Adding to Amazon

Nothing new to report, but recently added more sample pages to Amazon listings for various titles. The "customer images" function is very useful, and pics are available in minutes, rather than days (as when the official cover title has to be uploaded). Amazon has been offering other features of interest: I think search suggestions have been responsible for a slight surge in some of my lower-tier titles. I haven't yet done anything with Amapedia or Customer Discussions, which seem more of a fad than a serious sales tool. I don't see much of a point in using the Amazon author's blog, as it would appear on books of vastly different subjects, so would be too vague or too irrelevent for most readers who would see it.

As I'm currently doing my taxes, I can say I'm pleased with the growth in sales over the last year, and so far this year has shown great promise. Always nice to end up in the black, but I did spend a heck of a lot on putting out more titles; need to focus that on books with an actual audience. My primary concern is an oncoming online sales slump for the next couple of months, (who buys books in March?) but that should be offset by some direct-to-author/distributor sales for a couple of titles.

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.

Equipment Vendors Restrain Color POD Expansion

Being somewhat frustrated with the high costs associated with color print-on-demand (I have a 120-page book coming that will require an astronomical retail price to accommodate even a 40% discount, which I'll need to get into certain catalog sellers), I contacted someone in the POD printing universe, giving my personal (and probably irrelevant) suggestion on how lowering prices could provide more impetus for small publishers to take advantage of these high-quality publications for their material. Got a very nice reply back, in full agreement. Apparently, one of the hurdles in lowering printing costs are "click charges," which equipment vendors (often the manufacturers themselves) add on when a company purchases a press, if the company is going to need vendor-based servicing in the future. Every printed page equals a "click," which is base price determined by the vendor. This is supposed to cover servicing charges. That gets added on to my bottom line, raising my print costs. LSI is trying to negotiate lower click charges, from what I was told, though it probably won't happen anytime soon. (I see that some new digital presses don't require click charges; wish LSI had gone that direction.)
So long as color is so expensive, color POD books with higher page counts will be expensive. That means fewer buyers, and less incentive for small publishers to take advantage of a great product.

Great Auk: Sample and Supplement

I've added a sample chapter (PDF) as a download from the Great Auk title page. Also, a downloadable color version of the black-white map printed in the book. The map is slightly smaller than the original foldout map, and includes some uncorrected holes from a library ownership punch. It is a printable map, so if you print it out on a color printer, you can overlap the pages to get a good idea as to what the original looked like.

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.

Great Sea-Serpent Cover

Here's the cover for the upcoming Coachwhip Publications edition of Oudemans' The Great Sea-Serpent. Decided to go very simple for this one, something reminescent of the old gold-leaf on carmine style.