Forum discount - Real Ale for the Home Brewer

[OSDguy]

Hi DaaB

They are the ones who publish the book mate
Special interest Books bought up "Nexus Special Interests", the original publisher and the one whose name appears on the spine.

I can see their point of view, whilst I thought it was great the book had been around for 10 years it also tied up their capital for 10 years.

Hopefully summat can be worked out, if not then I'll see if I get rights back and put it together as a cd version (interactive) or as an e-book.
These are options but I would rather keep it with the publisher.

But to be on the safe side I will be ordering more tomorrow myself

[OSDguy]

Ok

There were 48 copies left at the publishers, I say 48 cos I just bought them all up

I have been in touch with the publisher as well, whilst not keen on considering a straight reprint they may be willing to consider a revised version.
The only real revision I could think of was to highlight which beers are no longer around and which beers & brewer have been bought up by other larger firms. (kind of like the "pint pot" which appears in BBLTHYB)
For example (and very sadly) Flowers got bought up by interbrew and ushers was closed (ales brewed by another brewery) and mildmay has gone.

Apart from that I can't think of anything else to revise, the mash efficiencies were set low deliberately and I would be loathe to change them. The hop descriptions are still valid as are the malts.

One recipe needs an update due to an error

P115
BBB Bridgend Best Bitter
Pale malt should be 3835
Crystal 245g
Challenger 65g (6.2%)

malt extract 2800g

for some reason the recipe on p116 has been duplicated on p115 - I had noticed this before but the print run was done and had totally forgotten about it until recently.


Anyway further updates as they come to me.

[Vossy1]

Is that a reprinted edition error Marc

[OSDguy]

Vossy

Do you mean the recipe?

If so then p115 will need to be changed in the current printed version of the book.

There was nought we could do originally as the book had been published on its first run before it was noticed, and the 2nd run is now in question - so the mistake might not get rectified in print.

Essentially the recipe is correct, but not for the OG shown on the page - the recipe on p115 as is will produce the OG shown on P116 of the book.
It only came to light when someone wrote to me years and years ago and had brewed this as their first recipe and thought their extract rate was superb becuase they had flown by the OG

This error has been accounted for in a pdf revision of the book, which hasn't been submitted back to the publisher yet.

[DRB]

Hi marc
I want to purchase a book but paypal link not working.I'll try again later.

[Graham]

Hi DaaB

They are the ones who publish the book mate
Special interest Books bought up "Nexus Special Interests", the original publisher and the one whose name appears on the spine.

I can see their point of view, whilst I thought it was great the book had been around for 10 years it also tied up their capital for 10 years.

Hopefully summat can be worked out, if not then I'll see if I get rights back and put it together as a cd version (interactive) or as an e-book.
These are options but I would rather keep it with the publisher.

But to be on the safe side I will be ordering more tomorrow myself

You get the rights back if they don't reprint, or make an offer to reprint, within six months of it selling out. I know that must be true, cos it was your publisher that told me that This was nothing to do with you or your book I hasten to add, but me discussing my predicament with your publisher.

You never lose copyright anyway, unless you have signed a separate assignment of copyright document. A line snook away in the small print of your contract doesn't count.

I would hang on to those 48 mate. Mine was going for £192.85 on e-bay last time I looked. Bastards!

[OSDguy]

Mine was going for £192.85 on e-bay last time I looked. Bastards!

Imagine the royalties on those sales

I must say it really pee's me off to see some of the rip off prices out there for mine at the mo.
Now bear in mind the book is still available (until some shops some thru etc) but on Amazon market place I've seen mine for between £3.00 (no probs there) and £35.00 - what justification can there be for that price when it is still in print
Gets even worse when you look stateside, the book there is between $20.00 (again no probs on that front) but with a high of $95.00

The US prices were off homebrew sites as well as Amazon.com, with prices like that no wonder it didn't sell to well overseas - now either the wholesaler is making a killing and forcing the shop to add a markup or the shop is ripping the customer right off.

It's not up to me what price the book sells for and I really don't mind a markup over and above the RRP if P&P etc is involved but stateside prices are really really ridiculous.

I did email one shop and ask them to justify their price (approx $60.00 iirc) and was curtly told P&P from the UK forced them to charge that much. Cobblers! P&P for one book is approx $7.

It's different with yours, they are not in print and therefore by their nature are going to attract a very nice price from those who want them (shame you don't get the royalty on the resale though).

I've had a few direct sales from the US who can't believe how low cost the book is, one chap even asked were they 2nds - so I guess that the US does charge a severe premium for UK books - unless of course it is a ploy to make US titles seem much better value.

Haven't heard back from the publisher yet, but will be checking the contract tonight as I hadn't realised as you mentioned there was a lag phase of 6 months between stopping and getting copyright back.
Ok 6 months does give me time to put an ebook or cd rom together, but I can do that in about a month and I suppose sit on my thumbs until they decide.

As I said though my preference is for it to stay with the publisher, but then I can totally see their point of view.
What I would find hard to take is that CJJ Berry recipes (which weren't that hot (must be polite tis same publishing house) would still be around in place of mine - the book was never really about money it was about providing more choice to brewers and upping the ante on Beers & Stouts, losing out to gravy browning is going to smart

I will hold onto a few copies, not for sale so much but more to avoid this:

Hello is that Becks the book shop.....
It is, oh wonderful I wonder if you have RAFTHB by MO....
You do, oh wonderful.....
My name...ahh yes MO

[PieOPah]

Hello is that Becks the book shop.....
It is, oh wonderful I wonder if you have RAFTHB by MO....
You do, oh wonderful.....
My name...ahh yes MO

Are you related to the guy who wrote 'Fly Fishing'?

[Graham]

Haven't heard back from the publisher yet, but will be checking the contract tonight as I hadn't realised as you mentioned there was a lag phase of 6 months between stopping and getting copyright back.

You haven't lost copyright! I've just looked into your book and it says copyright Marc Ollosson. They have not assumed copyright at all; it would cost them a fortune to buy the copyright from you. What they have is exclusive rights to publish your book, and if they don't publish, or republish, it in a reasonable period of time, the rights revert back to you. A reasonable period of time, by convention, is deemed to be six months. They do have rights on the design and layout of the book, though. They paid someone to do that, so you'd have to design your own cover and internal style, but that is not a big deal.

My later books, on the other hand, say copyright CAMRA Books. They have no right to do that and they are wrong in doing so. They have not purchased the copyright from me. That is my major argument with CAMRA at the moment. It took me many many, hours to research and write "Home Brewing", if they paid me a paltry £10 per hour for the time spent, it would be too expensive for them to get any returns on it.

I don't know what the basic, union, journalist rate is these days, but if we assume £250 per thousand words. 170,000 words is a figure that springs to mind for "Home Brewing", but I am not sure exactly. That would be £42,500. Can you see them paying that? - No way. They do not own the copyright on the text, but they think they do. That is why I was talking to some bloke at your publishers recently. The only way prove to CAMRA that I am right, is to take it away from them and give it someone else. They need either a good shaking up, or a good course on copyright law.

[OSDguy]

That is a very big liberty of CAMRA to assume copyright, I really hope you get that one sorted out.

I've just looked at my contract (blown the dust off it now) and I think I prefer the 6 months they told you as clause 24 "reversion of rights" states blah blah once out of print the author must give notice in writing to the publisher to reprint or reissue the works within 12months and rights revert after the expiration of the notice given

This is all second guessing of course as they might print a revised version.

But this is small fry to what you have on your plate, I do hope at least they are still giving you your well earnt royalties and I do hope it gets sorted for you.

post message edit

With regard the design, the cover was supplied to me by Brewing Products as was - the publisher did not supply the cover so I was hoping to use that - although I suppose the design element might come into the title font and name font - but the image isn't theirs.
As for layout - it is printed exactly as was supplied to them
The only difference between what was supplied and what was printed is I used Ariel and a page size of a4 - the font changed as did the page size - so in effect buggar all to change really (he hopes) - have just managed to locate the original RTF doublespaced word file!!