Omnibus vs Anthology

Yeah, have a few more anthologies on the way, but also some omnibuses... similar to Pym, will collect similar-themed fiction by different authors (usually). I just finished the ocr correction for The Devil-Tree of El Dorado, and am almost done with Vampires of the Andes, so will publish them together, I think. With separate books, I'd have to ask $13.95 minimum for the fiction, while I can put two novels together for $19.95 and save the reader some money (and still make a profit). The omnibus also allows me to market more effectively on Amazon, as the book won't be automatically shuttled as an alternative paperback for a current title by another publisher.

Anthologies

I've gotten a bit side-tracked putting out some themed classic scifi / fantasy short story anthologies... I've got several more I want to do, but I'm going to try and focus on other things first. The main thing is, though, I'm trying to put out as many books as possible before the end of the year. Anthologies are better than straight reprints, as they don't have the same direct competition title-wise on Amazon. (Put out a common reprint with the same title as everyone else's and there's a good chance no one will even see your book on searches; it will get shoved into a "paperback" option if it's seen at all.) But, of course, the market isn't as large for fiction as it is for non-fiction (for POD's with minimal marketing, anyway). Anthologies and reprints are also quicker to put together and publish, of course, compared to the editing process for publishing other authors, and research/writing of my own material.

Current Projects

Waiting for two more short stories, then I'll be able to put out a collection of classic cryptobotanical and weird vegetation short stories. Some I've reprinted before, but several are rarely seen.

Finishing up the first volume of Al Spoo's Nature Notes, a compilation of his Lititz, PA, newspaper column.

Scanning in Phantom Bouquets, a short book on the Victorian practice of skeletonizing leaves for display and decorations.

Have a bunch of black panther stories OCR'd, need to keep going with the other mystery felines for the Varmints book. Might actually just make it one volume, and incorporate the canines and other carnivores... There are far fewer mystery canines (lots of wolves and coyotes) in old newspaper accounts, and not much in the way of mystery bears. Although, I do have a very interesting account of a giant polar bear-like animal, so ursines won't be completely overlooked.

Current News

Assuming no major problems, I'll have two books finished by end of next week: Bog-trotting for Orchids and Archaeology and False Antiquities. I haven't decided whether to go ahead and send them to the printer or hold off.

I really need to go ahead and try and finish up the first volume of Varmints, which will deal with the mystery felines of North America. That'll probably take a month or two.

Update

Scanned another classic cryptofiction/lost race novel (Vampires of the Andes), so should have six of that genre ready to go in a month or so. I'm trying to decide whether to publish these novels separately, or perhaps pair them up...

Madge the Magician's Daughter didn't come out well, when I looked at a proof, so it's out of circulation until I get time to revise it. These are old newspaper comics that were scanned by another source, so I'm limited in my ability to fool with it too much. It came out a bit too faded in parts.

The editing for Al Spoo's Pearly Mussels of Pennsylvania (working title) is coming along nicely. I'm pleased with how the color images are looking.

Am thinking about doing a short booklet, color images, of scorpions of eastern North America... if I have time...

I'm going to put out Gould's Case for the Sea-Serpent, but only recently got around to ordering a copy to get the inside cover map scans. (My previous working copy didn't have those.) Figures, the book dealer mistakenly switched books and sent it to another book buyer, so have to wait however much longer before I get the book now.

Still Laying Groundwork

No new books at the printer's yet... most recently, have scanned several old cryptofiction/lost race fantasies, finished the layout for Madge the Magician's Daughter (classic newspaper comic), and sent layout for Bob Chance's Earthline compilation for proofing (just waiting for the cover, next).

I suppose I could send Madge to the printer, but I may wait and send it at the same time as Earthline. Within a month or so, should have the text for Al Spoo's work on Pennsylvania freshwater mussels and clams, and not too long after, Bill Gibbons' mokele-mbembe book.

Learning Experience

Taking the computer into the shop tomorrow for a little "data recovery." Specifically, a file with all the spider images for Eight-Legged Marvels, which just up and disappeared on me. Since I'm not a computer guy, I'm not certain what the problem is, though I could have saved myself a lot of hassle if I had bothered to back up the pics. Anyway, it may be bad sectors, from what I've dug up on the problem, and hopefully will get back on track by Tuesday. Have a lot of scanning to do, but can't add anything to the hard drive until the problem's solved.

Other news: looks like LSI has better black-white photo capabilities now, assuming the pdfs are prepared properly. I'm going to test that out soon, hopefully.

Meeting with a local naturalist this week who has a book on Pennsylvania's freshwater mussels and the like. As it is apparently mostly done, could be something of interest.

Coming in 2008

Technically, this is more of a "wish list," as it depends on several factors. But, I'm planning to put out 5-10 reprints on various subjects, starting an "urban wildlife" series authored by Dwight Smith, a two-volume set on Pacific and Atlantic sea serpents by Smith & Mangiacopra, possibly a "sight-seeing guide" to Lake Champlain by Dwight Smith, Bob Chance's Earthline column anthology, Bill Gibbons' Mokele-Mbembe book, and (as far as my own projects go) possibly a sequel to Historical Bigfoot dedicated to the 1950s through the 1970s, and a guide to cryptozoological canines/felines/other predators in North America. I'd also like to start a series of 20 or 40 page color books on North American snake genera.

Top Christmas Sales

December usually gets a good bump in sales, but a few titles sell better than others. The top five books for Coachwhip Publications this month:

#5: Missionaries & Monsters

#4: Cryptozoology and the Investigation of Lesser-Known Mystery Animals

#3: Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation

#2: The Historical Bigfoot

#1: The Compleat Angler

The Compleat Angler sells about as many copies in the UK as it does in the US for me, and just seems to make a nice little gift.

Online Sales Categories

I'm still in procrastination mode (need to tie down some final text edits and photo licensing for Eight-Legged Marvels, and haven't quite gotten in the mood to finish Boss Snakes, though I've got the sightings layout done), so just a quick glance (generic musings) at how I think we can categorize online booksales, particularly with POD.

Directed (informed) purchases: running along a scale from low need to high need, these are the niche-specific sales for someone who has done their homework and is specifically looking for a book on a certain topic. The higher the need (along with other factors, like few competing titles), the better the chance for an online sale.

Casual (recognized) purchases: running along a scale of low value to high value, these are the sales within a community-based niche, where any new title will have a decent chance of being noted, and where purchases are based on past experience (how well previous titles were written), market saturation or over-saturation, and similar factors.

Impulse (triggered) purchases: these sales run along a scale from low stimulus to high stimulus, and involve individuals who might otherwise have no real interest in the subject. Factors include cover appeal, and marketing approaches to the title, subject, and scope of the book.

A single book can be marketed to each of these purchase categories, but the methods are different. And, of course, a given title may not appeal to certain categories.

Two New Titles

LSI is running efficiently at present, so my recently submitted titles are now available for purchase from Amazon, and soon from other outlets. (Takes a little while for the Ingram data to propagate online.)

The titles are Lincoln's Own Stories, and The Rational Creation. Sample chapters are available with the cover images and pricing details.

Ebay Lot

In looking over the financial side, it looks like selling books on Ebay at a discount would be difficult with single copies, given the higher print cost and LSI's shipping fees. The only way to give a reasonable discount and still make a profit (taking into account shipping, auction and payment fees, etc.) is to sell in larger lots. I doubt there's going to be much interest in the long run, but I'm going to test the waters here with a twenty lot of The Historical Bigfoot, just in time for Halloween. Ebay posting is here.

Lightning Source: 10 Years

LSI is celebrating ten years in the print-on-demand business. Overall, I've had a great experience with this company. They've done a good job of keeping up with trends, and pushing forward in new areas. But, as Christmas is coming up, here's my wish list for Lightning Source, things (from a small publisher's perspective) I think would really help this business grow and compete with "mainstream" publishers.

1. Print books with horizontal (landscape) layouts, also, rather than just vertical (portrait) layouts.

2. Cheaper color printing. Even coming down to 6 cents a page would drastically improve pricing and distribution capabilities.

3. Drop the annual title "catalog" fees. With 500,000 titles, do you really need $12 a title a year? (Did I just answer my own question?)

4. Allow digital certification after 25 titles, rather than 50.

5. Bring the publisher-ordered print costs down to the same price as vendor-ordered books.

6. Develop the capability for color inserts, rather than just full-color versus black-and-white books.

7. Work with Ingram to create a marketing catalog for libraries and bookstores that doesn't discriminate against POD books

8. Convince Amazon to accept LSI ebooks again. It's not like their own ebook program has taken off.

9. Make the discount program for higher-quantity orders standard, not just the occasional promotion.

10. Decrease the cover replacement "correction fee." $50 a shot is a bit high.

Amazon Glitch Fixed

It appears that most cases (a few other publishers still have a raised price here or there) the Amazon pricing glitch is over. One odd side effect: Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation is now selling at a discount, 5 cents off list price. Go figure.

Another plus, I do like the scrolling cover images under "Customers who bought this item also bought..." It allows many more similar products to be viewed at the customer's leisure, not just the most popular or just the "mainstream" books.

Sample Chapters

I'm currently in the process of adding sample chapters from various titles to the website. Blue Tiger was first, others will be up throughout the day.

Update

OK, a quick update on what I'm working on at present. I have a few more photos to locate and some minor text revision yet to do on Eight-Legged Marvels: Beauty and Design in the World of Spiders. Hope to have that complete by Christmas.

Boss Snakes (on cryptozoological stories of giant snakes in North America) will probably be done by end of month, ready to send to printer. I've finished my digging for historical accounts, just have to piece it all together. Have several points to make (primary is that there is no single unknown snake species responsible for sightings all across North America), and it should offer a fair bit of new data for investigators. I think most past discussions of giant snakes noted maybe 30 or so big snake stories, and half of those were of irrelevant "lake monster" sightings that have nothing to do with true snakes. I'll have 225+ (rough count) sightings and stories of big snakes, not counting a good number of obvious hoaxes and tall tales.

I think after Boss Snakes, I'll be working on Varmints, another collection of historical mystery animal accounts, but focusing on canine-like, feline-like, and similar mammalian enigmas in North America.

Hawks, Eagles, and Owls

Dr. Dwight Smith (co-author of the recent Does Champ Exist?) is a professional biologist with a special interest in birds of prey, so we're now working on putting out Hawks, Eagles, and Owls of the Northeast (tentative title). This actually follows up on a book he previously co-authored, Raptors of the Pacific Northwest. This new book will have a very similar style.

I have the text in total now, and am awaiting the contributed images, arriving this week, so could very well have the book available within a month. Biggest question will be, do it in color or black-and-white? Color has its obvious advantage, but is also far more expensive with POD.

Look for a series of specialty single-species bird titles in the future, as well.

In Production

The next cryptozoological reprints in line for publication:

Sea Monsters Unmasked, Henry Lee.
Blue Tiger, Harry Caldwell.
Case for the Sea-Serpent, R. T. Gould.

Possibly up for a facsimile reproduction (still debating):
The Celtic Dragon Myth, J. F. Campbell.

Great Sea-Serpent Available

My edition of Oudemans' Great Sea-Serpent is now available. Overall, I was very pleased with it (haven't yet seen any major problems in layout or whatnot), though several images are still printing a tad too light for my liking. This may be due to the very thin lines involved, but I will probably try to increase the dpi for images for future books. Technically, LSI doesn't want grayscale over 300dpi, but it may become necessary.

As Cosimo is also putting out an edition of this book (again, POD), I had to weigh several options while putting this together. Most important, how do I make certain my edition doesn't get lost in the Amazon jungle? As learned from previous experience, a reprint with the same specified title and author as another will sometimes be placed in a lower hierarchy within Amazon search results. If there are competing editions, only one might show up in results, with the rest being relegated to a small box for alternate editions. (Usually, this is for paperback versus hardcover choices.) That, of course, drastically reduces the chance of other editions being ordered. Out of sight, out of mind. So, I decided to a) list the author by his given initials rather than full name, and b) not add the subtitle to the listing. This should be enough of a difference that the two available editions won't be directly confused within Amazon search results. (Unless, of course, the other publisher does the same thing.)

As of yet, my reprint is not showing up in Amazon search results for title or author, though it does appear by ISBN. This is normal; I don't know why, but a book has to be up on Amazon for a few weeks, before the internal search engine picks it up properly. I've already submitted a "cryptozoology" search suggestion, so that should also help.

And, Barnes & Noble has the book listed for just under $18. They must be aggressively trying to win over Amazon customers.

CZ Books I won't be Reprinting

As I plan to continue reprinting classic cryptozoological texts (albeit in paperback rather than ebook form), I've been looking into which titles are available. Not all old cryptozoology books are in the public domain, and unfortunately, it can be difficult to track down estates as copyright renewals are not accompanied by contact information. So, I'll leave those for publishers with the money and wherewithal to do so.

So, what titles are still under copyright here in the U.S.? These include:
The Spotted Lion (1937), by Kenneth C. Gandar Dower
The Sherpa and the Snowman (1955), Charles Stonor
The Abominable Snowman Adventure (1955), Ralph Izzard
Most, if not all, of Willie Ley's books (Exotic Zoology, etc.)

Of course, not all public domain texts are worth reprinting at present, either.

Cryptozoology books that are in the public domain, but which have already been reprinted recently:
The Hunt for the Buru (1951), Ralph Izzard
Abominable Snowmen: Legend come to Life (1961), Ivan T. Sanderson

A few other texts are in the public domain, but wouldn't be of great interest, such as:
One or two of Tim Dinsdale's earliest Loch Ness books, but these don't include the later revised editions which are still copyright protected.
Robert Marshall's Onza book, as there are plenty of inexpensive copies of the original version still available.

That does leave a few (very few, overall) cryptozoology texts available for reprinting. Assuming no difficulties, I should have several available by the end of the year.

WorldCat

Most small publishers get a kick out of discovering that a library has a copy of your book - especially when you didn't donate it yourself. With the advent of the online OCLC, we can determine which libraries actually have copies of particular titles.

The Google search function for the OCLC (see this intro page for example) is supposed to search the database and show results, right? In some cases it does. For a more thorough search, however, you have to actually go to the WorldCat site. You won't find titles I authored/edited via Google, but you will find them through WorldCat. Odd.

Anyway, cool to see that Cryptozoology: Science & Speculation (my first title published) is in 16 libraries, mostly across the country: Wheatland, WY; Sheboygan, WI; Ellsworth AFB, SD; Lexington, NC; Laie, HI; etc. A few outside the USA: Vancouver, BC; Natural History Museum (London); Maastricht, Netherlands.