal a real book for ease of reading. Three months after my last post, I still have seven books left. Again, I will say that the biggest problem is that hardly anyone is intereted in the Merchant Navy and that puts the likes of us at a disadvantage from the start.

Anyway, I wish you well with your e-book.

I do contnue to have successes with e-books, but they are both confined to model shipbuilding, one for steam, one for sail. But neither are suitable for Kindles or Kobos, but can be read or printed on normal PCs. They sell for £12 and £11 respectively, including postage to anywhere in the world. They are not downloadable though. The buyer actually gets a disk!

Bob

PS

I have just looke for your website, but at the moment, the link does not work.   I will try again tomorrow.

Here is a linkt to my two e-books on http://www.specialistauctions.com a similar site to Ebay, but with lower fees:

http://www.specialistauctions.com/categories.php?parent=11090

Hardly anyone leaves feedback on Specialist Auctions, but I have sold over 100 of these disks so far!

Edited By Bob Wilson on 21/12/2012 21:28:26

Edited By Bob Wilson on 21/12/2012 21:29:39

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

This book has continued to trickle out, and now there are only six copies left! It is unlikely that I will have it reprinted!
The good news, however, is that I have made it available as a download at a fraction of the cost. It is in PDF format, suitable for computers with Acrobat Reader installed (practically all of them). I find it quite convenient to read such books on the laptop. I seat myself in an armchair, place a cushion in my lap and the laptop on top of the cushion. I can then select a decent size image on the monitor in full colour and read in comfort. I did try putting it in a Kobo E-reader (similar to a Kindle). It went in OK, but of course the colour was lost and it was too small for my taste.
Here is a link to the the listing (Fixed Price) on Specialist Auctions:

**LINK**

It is a similar site to Ebay (UK based) with the same payment methods, Paypal, cards etc. It only takes a minute to register as a buyer.
Bob

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