The Definitive Guide to Gaydon-era ASTON MARTIN

[Simpo Two]

In 20 years time, or maybe 10, the books will still exist, but people will look as blank at 'Kindle' as they do now when you say 'Cassette'.

[Grant3]

mac_doctor said:

OK - I've now got a Kindle version: now all I need is a Kindle.

Hi mac_doctor, you don’t need a Kindle at all, you just need to download the free Kindle App this works on..

Android phone or tablet

Apple phone or iPad

Your computer (Microsoft or Mac)

You can have the free app and the book on multiple devices, so your phone on the move, computer at work and tablet at home…

Basically the book displays the same as the printed version but is like a PDF, you can zoom into images/text, search keywords, make notes and bookmark pages etc…..

I hope this helps

[mac_doctor]

Grant3 said:

Hi mac_doctor, you don’t need a Kindle at all, you just need to download the free Kindle App this works on..

Android phone or tablet

Apple phone or iPad

Your computer (Microsoft or Mac)

You can have the free app and the book on multiple devices, so your phone on the move, computer at work and tablet at home…

Basically the book displays the same as the printed version but is like a PDF, you can zoom into images/text, search keywords, make notes and bookmark pages etc…..

I hope this helps

I was being a little facetious: I have a Kindle app on my mac. Great book, great value, and it'll keep me in reading and reference material for ages.

... but I would have to say that it isn't a patch on a paper book for usability or tactility (if that is a word): it is also tricky to let family members read without passing round the computer - and I do agree with Simpo above: Kindle "books" will die out long before dead-tree ones.

I would happily have paid double for a paper version. (But not £200 or more - that is simply ridiculous). I am intrigued as to the thought process that led to you deciding to go "electronic only", as there is an obvious ongoing demand for physical books.

[Grant3]

mac_doctor said:

I was being a little facetious: I have a Kindle app on my mac. Great book, great value, and it'll keep me in reading and reference material for ages.

... but I would have to say that it isn't a patch on a paper book for usability or tactility (if that is a word): it is also tricky to let family members read without passing round the computer - and I do agree with Simpo above: Kindle "books" will die out long before dead-tree ones.

I would happily have paid double for a paper version. (But not £200 or more - that is simply ridiculous). I am intrigued as to the thought process that led to you deciding to go "electronic only", as there is an obvious ongoing demand for physical books.

There was a combination of reasons for moving away from the printed version, the primary ones were shipping and print costs.

This sort of specialist guide isn’t big volume so you can’t print big numbers to keep the price down otherwise it becomes completely out of date. As the guide’s content grew so did the price/weight for shipping. Specialist print runs also have their problems we once had to reject a complete print run as the final books had 2 part printed pages!

Sales are worldwide with many books sold in the US, the shipping costs were getting silly and everyone wants quick delivery. A combination of people continually chasing their shipment unhappy to wait and a high number of books being lost in transit pushed us towards instant download worldwide.

I understand the appeal of a printed book but since going digital with instant download sales have been stronger and issues smaller, it also added new features and functions. Having said that never say never and I’ll certainly let you know if we can add a printed option in the future.

Thanks for your understanding and support

Edited by Grant3 on Wednesday 9th August 09:33

[mac_doctor]

Grant3 said:

There was a combination of reasons for moving away from the printed version, the primary ones were shipping and print costs.

This sort of specialist guide isn’t big volume so you can’t print big numbers to keep the price down otherwise it becomes completely out of date. As the guide’s content grew so did the price/weight for shipping. Specialist print runs also have their problems we once had to reject a complete print run as the final books had 2 part printed pages!

Sales are worldwide with many books sold in the US, the shipping costs were getting silly and everyone wants quick delivery. A combination of people continually chasing their shipment unhappy to wait and a high number of books being lost in transit pushed us towards instant download worldwide.

I understand the appeal of a printed book but since going digital with instant download sales have been stronger and issues smaller, it also added new features and functions. Having said that never say never and I’ll certainly let you know if we can add a printed option in the future.

Thanks for your understanding and support

Edited by Grant3 on Wednesday 9th August 09:33

Thanks for listening to my whingeing, and taking the time to respond!

[PHFS]

I bought the Kindle version in April, great AM background reading and the specifics helped me select and buy a V12Vs.

I would like the printed version too - is there any way we could do a small print run, and see if we can get enough interest on here to pay in advance, sign up etc?

[Davil]

I have the Kindle one too. It is a must buy.

I would also like a printed copy. I know it’s much more handy in Kindle form but I think it would make a nice coffee table book. I would pay a healthy sum.

[Grant3]

Thanks guys for your support, glad you like the Kindle version. I do understand the appeal of a printed book, but for the reasons previously chatted around it isn’t really practical.

The only option could be to use the Amazon print on demand service, but it is frighteningly expensive and I’m not confident on the quality levels. The guide is still set around a smaller A5 size format so it fits through letter box and glovebox, it is a practical size rather than a coffee table book! You end up with a cost of "roughly" about £55 (plus delivery) per book for the A5 colour book, which is very high and would likely draw negative reviews, undermining the books reputation for the most detailed and accurate Gaydon era Aston Martin guide.

[Simpo Two]

Grant3 said:

Thanks guys for your support, glad you like the Kindle version. I do understand the appeal of a printed book, but for the reasons previously chatted around it isn’t really practical.

The only option could be to use the Amazon print on demand service, but it is frighteningly expensive and I’m not confident on the quality levels. The guide is still set around a smaller A5 size format so it fits through letter box and glovebox, it is a practical size rather than a coffee table book! You end up with a cost of "roughly" about £55 (plus delivery) per book for the A5 colour book, which is very high and would likely draw negative reviews, undermining the books reputation for the most detailed and accurate Gaydon era Aston Martin guide.

Would it help if it was spiral-bound like Steve Heath's TVR books? Not only would it lay flat but could be bigger.

[mac_doctor]

Grant3 said:

Thanks guys for your support, glad you like the Kindle version. I do understand the appeal of a printed book, but for the reasons previously chatted around it isn’t really practical.

The only option could be to use the Amazon print on demand service, but it is frighteningly expensive and I’m not confident on the quality levels. The guide is still set around a smaller A5 size format so it fits through letter box and glovebox, it is a practical size rather than a coffee table book! You end up with a cost of "roughly" about £55 (plus delivery) per book for the A5 colour book, which is very high and would likely draw negative reviews, undermining the books reputation for the most detailed and accurate Gaydon era Aston Martin guide.

Will they do a Print on Demand for a purchaser, or only for an author/ publisher? If the former, I'm sure that those of us that could stand the quality issues to get actual paper would be happy to stump up the cost. Well, I would.

[Grant3]

mac_doctor said:

Will they do a Print on Demand for a purchaser, or only for an author/ publisher? If the former, I'm sure that those of us that could stand the quality issues to get actual paper would be happy to stump up the cost. Well, I would.

That’s one of the reasons it’s so expensive, they actually print the book to order! But I am still concerned that the high price would lead to negative reviews. Although I appreciate your positive feedback.I think most would be disappointed @ £50+

Simpo Two - A larger size would need the whole book (over 400 pages) reworking as it’s currently sized to A5 and you can’t simply scale up due to image quality, bleed etc, so that’s a huge task.

Never say never it would be nice to offer a special edition print run at some time, but it’s not likely in the near future, unfortunately.

Meantime I honestly prefer referencing the book on my iPad….

[KJL14]

Does anyone know what the latest edition of the hard copy book was?
Thanks in advance!

[PHFS]

Have you tried another service like this: https://www.bookprintinguk.com/tools/file-assessme...
As for £50, I think I would be happy for that, even A5.

I see your point on a coffee table A4 book and also understand that would need a lot of rework, but perhaps with enough pre-orders, via a crowdsourcing platform, it could be a project worth doing for you?