Books, Publishers, Book Reviews

[Patrick H. Crowe]

Dear Forum Readers:

A person asked about how to make money in the stock market could reply: "Buy low, sell high", right? Not much help if your are shorting calls. Moreover I beleive most of us know that almost any decent library will have many books on the stock market - - yes entire BOOKS and many of them.

It might interest a few of you to know some facts about publishining. I'l limit myself to two:

1. The publishing industry tells us that for every 1,000 books written, one gets published. The author of Nickle & Dimed - - a person who took minimum wage jobs to see it it was possible to live on that income & wrote a book on it - - - was amazed to learn from her fellow workers, when, just before leaving she let them know her real purpose, that many of these minimum wage workers told her that they too had wrtten or were writing a book.

Many are written, extremely few are published.

2. Most authors have a "target" market in mind. For example a person writing on knitting needs to know roughly how many knitters there are in the USA. Ditto if you are writing on Ford Retractables. There are not many folks interested in Ford Retractables but, believe it or nor there a book on them.

The publishing industry tells us that any book which sells to 5% of the "target" market has done "WELL".

So far as I am able to determine there are not many books on car washes. Of the few in print I can only find one that has ever been reviewed.

Please list the books you know of on car washes amd give the cost and reference the reviews. I'd like to know more than "buy low, sell high".

Patrick H. Crowe

 

[pitzerwm]

Today, anyone can publish their book with the Internet. The fact that many of the books written aren't published is probably a good thing, take a look at the videos on Your Tube and others. There are some wierd people out there.

 

[Patrick H. Crowe]

Dear Bill:

Your comment about "Anyone can publish their (sic) book . . .", makes about as much sense as saying anyone can run a car wash or anyone can set up an: "autocareforum". You surely know better, don't you?

Tell me about copyrights. Then tell me about the two different kinds of ISBN numbers required to get the book handled by different distributors.

Next fill me in on the costs of color versus black & white. Then the art work for the front & back covers? Then tell all of us about the research needed to determine the target market. Next tell us the most likely and efficient ways to get reviews. I could go on and on.

You shoot from the hip. Anybody can do it, obviously, right? It's all a matter of the internet - - is brain surgery next? Perhaps it will be flying 747's, right?

If your statement is true why is it that only one book out of 1,000 written, ever get published? Why is it that there are so, so few books on car washes? If your web site has been able to attract many titles, where are they?

Hello, hello, hello!! Isn't it time to reconsider a somewhat rash statement?

Sincerely, your friend and associate

Patrick H. Crowe

 

[pitzerwm]

What I said is a fact, there is access to everything that you need to publish your rants and prose on the Internet, getting someone to buy it is another issue. A lot of times it is called an E-Book. Will it show up on the Best Selling list, probably not.

And yes, if someone else can do it, then you too could do it. Doing it well is another matter, does it matter how good you are, maybe, maybe not. I taught myself enough bankruptcy law, that I was able to go into Federal Court and recover my collateral, find the hidden assets and if she would have been a man, she would have been sent to jail for fraud. I talked to a number of lawyers and each said to forget it that there was no way that they could recover me a dime.

If you want to learn to do something, you are your only limitation. No one is talking about becoming an expert at it. Anyone can become the President, what would have been the odds that a black man would be the President in our life time.

Back to publishing a book, there are a lot of books out there that an idiot wrote and got published. They surely aren't worth the paper that they are printed on.

You of all people should agree that you can do whatever you set your mind to do, O for Pres comes to mind.

 

[MEP001]

Anyone can run a car wash. Not everyone can run it successfully. Anyone can publish a book via the internet, but that doesn't mean people will want it or find it useful. Look at all the online patents sites. You can pay them to patent any stupid thing you can think up, but does that make you another Thomas Edison?

 

[Patrick H. Crowe]

Bill:

I did not make myself clear. If I read you correctly you are saying anyone can get a book PRINTED. I agree. See Kinkos. I tried to call your attention to the successful side of publishing by mentioning "getting reviews", different types of ISBN numbers and so on.

The next poster wants to claim "anyone can run a car wash". He then points out that it might fail if not done successfully. I call that killing a car wash. I should have been more clear.

Here are the facts: Three of my five books were "trade" published. That means a publishing house promoted the book, met with me, edited the book, proof read the book, did the ISBN nubers, sent me to speak (at their expense), paid me royalties on every copy they sold. The point is that's a far more vast undertaking that PRINTING.

My fouth book was published by my own publishing company. Here's why. I had learned a lot about publishing over the then 20+ years I had been in print. I made more money PUBLISHING (not just printing) it than I did on all three of the trade published books.

I reamin undecided whether book #6 will be done by my publishing company or "trade" published. That's a complex call. Usually I try a few trade houses as I am about to complete the manuscript and if all refuse then I make the judgement about whether to have Crowe Enterprises do it.

So, I assume you meant to say "anyone can get a book printed".

Your endoresemnt of the internet is strinking. In my many years of college teaching it was shown SOME folks could learn advanced math from the Internet and many could not. You could but many, many folks needed a fellow human to help them learn, encourage them and so on.

Regards,

Patrick H. Crowe

 

[MEP001]

The next poster wants to claim "anyone can run a car wash". He then points out that it might fail if not done successfully. I call that killing a car wash. I should have been more clear.

I find the manner in which you refuse to address me directly very insulting. Is it deliberate? (I obviously don't expect a reply.)

 

[pitzerwm]

Pat, as usual you are nit picking, most people aren't talking perfection, if it is measurable. Peter Drucker had to admit that his first big seller "Search for Excellent" was faked. I'm sure that he still is a successful Arthur, I've even paid money to hear him speak. Just because someone writes a book/s or articles doesn't make them a genius or even special. I've made a lot of money doing stuff that I had no clue how to do it. I don't need to be perfect, I just have to get is done, get paid or save money or stop the disaster. So making yourself clear or not doesn't change the fact that no one here, except you is expecting/talking perfection or cares about perfection.

And yes, I think any idiot can run a carwash or write a book or do anything else, we all know at least one. We all also know the guys that really knows how not only how to run one but to make good money doing which it is another matter.

BTW, you are pushing your luck with the self promotion in the post, don't be surprised to find yourself banned if you continue. Take advantage of the Classified ads or email the poster directly.

 

[pitzerwm]

Well, Pat has finally pushed me to ban him, the main reason is his refusal to stop self promotion, the second was his response to my "warning" him. He would like the following statement to be included:

"When you announce my banning will you note: He may be one ofthe most widely published authors in this industry, actually THE most widely published author judged by words in print (shameful isn't it?) but I, Pitzer Need to ban him. My responses will be far more widely published - - have you seen my recent articles in ALN?

I expect far more from you and simutaneaisly I have learned from you and many others who have met you how easily priovokedand extremely defensive you become"

 

[Fatboy769]

Thanks Bill, it's like a breath of fresh air!

 

[rph9168]

Good move. Now we can get back to what makes this Forum so valuable to all of us - honest opinions, good information and positive dialogue. Thanks Bill.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I'm sure the regulars here know that he wasn't on my Christmas card list and I would have banned him years ago if it was my site. I realize that he was one of Bill's friends at some level and he probably has struggled with the decision more than just this time. All in all the forum will be a better place for all of us. Sorry you had to make that move Bill, but it was the right one.

 

[soapy]

I agree with Bill on this one. Just because you have published something does not make a person the end all authority on every subject in carwashing. The strength of this forum is the group and calling on everyone to contribute. IMO anything published is simply a collaboration of a few lessons earned with individual sweat equity and a bunch of lessons repeated from others.

 

[Tom Thumb]

Thank God, life is now better.

 

[JJJakubowski]

One thing you can say about PC --- he does getcha to thinking ... well, okay, as much fuming as thinking.

Anyway, PC's declaration that he was "THE (carwash industry's) most published author based on words in print" got me to thinking ... and calculating ... but not at all fuming. And I've gotta say my calculations did freak me out! Namely:

In the course of my 25 years at the SSCWN, I only now realize that I've been guilty of writing (and/or "aggressively" editing) more than 4,000 ("oversized") pages of editorial content. And that works out to be a grand total of well over 500,000 individual published/mailed copies of the SSCWN over those years! But, hey, who's counting?!! (Altho' it would be interesting fun to try and calculate how many helpless, innocent trees I butchered into paper pulp over the last quarter century.)

And still (and forever), the only thing I'm really an "expert" in is my own opinion. Hardly a day goes by that I do not learn something "new" that I probably should have learned long ago. THANKS to all of you who keep teaching me about carwashing ... and life.

BTW, PC is still on my Christmas card list.

JJJ/SSCWN
-----------------------------
The Poster Formerly Known

 

[JJJakubowski]

Oh, one more thing ---

As far as "book books" go, I would have to assume that Robert Roman is "THE" preeminent author of carwash specific tomes in terms of "words in print" and pages/books sold. If not, he probably should be.

JJJ/SSCWN