> Mark Rauterkus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> The book(s) are a different matter. You really need a critical mass >> of info to get started there. So, for start-up reasons, it is way >> easier to get moving on the radio show ideas. > > Perhaps a critical mass of books could be obtained by first using > already existing material, instead of having to start from scratch. > For example, reprinting old out-of-print books under a copyleft, or > publishing some of the free books that exist only online.
What I meant to write -- is that publishing needs a critical mass in terms of economics of scale and getting the presses running. Case in point: Printing a book is costly at 1 or 20 units. Docutech or printing on demand has greatly improved this. However, the real price breaks come often at 1,500 copies. Another perhaps at 6,000 copies. You have to make plates, films, originals, do the pagination, binding, etc, etc. Then, sales come to play as far as ROI (Return on investment) and cash-flow. Why print 1,000 copies of a book (out of print) that only sells 20 a season/month/ or even year. ?? Sure, there are a lot of out of print books -- and perhaps most of them are out-of-print for a very good reason. But, doing a radio show or duplication of a tape (CD) is sorta easy at 1, 15, 50. The unit cost for the first copy (once you have it) is not out of reach like it would be to print (printing press) books. >> An author in >> the middle of writing a book, who has either done most of the >> background research and planning, or has finished the book but not >> found a publisher, might want to copyleft their book if given a strong >> argument for it, therefore providing material that is also "new" in the >> sense of not being previously available. I think you are on to something. >> A publishing FAQ could start out small, and grow as the number of >> published free books increases. Nods. - - - > And I think that areas like fiction and poetry (as well as nonfiction > focused on telling a story, such as biography) are key to starting a > free book movement with mainstream appeal, because unlike reference or > other utilitarian works they try to reach readers on an emotional > level. If readers empathize with a character in a story, or appreciate > a philosophical insight in a poem, they are more likely to care about > the book enough to consider it important whether it is free or not. Likewise, a vast area for Free & Open publishing would be, IMHO, sermons. Yes, religious talks from places of worship. Preachers' notes, lay-led services, etc., etc. This cuts to the mainstream appeal -- and do reach to an emotional level. Do you realize how many church web sites are out there? And, think of the outreach ... the sharing is a goal. Ta. Mark Rauterkus [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://Rauterkus.com http://CLOH.Org Community Learning Outreach Hub
