A Tokai Book
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Max The Dog
- Guitar God
- Posts: 609
- Joined: Sat May 12, 2007 10:30 am
- Location: DEVON-UNITED KINGDOM
Folks, sorry it has been so long since I have been in touch. I will explain. First, the good news, the book is ready to print! The bad news is I have hit a snag. You may know stratman232 (Mike) was recently banned from the forum and his reaction was to email a number of us to tell us where we could keep in touch with him however he also mailed me directly saying that he felt he had to withdraw from the book as it was inextricably linked to the Tokai forum. He also mentioned that he always wanted to do his own Tokai book with his own guitars.
I wrote back a number of times to Mike arguing that the book was about the guitars and people and about the commitment that he had made and the work I had done on all of his pages. I got no reply for a number of weeks then he responded after finding my mails in his junkmail. Mike was still adamant that the book was about the forum. I made one last attempt to bring him round by offering to change the book title to Tokai Owners Guitar Collection. Mike responded 2 days ago saying that his step Dad had died and he was going to be away for a while sorting things out. He said he hadn't read my mail but felt he wouldnt change his mind.
So there you have it, we are where we are. I feel pissed off but Mikes situation obviously puts it all into context. I want to push ahead for all the other contributors so the bottom line is I have to remove 11 of the 32 guitars featured in the book. Some of Mikes guitars were unique e.g. the red metallic sparkle sunburst. I think his is the only natural finish and he has 2 of the 2 Silverstars on there. As I see it the options are:
1. Delete the pages with Mikes guitars and publish as is. This may make the book cheaper but not as comprehensive. This would also be a quick option for those who have waited so patiently. What I can do is edit the book and upload it to shared view on the Blurb website for you all to help decide.
2. We delete Mikes pages and then fill some up with the few straggles who hadn't got their photos to me by the deadline. I will chase a few people up but give them a deadline of getting their shots to me by the end of January.
3. We delete Mikes pages and try to replace the gaps that that creates. That may take a little longer but I recall a lot of comments saying its better to take longer to make it better.
Anyway, there you have it. I just want to thank you all for your patience and support and look forward to your comments. I think when we get the book sorted it will all have been worth it. Cheers,
Iain
I wrote back a number of times to Mike arguing that the book was about the guitars and people and about the commitment that he had made and the work I had done on all of his pages. I got no reply for a number of weeks then he responded after finding my mails in his junkmail. Mike was still adamant that the book was about the forum. I made one last attempt to bring him round by offering to change the book title to Tokai Owners Guitar Collection. Mike responded 2 days ago saying that his step Dad had died and he was going to be away for a while sorting things out. He said he hadn't read my mail but felt he wouldnt change his mind.
So there you have it, we are where we are. I feel pissed off but Mikes situation obviously puts it all into context. I want to push ahead for all the other contributors so the bottom line is I have to remove 11 of the 32 guitars featured in the book. Some of Mikes guitars were unique e.g. the red metallic sparkle sunburst. I think his is the only natural finish and he has 2 of the 2 Silverstars on there. As I see it the options are:
1. Delete the pages with Mikes guitars and publish as is. This may make the book cheaper but not as comprehensive. This would also be a quick option for those who have waited so patiently. What I can do is edit the book and upload it to shared view on the Blurb website for you all to help decide.
2. We delete Mikes pages and then fill some up with the few straggles who hadn't got their photos to me by the deadline. I will chase a few people up but give them a deadline of getting their shots to me by the end of January.
3. We delete Mikes pages and try to replace the gaps that that creates. That may take a little longer but I recall a lot of comments saying its better to take longer to make it better.
Anyway, there you have it. I just want to thank you all for your patience and support and look forward to your comments. I think when we get the book sorted it will all have been worth it. Cheers,
Iain
That's frustrating news, although I'm sad for Mike's loss. I tend to agree with Iain; in my mind the book was always about the guitars, not the forum but having such a major contributor withdraw is a big loss.
How many (suitable) stragglers do you have? Do you feel that we could build a valid book from those and others we may know about? Maybe those eager contributors would also have other guitars which might fill the gaps (and might also be motivated to provide the images quickly).
(btw, as I only visit occasionally, why was Mike banned?)
Andrew
How many (suitable) stragglers do you have? Do you feel that we could build a valid book from those and others we may know about? Maybe those eager contributors would also have other guitars which might fill the gaps (and might also be motivated to provide the images quickly).
(btw, as I only visit occasionally, why was Mike banned?)
Andrew
I will do a list of what is in and what Mike has taken out and see if we can fill the gaps. I am trying to get every main colour in maple and rosewood with any interesting variants along the way. A few Silverstars at the end needed but I think the Limeted and special editions I have cover the concept.
We have a reasonable mix of springy and goldies left
I really want kobiashis pink with matching headstock but he hasnt got back to me!!
We have a reasonable mix of springy and goldies left
I really want kobiashis pink with matching headstock but he hasnt got back to me!!
OK, here is a preview of the book without Mikes photos. The removal of his pages takes us from 74 pages to 52 so there would be no decrease in price so it is worth getting more pages done to get more value for money, as long as we don't go above 80 pages as that will increase the price by ?5. I am looking at a total price of ?25 delivered in the UK, overseas will incurr more postage cost. By bulk ordering I can get a 10% discount on the book price then I can post recorded delivery in the UK for ?3. (Blurb price is ?3.99) It may be that we bulk order the UK books and the overseas customers can order directly as this means the risk of failed delivery lies with Blurb.
Please do not place any orders now or I will have to delete this link. thanks:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/ ... 2f78fe58ed
Please do not place any orders now or I will have to delete this link. thanks:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/ ... 2f78fe58ed
Hi Iain,
I've just spotted a typo. Towards the end of the book (pp 48-49) there is a black LE which you credit as being mine. Sadly its not. Must be someone elses.
Overall, I think the book looks great as it is. Well done on a great piece of work. It must have taken you ages. It would definitely benefit from some other examples if we can get them but I'd be happy to go with it as it stands if that's the consensus.
Andrew
I've just spotted a typo. Towards the end of the book (pp 48-49) there is a black LE which you credit as being mine. Sadly its not. Must be someone elses.
Overall, I think the book looks great as it is. Well done on a great piece of work. It must have taken you ages. It would definitely benefit from some other examples if we can get them but I'd be happy to go with it as it stands if that's the consensus.
Andrew