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Author: Subject: Midlana book price
big_wasa

posted on 8/12/13 at 09:38 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by b14wrc
What's it like??


I've only found time for a quick flick through. Only thing I am not liking, all the dim's are imperial.

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Slimy38

posted on 8/12/13 at 12:05 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Simon
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
If you consider the 'Build your own' books have the backing of Haynes behind them, they can afford to sell it for a decent price.


That argument makes it sound like Haynes subsidises the cost which clearly is not the case.



I agree, but that's not quite what I meant. Haynes already have the deals in place to make books for the best price, the distribution chains to optimise sales, basically the entire business setup. They had industry experts running the numbers to sell the proper number of copies to maximise profit, and all that jazz that's not available to someone whose skills lie in car construction than publishing. They don't need to subsidise the books to increase profit.

[Edited on 8/12/13 by Slimy38]

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coozer

posted on 8/12/13 at 02:49 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
How did you work a 19 quid discount then ?


Lulu had a 30% discount code on the webby





1972 V8 Jago

1980 Z750

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ashg

posted on 8/12/13 at 05:37 PM Reply With Quote
my other half ordered mine the other day.

use decktheshelf to get 30% off and FREESHIP for free shipping gets it down to £43.90





Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!

Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)

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Volvorsport

posted on 8/12/13 at 06:40 PM Reply With Quote
if you want something that much youll pay it.....

i did think it was quite a lot , altho i paid £60 for SecondHand milliken and milliken....

as ive worked for a couple of mid engined specialist car manufacturers , i dont really need it . BUT if it saved you £60 by not buying the wrong universal joints for the gear linkage for example - its paid for itself....





www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
getting dirty under a bus

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b14wrc

posted on 15/12/13 at 10:23 PM Reply With Quote
Mine has arrived and I got the 30% discount too, I didn't order it myself.....

Got to wait until Christmas Day now though to read it as it is one of my presents from my girlfriend.

It better be good Kurt!


Rob





20vt powered rear engined locost

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coozer

posted on 15/12/13 at 10:46 PM Reply With Quote
Mine arrived the other day. less than 4 days from purchase to unpacking..

Had a quick flick through and as Kurt says at the beginning its better to read right through it first!

As said some metric conversion is required... I learned imperial at school and at the pit but in fractions (1/2, 1/4 etc) not .625, .495....

I'm thinking of using the Toyota 1.8 VVTi 190 job..





1972 V8 Jago

1980 Z750

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RichieW

posted on 15/12/13 at 10:56 PM Reply With Quote
I've bought the book after getting the 30% discount so it cost me around £46 quid in total. Not sat down to read it properly yet but I have given it a flick through the pages, all 395 of them. I have to say I don't begrudge Kurt a penny. He has spent an awful lot of time building and then documenting his build and has been very generous with his time and the details of the build. I don't think he is asking too much at all. Thank you very much Kurt. He didn't need to share at all and the price I have paid for the book wouldn't even buy a decent tyre for the build if I ever get round to giving it a go.
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ashg

posted on 16/12/13 at 12:45 AM Reply With Quote
I have now read it front to back. Two words, EXCELLENT BOOK! well done





Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!

Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)

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iank

posted on 16/12/13 at 08:17 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
quote:
Originally posted by b14wrc
What's it like??


I've only found time for a quick flick through. Only thing I am not liking, all the dim's are imperial.


You'd almost think he was American or something





--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous

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jeffw

posted on 17/12/13 at 03:51 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ashg
I have now read it front to back. Two words, EXCELLENT BOOK! well done


High praise indeed..






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kb58

posted on 20/4/15 at 03:34 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by steve m... Yet a book that retails at £60 plus. will have a very low market place, and probably a 20th of the sales against a £15 book yet is only 4 times the cost...


I'm the author and thought I'd comment on a few things. First off, Midlana certainly is in a niche market and it'll never displace Harry Potter on the shelves!

No "real" publishers were interested in carrying the book so I decided to go with Print On Demand (POD). These places are basically glorified Internet copy shops where you send them the PDF, they store it on their server, and when an order comes in, they print out exactly one copy on big copy/binding machines. They handle all the order taking, printing, shipping, and problem resolution. It's very hands-off, which is a good thing because I have a day job.

If you check out other books which mine is being compared against, they're typically printed in China where printing costs are much lower, and they're printing 1000s at a time.

Regarding the numbers quoted above, where are the facts to back up the claim that a lower book price resulting in higher income for the author? PODs only print what's needed that day and pushes the higher overhead onto authors. The above post doesn't take into account the printer's commission and overhead. This is tolerable when the book price is set high enough, but lower it by 75% and now the overhead eats 97% sales. Even if book sales improved by the claimed 20 times, the author's income would actually drop. It's easy to say that a cheaper book sells more copies - which it does - but avoids the real question: will the author make more money by doing so?

As an aside, you may find these figures interesting:
- Authors who use "real" publishing houses only make about 10-12% off each book sale.
- The average number of total book copies printed per author on POD sites: 8(!)
- When my first book, Kimini, came out, book sales for the first day was 25 copies. I was pretty happy about that, until I heard that the latest Harry Potter book - also released that same weekend - just sold 12 million copies. That didn't do the old ego any favors...

[Edited on 4/21/15 by kb58]





Mid-engine Locost - http://www.midlana.com
And the book - http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/midlana/paperback/product-21330662.html
Kimini - a tube-frame, carbon shell, Honda Prelude VTEC mid-engine Mini: http://www.kimini.com
And its book - http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/kimini-how-to-design-and-build-a-mid-engine-sports-car-from-scratch/paperback/product-4858803.html

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