Hi Chris,
It was fun meeting you, too. I spoke with the Voyageur publisher and he was definitely interested in seeing a proposal. I looked up some numbers for the Fretboard Logic books, and they are phenomenal. They've sold an unbelievable number of books just through the traditional book channels, and I bet the bulk of their sales are through music stores, Guitar Centers, and direct retail, which are outlets our services don't track. I think we should work up a proposal. Why don't you work up the following:
A short (2-3 paragraph) synopsis of the book as you see it
An outline of the book as you see it
A list of reasons why this book will be better than the other books already on the market
Any marketing ideas you might have
A short (one paragraph) bio of yourself (include any information that addresses your qualification to write such a book)
A list of photographs and illustrations (charts, diagrams, drawings) that the book would need, and a plan for obtaining that
If you are also a photographer, that would be perfect.
That is enough for me to get a proposal started.
I can just about predict what I'll be able to offer, based on P&L (profit-and-loss) analysis I've done for similar books:
$6,000 advance
10 percent royalty
While I was poking around looking up numbers I checked out Guitar Center's clearance page. They are selling brand-new Bullet Strats like the one in the publisher's office for $42.00. Isn't that a bit less than 30 pounds? Hell, I paid more than that for my electronic metrenome.
The best way to contact me is either via cell phone or my gmail account (which I can access on my phone):
darwin.holmstrom@gmail.com.
I hope this works out. It could be an extremely fun project.
DH
