Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoff Dowdle
There are so few Bristol Books ever printed we should be happy with what there is or produce our own.
Geoff
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Gentlemen (are there any ladies in this forum?)
Geoff's idea is no longer outlandish. Producing a book used to be a major endeavour costing tens of thousands of dollars, resulting in guesswork to avoid a garage full of unsold books, and in the end the risk that on page 37 and 184, you got it hopelessly wrong, but it is unthinkable to issue a reprint.
Now with print-on-demand, Adobe InDesign & Acrobat, and digital cameras, one can write a credible book, publish it for free (yes, you upload for free, and the buyer orders one copy at a time that is printed and shipped for about 2 cents a page B&W or 15 cents a page if colour photos are used). We have published a conventional 256 page full colour book (with over 400 photographs) the old fashioned way - cost us five figures. But for the overseas US and UK market, we used POD, where a zero-profit book costs the customer under $50.
When the reader finds an error on page 37, change it, upload the PDF and the record is set straight. All books ordered thereafter will be right.
I propose that we consider doing such a project. What it will take is a coordinator (not me) to set out the table of contents and then recruit volunteers with knowledge to write each chapter.
I envision an enthusiasts book, containing as much knowledge as possible. How to restore, what parts bin items will fit, all that knowledge that exists in the minds of owners and specialists who otherwise will take it to the grave.
Who is semi-retired, has the interest and the time? I can provide advise on how to do it, as among other things I run a publishing company.
Cheers
Claude