Uncategorised Aviation Awards of Imperial Germany WWI - Volume 1 question

[jaba1914]

In my oppionion you should try a OCR software for text recognition to avoid typing. The actual generation of software works very good.  90 percent of the text will be identified. That save you a lot of work.

I agree with you that you will not get rich but IMHO it worth.

Regards

Alex

Edited September 13, 2015 by jaba1914

[ccj]

Try Kickstarter to raise funds and I'll bet you'll raise enough to produce 300 copies or more if the price per book is reasonable for 300 plus people. I'm positive there are 300 of us who would contribute for a book in return  

I donated to Dean Putney who wanted to turn his Grandfathers photo album into a book and it's a very nice book. There were several tiers for donations. 

Eg. And these aren't 100% accurate  

any donation accepted 

$15- electronic copy of book

$50- book

$75- book and electronic copy

$150-more but don't remember....

i gave $75 and I enjoy really enjoyed helping and having the album book. I wish more people with war photo albums had thought of turning their copy into a book. I think he needed $50k and reached it rather easily by people who wanted a copy. I'm fairly certain if you don't hit your target to be funded for your project the moneys aren't collected. And, if I remember correctly I donated via Amazon or something. Anyway, thought I would share this idea, you may have already considered it....

"Project Update: Experience World War I through a German officer's photos by Dean Putney"

[jaba1914]

300 is hard if is a identical reprint from original but if the reprint require a lot of work it worth to add additional information and new pictures. But 100-200 is realisitc.

That makes the book more interesting and the goal of 300 is more realistic.

Regards

Alex

[ccj]

I think it would be easy to sell 300 as long as the book is less than $75 each or if color photos are added. Just my opinion

[Paul C]

The fund of the reprint is not the issue. It is the time and effort required to do it and the return on investment of that time. I am not necessarily referring to the financial return. As some of you may know I am in the process of writing my second book and as you can imagine it requires a great amount of time. This project is more important to me then the reprint. When I first thought of doing the reprint I thought it would be a short term project, but it is not.

[jaba1914]

So my efforts were waste time. Good to know :-(

Regards

Alex

[Paul C]

Alex, your time was not wasted. I under estimated the time and effort to complete the project. I do appreciate your help with it.

[Paul C]

I have volumes 2 (signed by author), 3 and 4 if anyone needs them, just PM me.

[Chris Liontas]

What if you split the work between a few people.  I could help type some of it.   Kickstarter is a great way to get funds for the book.   We could have dealers advertise as well.  Is be down for  2 copies as well 

[ccj]

Agreed

 

putting out a new book would be very doable and with the number of people who would by a copy if reasonably priced it's sure to be a success.

you should also receive plenty of photos to have more reference material for medals and documents.

They great thing about Kickstarter is you get committed donations for those willing to contribute with nothing in return and those who will contribute for a book in return so you'll know if you have funding prior to starting. If not funded then no money changes hands. It's just a matter of picking a publisher who will work with you.

if you have permission for reprint then the largest part is all but done.

 

[Paul C]

Thanks for the offer but the project is no longer viable.

[Claudius]

Does anyone need Volume I -Bavaria to complete their collection or personal research?  I have an extra one.

I found a copy for sale on FB and I bought it for a friend, but it turns out he didn't need it ?.

 

(this is not related to my earlier shipping from Germany problem -that package is still underway to me.)

 

 

[W McSwiggan]

I would be interested - could you PM me with the asking price?

[waldo]

Hello everyone,

I am surprised that these books are so sought after. I have duplicated 
volumes 1 - 6 and put them up for sale as a package for sale in a 
German forum. There wasn't a single demand for it. Volume 1 is 
particularly sought after. As far as I know, the 7th volume is 
still available in bookshops. I still remember that I was looking for 
the first volume for a long time and paid double the original price.

One can see how diverse the demand for these excellent volumes is.

Many greetings
Walter

[CRBeery]

I have a pile of spares here. Some are even signed.

[W McSwiggan]

CR - Please check message.

[Claudius]

10 hours ago, CRBeery said:

I have a pile of spares here. Some are even signed.

I had no idea that there were so many copies available.  In the deep past I had to look a long time for my Volume I and I thought they were still hard to find.

[W McSwiggan]

Neal O’Connor Anecdote

I have always had a deep interest in military aviation and one of my favorite books as a boy was the “Falcons of France”.

As I was window shopping through a catalog of publications decades (yikes) ago – I spotted “The Aviation Awards of Imperial Germany and the Men who Earned Them – volume I, The Kingdom of Bavaria”.  Knowing nothing more about Imperial Awards than the Iron Cross and the Blue Max (Thank You Ursala) I remember thinking – “What kind of nut would write such a book and who would buy it?”

When volume 2 (Prussia) hit the market, I reacted with – “That sounds like a worthy tome” and bought it.  I was astounded and totally intrigued by all the arcane stuff I learned – 4 Kingdoms, 6 Grand Duchies, 5 Duchies yada - yada - yada.

On my limited recreational budget anticipating the kid’s future, every time I felt I could afford a frivolous treat, Neal would publish another volume which in turn I immediately bought.

Yup – by the time I got around to volume 1 – it was gone!

I wrote to Neal and could almost hear his laughter.  As these were self-published – he filled his storage space for years with volume 1.  Couldn’t sell ‘em.  No sooner were they no longer available and folks like me were coming out from under rocks seeking it!

I expressed my gratitude for both his consideration and for giving me a new interest – Imperial Orders and Decorations.  This lead finding Rick Research, Wild Card and others known to you as the “travelling museum” for whom I catered because that was all I could ever offer such distinguished company. 

Neal used to travel each summer to Nantucket Island passing within a quarter mile of my house in route. I suggested that he stop for a rest on his long drive from Princeton and enjoy a glass of wine with us hoping he would autograph the books in repayment.  Sadly, he never got to do so as his time was coming to a close and his health was failing.

As one of the Big Three of Imperial experts, we all lost a wonderful gentleman as all who knew him will attest.

[CRBeery]

I think I have found all my spare copies if anyone is in need!

[ccj]

I need a volume 1! I have the other volumes but not the first 

[freiherr]

Me too. Message sent, CR/ Mr Beery?

 

I thought I had a signed copy of one of the other volumes but it was actually a letter ... he sold that to em directly.

Thanks

Elwyn

[GMU]

I have the complete collection, but as Vince and Alex said, would buy a reprint if it would include the new information that has appeared since the first print.