Why Create Books?

Over the last two years I’ve published — thanks to the support of many of you — four different books. Each book has been a challenge in different ways, but looking back at all four titles I can say I’m honestly proud of the work and share these with people whenever I’m asked “What do you do for fun?”

I assume that all of you are aware of the four books I’ve already published, but just to be safe the titles are:

• Transforming Collections*. Published in 2013, this was my first book about third party Transformers and I learned a lot while putting this together. The book shipped late to the Kickstarter backers — I’m very sorry, guys — and I learned with this project it’s best to focus on the book.
• Transforming Expectations*. A sequel to Transforming Collections, this project was also late and taught me to better outline and focus before starting to write a new book.

• Each Sold Separately* and Action Figures Not Included* are technically two different books, but since I truly believe they should be read together they feel like two parts of a whole. I am immeasurably proud of these two and will definitely create a similar book in the future.

At the moment I have another book project on Kickstarter — Universe Expanded — and I’m applying the lessons learned while creating the four books listed above to this latest book project. A few specific lessons I’ve taken from the previous books that will make this new book better include:

• Release the PDF to the web for free. If the Universe Expanded project succeeds then the PDF will be free for anyone to download. As a reference work the book is far more useful to the future if it is legally available in electronic format to everyone.
• Tighter project focus. By sticking to one specific Kenner Star Wars subline — the 1998 Expanded Universe toys — it’s a finite subject and less likely to lose its way.
• More proofreaders. It’s not that the previous books are wrong — in fact, I’m proud of how few errors there are across all four titles — but a typo on the cover of one added $300 to the printing costs and being able to hire a proofreader will mean that I’m less likely to repeat that mistake again.
• Bundle the companion project with the book’s Kickstarter project. I ran Each Sold Separately* and Action Figures Not Included* as two separate projects. I now believe it would have been better if they had been one.

Keeping all of those points in mind as I work on Universe Expanded should make the new book better. At least, I like to believe that my previous experiences make my current and future projects better. That’s why they were experiences, right?

Why books?

When the Transforming Collections* book was in development, I was asked why I would create a physical book instead of a website. By printing the material, I was told, I was limiting the future value of the material and making it tougher for people to access the information. Yes, but a physical book also:

• Will be here ten, twenty, and thirty years from now. Websites and information on them can be lost — everything I post to battlegrip.com is at risk and could one day be gone forever — but since it is a book I know that Transforming Collections* will be on my shelf waiting for me to enjoy it many years from now.
• As a printed product, projects like Each Sold Separately* and Action Figures Not Included* have a greater legitimacy and higher perceived value than if I had simply posted the content online. Just like any author I wish to be taken seriously; releasing my thoughts on action figure marketing as attractive hardcover books gives my work an air of authority you just don’t get from a blog.
• Greater control over appearance. Webpages — especially with the rise in mobile browsing — are interactive and the look changes based on too many variables. By producing books I know that all of us are seeing the information in the same way; this lets me present my opinions and ideas in a manner I’m happy with. (I wish I had time and funds to transition all of my work with battlegrip.com to books.)
• I love books. I own many books, and just the feel of a quality book in my hands gives me pleasure. High quality paper, hardcover binding, fun design, all of these things are important to me and by publishing books I can combine my love of books with my passion for toys and games. There’s a reason I took my print background experience and leveraged the skills I developed into a career in the game industry: I want to always work on what I love.

More books?

I will absolutely continue creating new books in my free time. I sincerely hope that the Universe Expanded project succeeds, because this is a book I want in my collection. I know that announcing that the PDF will be free if the project succeeds cut down on potential support, but I don’t want to find myself in a situation five years from now where someone just then finding out about the project cannot read the book.

As the web grows more and more accessible we are going to continue to see a decrease in book publishing, but it’s my hope that over the next few years I’ll have convinced many of you that works like these should be available in a printed form.

I use digital devices to read constantly while on trips, but there will never be a replacement for the printed book. Between us we can continue to give you fans great books to enjoy as physical objects, and as long as you guys keep encouraging and supporting my work I will continue to produce new books.

Thank you for all of your kind words and for supporting my books and battlegrip.com. I hope you’ll join me to make Universe Expanded a reality, and I hope you’ll keep checking back with battlegrip.com to see what’s next.