Upcoming Emmons Book Survey

[Fish]

If you could have only three options to choose from when purchasing a new book about Buddy Emmons, which would you pick? Your honest answer would be helpful.

You may ask yourself: Why $110 for a hardback? Why not $29.95? All I can say now is "this may be the only option for a hardback copy."

Because I'm busy wrapping up the book for you, I won't have time to watch this survey and respond to your questions. I'm sure you'll have a few. Please know the book has been the most challenging work of my life, but I truly believe all of you will find inspiration when you read Buddy's remarkable story. A release date will be announced soon.

Thank you for your help.

Steve Fishell

[Roger Rettig]

I've ticked 'Paperback', but I wouldn't be averse to the hardback price, depending upon production-values. The relatively high quote may be dictated by the unavoidably-limited print run. A hardback printed on quality paper with well-produced photos can be a joy to own. Having said that, a good-quality paperback (I have Chet Atkins' 'Me & My Guitars' and the Gretsch book, for example) could also do the subject matter proud.

I wonder what format you're considering: A4, something else? Whatever it is, I'm sure we're all looking forward to it; I, for one, appreciate all your hard work and commitment.

[Frank Freniere]

Might be tempted to spring for the hardback - as long as it was signed by the author!

[Tony Glassman]

SoftBack or digital only. No hardback for me - too spendy & too bulky.

[robert kramer]

Not really a helpful answer in the context of Mr. Fishell's survey, but I am buying multiple copies, both hardback and paperback. A Buddy Emmons biography is the perfect gift for friends that help me throughout the year. I am also buying a hardback copy for the museum library where I work and a paperback for the museum store manager to look at and stock in the store.

[Duane Becker]

Fish, I am open to any option. I would pay the $110 Hardback price too. And I'm willing to pay as soon as the book would be available to ship.
Not that I want to drive up prices but this is Buddy Emmons. Not only does he have ties to the pedal steel guitar, but country and western music history itself and the history of the town of Nashville too.
This is dealing with cultural history too. From 1955 until the 2000s Emmons was there apart of country music history.
I hope the Nashville area museums jump on this as well.

[Larry Jamieson]

Paperback

[Andy Jones]

I would prefer the paperback book,but I certainly wouldn't hesitate to purchase the hard cover if it were the only one available.I'm a voracious reader and I spend a lot of money on books.The price of the hard cover wouldn't deter me at all.

I just hope there aren't bad things in the book about the Big E.I hate learning bad things about people I looked up to.

[Bob Hoffnar]

I picked paperback but after thinking about it I would spring for a hardback. If you do a pre order go fund me type thing I will buy 3 hardcovers right away. I am aware of the level of insight you have on the subject and I'm sure your book about Buddy will be a treasure.

[Jim Bloomfield]

Just to give another perspective, I would not pay $110 for a hard copy. Paperback all the way. Thanks for taking this on. Looking forward to it.

[Peter Leavenworth]

paperback

[Mark Eaton]

I’m curious what the actual number of copies will be for the book. Of course a small run is going to drive up the price - but $110 for the hardback as compared to $22 for the paperback seems ridiculous.

During my career in the horticulture industry I supplemented my income over the years with some garden writing. Mostly newspaper columns, but I wrote some magazine articles and contributed to a few books.

Those glossy coffee table garden books you see at the bookstore or in someone’s home - a best seller in that segment of the publishing world is about 5000 copies. A drop in the bucket compared to the latest John Gresham novel. And many of these hardcover garden books from a small publisher like Timber Press in Portland, loaded with color photos on nice paper can still be had for ballpark $50-$60.

Now unless Steve shares it with us, we don’t know all the details. Maybe the hardback is being produced by a small artisan press here in the U.S. and this the reason for the high cost? The book publishing industry has gone the way of many others, where they are being printed in Asia to keep costs down.

[Mike Holder]

For the price of a Hard Copy I can buy 5 paperbacks for gifts to various friends etc. however as Robert Kramer eludes to, Hard copies could make a great gift, possibly offered seasonally around Christmas perhaps packaged with the tribute CD as a present . This book is either going to exceed expectations or fall short because Buddy wasn’t interested in talking about himself, I point blank asked him once in Canada when he was touring with The Everly Brothers, if he’d ever thought about writing a book about his life?...He horse laughed and said “Not at all!” I actually felt stupid for asking but he’s overcome so many hills & valley’s in his lifetime achievements I honestly thought it would be a very interesting read. Needless to say, I’m curious to see how your book enlightens us, I could only imagine what a challenge it was to research & document.

[Pete Finney]

In my experience one situation where you typically find a much more expensive hardback is from a university press (as opposed to a commercial/corporate publisher). There the hardback editions are often targeted at libraries, with a much cheaper paperback marketed to bookstores. If that's the case the hardback bindings are often super high-quality and heavy-duty, more than you would find in a typical bookstore hardback.

I have no idea if that's the case here, but it's not unusual. A lot of my favorite music books are from university presses; I either borrow them from a library, or buy the paperback.

[Craig Stock]

I voted paperback, but would buy the hardback, if it was the only available option, but as others mentioned, I'd probably buy a few paper backs as gifts also.

[Sam Conomo]

I would like a
Digital version,as
I am camping for a
Year ,and don't want
To carry a book around.
It sounds great .
I hope it happens.
Sam.

[Tom Keller]

Hard back or paper back

[Mike Bacciarini]

Paperback for me.

[Kevin Fix]

The hard cover may be better for pictures.

[Greg Cutshaw]

ebook is great for pictures and to provide clickable links to other references and sound files. Always available on all my devices wherever I'm at.

[Fish]

Thank you everyone for your comments and survey responses. I hope more of you will vote their choices. Of course, this survey is totally anonymous; I have no idea how anyone votes. A large turnout will help forge a clear consensus.

I'm surprised by the number of people who prefer e-books. This is very helpful information. Thanks!

A couple of quick comments:

Pete Finney, you nailed it. The book will be released through one of the most prestigious university presses in the country. This helps legitimize its research and guarantees its availability for years. Unfortunately, due to the economics of today's book industry, university press hardcover copies are run as very expensive limited editions only. The author has no control over a publisher's final decisions about pricing and printing style.

Mr. Kramer: your words of support are greatly appreciated, as has your help throughout this decade-long process. I can't thank you enough, sir.

Roger: Formatting decisions have not yet been made, but I suspect the size will likely be smaller than A4. A personal note: it's hard to believe forty-one years have passed since we toured Europe together! :0)

Andy: Regarding "bad" things about our heroes, I let Buddy tell his own story in words taken from his personal, unreleased memoirs. The good far outweighs the bad in Buddy's biography.

[Pete Finney]

Steve, congratulations again, and thanks for all the years of hard work and perseverance on this project (that we will all benefit from).

I'm sure it will be a very special day when you hold the first copy in your hands! I voted "paperback" in the survey, but I can imagine buying a few of those for friends and then a hardback for myself (as long as you promise it to sign it!).

[Aaron Johnson]

Unless that hardback was published by Folio Society, I wouldn't pay that much. I check e-book, affordable and portable.

[b0b]

I will definitely buy the paperback, and I expect that many steel players will. I don't buy ebooks. I might also buy the hardback to help support the publishing effort. If I were Fish, I wouldn't put much credence in polls like this. Look at what happened with the Chalker DVD - lots of promises, miserable sales.

[Fish]

Mr. Lee, thank you once again for this incredible Forum. I cite it dozens of times throughout the manuscript.

Of course, I wrote this book to guarantee my retirement on the beaches of Bora Bora, Tahiti.

The book is a labor of love, and a promise fulfilled.