Ladies and gentlemen,
I have published books.
In briefly responding to George, the power of POD is the fact that the book can be endlessly improved at zero cost. Just make the changes, change the version number, output to PDF, upload and the corrections are done. The Internet changes the fundamentals of the world. If you doubt this, have a talk with Hillary Clinton who got flattened by an unknown rookie who did understand the internet and raised more money for his presidential campaign than anyone in history.
POD does not produce poor quality, it just permits poor quality to get to market. If Bristol enthusiasts were sub-literate goons of the sort that populate some hot-rod web sites, I would never have ventured such a proposal. However, the BEEF & BOC level of commentary over the years has been outstanding, and except for the occasional bear-baiting of our esteemed patron, consistent good manners, high regard, and excellent writing exhibiting a superior level of education and worldly experience, suggests we have a most capable team.
Brilliant editors are essential in the old world of print runs because the outlay was in five figures and the book run in the thousands. You get one bite at the apple. Not so with POD. It really is a different world, and the hardest group to convince are people who have published a book the old way.
With POD the readers are the editors, and the book a work in progress.
Our objective is to get solid information down in print. It is not to produce a cocktail table book, or a masterwork. We are not seeking to make a profit, so if it has useful information it will sell. If we keep the process open, over time it will get better, indeed if we want a model, look how many variations there are now of the open source operating system based on Linux. The same can happen with such a book.
But enough cheerleading.
Here is my proposed recommendation:
Ownership: It costs NZ $160 to incorporate in New Zealand, can be done on line. Or, a non-profit charitable trust can be incorporated for free in NZ. Incorporation seems to be more expensive in the USA, but I’m open to suggestions of other countries deemed appropriate – probably best to avoid England however. Key is to have a limited liability ownership far away from grumpy British lawyers. Then price the book at cost, with zero assets held by the corporation. One may consider as a possible option not to assert copyright but instead release the book into the public domain… makes it fairly hard to sue for damages.
Title: The Bristol Car Owners Book
Author: Bristol Enthusiasts
Pages 250 (if we choose to use
http://www.createspace.com/Products/...jsp?ref=221263 250 is their current maximum)
Size: 8x10 (fits both letter and A4 packaging)
Two editions: One full colour, the other with all images converted to B&W
Software to create: Adobe Creative Suite (2 or 3).
Subsidiary books: For each model, a subsidiary book that contains the information peculiar to that model. These will come over time.
Template: Supplied by Claude unless someone else has a good template. As an example of its appearance, I attach a pdf sample.
Primary Font: Garamond Premium Pro 10 pt (or larger if Bristol Enthusiasts prefer Oxleys larger typestyle).
Caption Font: Gill Sans MT 9 pt
Photographs 300 dpi, cmyk, released into the public domain.
Purpose: To capture knowledge an owner of a Bristol car needs to know in order to purchase, operate, maintain, restore and appreciate.
Format:
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Buying. This describes each model or sub-model (such as 409 M2) starting with the 400 and going up to the latest Bristol. Photograph for each model front, side, back, angle, engine, cockpit. Things buyers need to look for, what to expect, costs, etc. Sales pitch: It's not about money (you will lose), it's about owning a piece of history, and leaving it in better condition than you bought it. How’s the line go? You don’t buy a Bristol; you borrow it from the next generation.
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Subset. It would be delightful to get the anecdotal stories of the evolution of the cars. For example, Elliot Gant’s insisting on a different steering wheel and side mould treatment on his LHD 410 that seems to have influenced the 411. I got the story from both Elliot and Brian Marelli. Usually these work best in text boxes.
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Operating. Both dream stories of great drives (buyers need this stuff) and practical information, like roads that have the finest stops for food and beverage.
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Maintenance. Not just oil changes, but what needs to be done to keep a car as a rolling restoration. This is where we seek to pick the brains of every owner, BCC, SL-J, and any other expert out there. Chapters for each major part of the car. Agreement that alternative methods that work will be included.
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Restoration. What's involved in taking a car down to bits and redoing it. All the answers on paint, cross referencing taillights and other bits. How to rebuild parts that can’t be sourced new. A directory of experts around the world who can remake old stock. Probably pick two cars, a 6 cyl (403 would be my nomination) and a 411. Define different standards for a drivers-car vs Pebble Beach wallet buster.
Who to contact. This eventually becomes a historical document, as it will change over time, but the old names become important.
The Patron. If he cooperates, it would be kind to include a chapter in which we invite Mr. Crook to write his own history. No editing, no comments, Kevin to bite lip and say nothing. From a historical point of view, how a man writes his history is as important as “the truth”. It gives us insight into how the world looks from the top. Elsewhere in the book, contrary evidence may be placed, which will no doubt intrigue the reader.
The Clubs. Honouring the leaders is important. Names, cars, actions. When they are gone, the next generation of car stewards won’t know what happened unless it is documented.
Famous cars. If a car has a famous history (meaning we know who owned it and they were not boring grey old sots), this adds something. Likewise, the few cars, such as the surviving LHD cars. Brian Flegg’s collection needs a mention.
Hierarchy:
The Book Committee – a governance group that sits at the top, and resolves difficulties. Governance does not mean Management. The Editor is the Chief Executive Officer, the committee shall not micro-manage.
Editor – The person who agrees to coordinate the book. The editor makes all preliminary decisions, but the committee makes sure the editor is doing a great job. The editor needs to be fairly good with words, and to instruct people on how to write. I recommend buying a copy of The Golden Book on Writing. Published in 1923, at 67 pages, it remains the most useful book on how to communicate clearly with impact. Google it.
The Editor's "kitchen cabinet" (an American presidential term - google it). A group of people the editor selects to reality check, get feedback and unvarnished opinions (no thin skins allowed). Folks may volunteer, but the editor gets to pick. I'm happy to volunteer here.
Layout - the person who agrees to receive all chapters and convert them into InDesign. Note, there is no such thing as typesetting anymore. You type in Word (which has a better spelling and grammar checker). The text is lifted out, blocked and immediately it converts into the standard format for the book (called paragraph styles). Once the template is set up, it’s fairly easy, especially if text flows from one page to another. This is often best done by someone skilled in layout and design.
Indexer – this is a bit of an art. It’s sort of easy to index in InDesign but the key is to decide what to index. This needs someone with an engineering background usually.
Author – There will be many authors, and my recommendation is that if they are named, it is only on the acknowledgement page. All writing will be released into the public domain, copy left or granted to the non-profit corporation. No prima donnas.
Photographers – Ditto. Now digital cameras have come of age, and car photography is no longer the domain of the few. Just remember to take car pics just after dawn or at sunset when the light is yellow.
So, we need names:
Committee
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Editor
1.
Layout
1.
Indexer
1.
Author
Many
Respectfully submitted.
Claude