Woodsmith has just announced an affiliate program for people to join and get them to sell from their archive of plans https://hub.woodsmith.com/join-our-woodsmith-plans-affiliate-program?ecid=ACsprvtxhvWENpDGXi-5Qw95W8Wz0osCXuiBmb8MZ_cSBrR_WgjMHGGdlHUrt9zi_aWJCk-aoZWc&utm_campaign=WSM - Product Promotion - Woodsmith Affiliate Program&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=73892454&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_3iNPxn44HSn09KmXCUJRvPFEQq61-FDJeQnjQAzA9ujTbLikjyURX2UQzX252H3jwuzomi9eEAXjCjAbHxHhzVyARDRrj7kG0jJoabYc5TACIDMY&_hsmi=73892456

 

Be prepared for social media and forums to get filled with plan offers, just like the day of Ted's Woodworking Plans getting posted everywhere.

By the way, AIM (parent company) has just bought the intellectual property of Popular Woodworking (i.e., the plans and articles)  https://blog.lostartpress.com/2019/06/19/popular-woodworking-acquired-by-woodsmiths-parent-company/?fbclid=IwAR0omAQc3sJjyzlSI7SugC-4AiZaJOM0rIDuWHX4C993vmbQNkFkPXiIL1I

 

 

Edited June 22, 20197 yr by kmealy

The second reference said the sale of assets was a bankruptcy auction; also mentioned that parent company of Woodsmith bought four other ww 'zines.   I sense motion in the industry!  Unfortunately, I think it's a swirling motion centered on a drain.  I guess the "print is dead" metric has arrived.  Dang, I need a substitute for reading in the Small Room.

So, it looks like we're down to Woodsmith, Taunton Press (Fine Woodworking, Fine etc.), and Reader's Digest (WOOD Magazine, Family Handyman).   There is a Canadian Woodworking, but don't know that they mail to USA.

Interesting angle Keith. If they are out to slice and dice old content from PopWood, American Woodworker and the other mags they just bought for their plans business they now have a bunch of material. The problem is this content has already been repurposed many times by F+W. In my experience (both as a consumer and in publishing) the easiest way to lose a customer is to sell the same product in a different wrapper. You might fool someone once, but then you lose them forever.

 

The big question is "what business is AIM in-are they looking to meet the needs of readers with good and relevant content or are they looking to sell the junk car they just bought for parts?

 

Bob Lang

 

There are a couple of posts about the demise of PopWood on my website.

6 hours ago, Bob Lang said:

"what business is AIM in

Make money, customer satisfaction, interest or loyalty has no bearing on this metric.  

Just got some kind of offer from Woodcraft for plans. PW just ain't got much anymore. Oh for the reading room you can read all the NRA magazines.

19 hours ago, Bob Lang said:

If they are out to slice and dice old content from PopWood, American Woodworker and the other mags they just bought for their plans business they now have a bunch of material. The problem is this content has already been repurposed many times by F+W. In my experience (both as a consumer and in publishing) the easiest way to lose a customer is to sell the same product in a different wrapper. You might fool someone once, but then you lose them forever.

Some years ago, my Wood Guru* gave me about 50 back issues of Wood and a couple other 'zines.  About the same time, I purchased the CD sets from another 3 (4?) 'zines.  Care to guess how well I have used those resources?  Yeah, the collected dust kinda turns me off.  The back issues I finally took to the local WW club meeting (secretly sniggering as the members scrambled to get them).   I think most people are more likely to use a 'zine issue sent periodically, and ignore the pile.  Plus, the plethora of videos, websites, blogs, and f-book stream (much of which is  easily searchable) makes my cupboard shelves writhe in frustration.  If a shelf writhes.  

 

*everyone should get one of these!

22 hours ago, Bob Lang said:

Interesting angle Keith. If they are out to slice and dice old content from PopWood, American Woodworker and the other mags they just bought for their plans business they now have a bunch of material. The problem is this content has already been repurposed many times by F+W. In my experience (both as a consumer and in publishing) the easiest way to lose a customer is to sell the same product in a different wrapper. You might fool someone once, but then you lose them forever.

 

The big question is "what business is AIM in-are they looking to meet the needs of readers with good and relevant content or are they looking to sell the junk car they just bought for parts?

 

Bob Lang

 

There are a couple of posts about the demise of PopWood on my website.

Bob, Good to hear from you.   Someone at F+W is sitting in a dark cubicle fishing out old articles and posting them on social media.   The one that I got today on Twitter is from 2002 American Woodworker.   I truly feel sorry for all you PopWood guys that brought it from obscurity to a fine magazine, then saw it slip due to corporate direction.


James Hamilton (Stumpy Nubs) posted some of his comments recently, too (need to scroll down a couple of entries) https://www.facebook.com/Stumpy-Nubs-Woodworking-Journal-305639859477973/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARD7lWk-FZ3xpsCwpt5xH7T2y2TleinVFNN6GsxmaVtr_M_R4jkZEZpCLW-MaqULXv8b5EEfRXsHiGJk&hc_ref=ARQfa2O11r0-ij5zAcX0zPMjV3XRAkIvlplwQiH8wwJy3sZUHUCU_y-HAXbF60e1_Eg&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARD10R1wVTuPU79sXJoatwC8RhTG4ouWEdkFFKL7xxHDluPBBlDi9FF8jTuCn3eY_vaxPIiWreCJK6DOFJqIEtleWa3UFQjdlSlY3L548x9wgU2eHWmZFo6NeqvSeZNRLmonzP_GXry9J8YMNbeJBE4nwxApfay7o87NVjxb1RutD9lueZ-sXQypErhniINPUCZh1u-YswkmkyjsC_Ud3N02LqxicTyOi_d3wW9-ZRAfo0lWArG3hrlM0UT7ds1E1sTnkSOep7ebh5DdgdYevmhFBOWT6ToIwvKhz1ED1P1NFPKpXQ4OD-PTKLhg1FBEvDU0rgdNifJaPK-LCwoZwQ
 

It also appears that authors of books are getting a raw deal. It remains to be seen if Penguin/Random House will make good on royalty payments. A couple authors I talked to received statements for 2018 that showed what they were owed, then they received checks for about 10% of that amount. Authors are always last in line for the smallest slice of the pie. If you have a chance to purchase a book directly from the author, they enjoy a much better return and they don't have to wait a year to get paid (or maybe not paid).

 

Bob Lang

That's a fine idea, Bob. I'd really like to buy from the author. In some cases, I have. However, in most instances, the author's contact info can't be found. By me, anyway. 

21 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

That's a fine idea, Bob. I'd really like to buy from the author. In some cases, I have. However, in most instances, the author's contact info can't be found. By me, anyway. 

Authors need to put some effort into marketing and self-promotion and not all of them realize the potential benefit of selling their own work. I set up my website shortly after my first book was published in 2001. I'm terrible at marketing but I'm happy that I did it.

 

Here's the reality; an author typically gets 10% of the wholesale price for every copy sold. Amazon gets a discount of 60-70%, so an author makes more money if he can buy his own books wholesale and sell them. It doesn't make any sense to compete with Amazon on price, but there are folks willing to spend a bit more to directly support an author. One of the reasons there aren't many worthwhile woodworking books published is that the compensation doesn't match the effort required to create a good book.

 

Bob Lang

3 hours ago, Bob Lang said:

One of the reasons there aren't many worthwhile woodworking books published is that the compensation doesn't match the effort required to create a good book.

Sort of reminds me why prostitutes ain't rich:  too many people willing to give it away.  Why so few new good WW books?  I can think of some reasons:  Videos abound and are free.  DIY sites with lots of graphics; free.  WW being a fairly stable (mature) industry, a book written 20 years ago is still pretty current, so how does a new author compete?

 

Compounding this, I've been watching for "old" WW books that people have recommended, and I note there are thousands of titles (yes, many for WW) that now exist as "used" (and, yes, on Amazon).  So the book that published for $25 a couple decades back is now available for $9 (with shipping!).  So I heard Tolpin's book on tablesaws was really good.  Originally $24.99US, in 2004 (2nd ed), now can find "like new" for under $10.  What's the chance that a newer book written in the last 5 years has substantially better content?  I'd think this inhibits new entrants.  While I'm not sure how YouTube compensates contributors, I suspect all those ads put a few pennies in the contributor's pocket.  Two decades back, meh.  Today, decent video can draw thousands of views, and the pennies add up.  So the author of the Auld Daies becomes a videographer.  

 

Reality is that 50% of Not Much is exceeded by A Little of A Lot.  And Reality is that the velocity of Change continues to increase.

On 6/25/2019 at 11:55 AM, PeteM said:

Sort of reminds me why prostitutes ain't rich:  too many people willing to give it away.  Why so few new good WW books?  I can think of some reasons:  Videos abound and are free.  DIY sites with lots of graphics; free.  WW being a fairly stable (mature) industry, a book written 20 years ago is still pretty current, so how does a new author compete?

 

Compounding this, I've been watching for "old" WW books that people have recommended, and I note there are thousands of titles (yes, many for WW) that now exist as "used" (and, yes, on Amazon).  So the book that published for $25 a couple decades back is now available for $9 (with shipping!).  So I heard Tolpin's book on tablesaws was really good.  Originally $24.99US, in 2004 (2nd ed), now can find "like new" for under $10.  What's the chance that a newer book written in the last 5 years has substantially better content?  I'd think this inhibits new entrants.  While I'm not sure how YouTube compensates contributors, I suspect all those ads put a few pennies in the contributor's pocket.  Two decades back, meh.  Today, decent video can draw thousands of views, and the pennies add up.  So the author of the Auld Daies becomes a videographer.  

 

Reality is that 50% of Not Much is exceeded by A Little of A Lot.  And Reality is that the velocity of Change continues to increase.

You make some excellent points. The availability of good used books is one of the things that the internet changed. Used to be looking for an old book meant going on a physical hunt. Today you can search on the title and for very little money have it on your doorstep in a few days. I just searched Abebooks.com for Kelly Mehler's "The Table Saw Book" (a good alternative to Tolpin's) and there are several copies available for $4 including shipping.

 

That being said, there are not many creative people in media of any form. Most "content creators" all reach for the low-hanging fruit thinking "if he can do it so can I" so we have tons of content on the basics of making stuff and very little on the fine points. In the old days authors could redo a twenty year old book and make money. Books on joinery are a good example-going back more than 100 years or so. Musicians, movie makers and authors of woodworking books can make a little bit in the short term without needing much experience or talent.

 

In my work, I try to focus on what other people aren't doing. I have the chops to write a pretty good table saw book but why would I want to when Jim and Kelly have already done it? It isn't a big enough market to make much of a return unless one focuses on the long term. If something fills a specific niche well and stays in print the equation is quite different.

 

Bob Lang