Now that John Hoffman is working for Lost Art Press full-time, we have been able to do things we never had time for before, such as the deluxe edition of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible.”
But even with both of us working at this business full-bore, there are limits to what two guys with laptops (and zero employees) can do. As a result, we’re making subtle changes to the business that you will begin to see in the books in the coming year.
1. Content delivered in a nice package. For John and me, the most important goal for Lost Art Press is to make books that are useful and worth keeping around for the rest of your life. That said, we have zero interest in creating collectible cult objects.
So while we will make deluxe and standard editions of the future Roubo volumes, we do not plan to repeat this exercise again with other titles. We don’t want to make things that will stay in their plastic wrap or hidden in a safe deposit box. We want people to read our books.
In a similar vein, it is unlikely we will produce leather-bound editions of our titles in the future. We will be happy to help you get your book bound in leather by the artisans at Ohio Book, but producing numbered editions is not something that gets me up in the morning.
2. Signatures. During the last year, we have backed away from offering signed copies of our books. Getting 700 books signed can take a day of administration and travel for both John and myself. I’d rather us spend that time editing, writing or building. I am happy to sign books that I’ve written, but we will not be seeking out signatures of outside authors.
3. Preferential treatment for some customers. We have been asked many times to establish lists of people who will automatically receive every book we publish, or to create a class of customers who are allowed to order before the general public. We have resisted this call for many reasons. First, it is a lot of work to maintain these lists. Second, we simply prefer to keep things simple and treat everyone the same way. It’s one of the guiding principles of the business.
4. Printing quality. This is something that will continue to change – for the better. With every title we publish, John and I learn ways to get better quality books for the same amount of money. A lot of this is about careful shopping or using technology to give us an advantage. It also is the result of us not having much overhead. We don’t have a building, employees or many fixed costs beyond bandwidth for our website.
I’m certain that 99 percent of our customers will support these changes – who doesn’t want better books at the same price? In any case, thanks, as always, for supporting us. We know that you are the reason John and I have been able to quit our jobs and do this full-time. And we hope to do this for many years to come.
— Christopher Schwarz
Chris and John, I support everything you said in your 4 point email regarding signatures and special lists.
Best,
Mike O’Brien
Valley Head,AL
No collectable cult objects? So I guess that means no C. Schwarz action figure.
Oooh! Bobblehead!!!!!
As much as I like my deluxe Roubo and various leatherbound editions, I think your decision is a great one. Keep on keeping on…
No complaints from me. Long live LAP.
I was actually hoping that the Studley tool chest book would be available as leather bound, but as long as the content is the same, it is OK.
regarding point 4, I suppose that you still plan on getting the books printed and bound in the USA?
Brgds
Jonas
Jonas,
We print and bind in the United States. Always have. Always will.
Sent from my iPhone Yupi IOU
lostartpress posted: ” Now that John Hoffman is working for Lost Art Press full-time, we have been able to do things we never had time for before, such as the deluxe edition of To Make as Perfectly as Possible. But even with both of us working at this business full-bore, t”
I am quite proud of my collection of lost art press titles…. Including those yet to be published that ( at least in my mind ) I already own.
– just another big fan of your place and product in our little corner of the Internet.
( also, how about the winner of the tool chest weight contest? Did I miss the announcement somehow? )
Also, also did we ever find out who won the “Caption Ye Olde Photo Contest No. 1” from back in May?
No. We didn’t. And we didn’t announce the winner of the Studley chest contest.
I’ll get on that. Thanks for the reminder.
I love that business plan! Stick to your guns.
May the Schwarz be with you!
Yes, I support you Thank you so much for all you do. You have been a big part of my ability to begin learning about woodworking. I like signatures and admit it would have been nice if you could have signed my Roubo book, since he couldn’t make it. And regarding earlier things that you have implied about looking goofy on videos, please don’t listen to yourself on this matter. I find everything about what you are doing on them to be very helpful and instructional. Especially when you do the longer videos. Your early ones were too short. And I love your humor. I even read your books aloud to my wide sometimes. As I an certain you do (yours, not mine).
Lost Art is my favorite book company. I treasure the books. Look forward to new releases, especially the new. Lund book. And I like being able to view them on my phone. Because, believe it or not I’m thinking about woodworking even when I’m at work or driving whoops. So having the books in my pocket are a real blessing.
Thank you
Bill Harris from my iPhone
>
I comnpletely understand what you are trying to achieve. I am one of those who would not buy the “Deluxe” edition as you currently make them, but I would pay extra for books that would withstand the shop environment better. Covers that do not warp with a touch of moisture, plastic “paper” (Encyclopedia Britannica used this, it worked extremely well and they survived two floods. Not the covers though) and above all I would LOVE to have bindings that lay flat.
Keep up the great work. For what it’s worth, the Lost Art Press books are qualitatively far superior to the law books on my shelves. When people think of quality-bound heavy books they often think of a law library. I think of my hobby shelf. My Lost Art Press books are a pleasure to both read and touch.
The content isn’t so bad either. In less than a year I’ve gone from a soft-handed uncoordinated lawyer who never took shop class to a soft-handed uncoordinated lawyer with a few poorly executed yet complete projects under his belt. My gratitude for that lands in no small part at your feet.
Thanks for the good work. Please keep it up.
C
I never thought the case reporter books were well made. That is the type of boo that you are referring to? I can’t imagine why anyone would expect them to be well made.
Yeah, I was a tad dissappointed when I heard the deluxe edition was not to be leatherbound, despite my special request for a goat scroat cover. But then when I unwrapped it, I immediately understood why: even this year’s grand champion billy didn’t have the yarbles to cover this voluminous tome! Keep up the good work, nevermind the naysayers, and we’ll keep supporting you with our patronage.
Wow, that note three me for a second. After the opening, ‘Now that John Hoffman is working for Lost Art Press full-time, we have been able to do things we never had time for before…’, I expected the first two bullet points to be:
1. ‘After reading all that French, build a trebuchet and storm Ft. Knox.’
2. ‘Together, use our Jedi mind tricks to brew a better beer for the shop floor, while building things at the same time.’
3. Then talk about all the nice upcoming news about LAP.
I’ll buy the books regardless. Keep up the good work.
All four points are why you have me hooked. Even when money is tight I make room for one of your volumes.