Re: Autobike

Posted by Brian Wilson On 2020/5/9 19:27:27

Hello Leeedy

Thanks for that. I'm pleased to hear you have been beavering away cataloguing your stuff. If you don't do it, who will?

What you describe about publishing is a sorry tale, but all too common. I have a very old friend (and former top level motorcycle racer) who has been gathering and editing all the material for a widely admired antique motorcycle magazine (Old Bike) for as long as I can remember. It's a huge task - more so when the publishers moved it from quarterly to two-monthly issues. Now that it's firmly established, they are complaining about the cost and looking for somebody else to take it on. Same old story. The same guy actually did publish a couple of excellent books on the history of specific motorcycle events, but I suspect a lot of the investment came from his own pocket.

I wonder whether you'd get the same reaction to your approaches today from the same publishers. Sadly, you probably would. Quality does not really sell in their eyes and they are inclined to underestimate the value of specialist publications. It's interesting to note that the Packard "bible" now changes hands for far more than its original selling price.

The one consolation is that there are people on this site (and no doubt elsewhere) who understand and appreciate what you have done.

Cheers

Brian