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  Dec. 12, 2011 5:08 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  Oh esteemed writers and editors...

  I was cleaning up the office and realized I have literally hundreds of car mags, and a large portion of them are GRM. I like my GRM's, I really do, but this idea hit me:

  GRM books.

  For example, GRM Projects. Fill it with all of the articles for a few different project cars. Say Volume 1 can have the Ro-Spit, LeGrand, Bezerkely, and whatever. You can make a new volume every year or so until it's time to wait again to let the volume build back up?

  The second book series should be the GRM Buyer's Guides, hands down. Slap 10 of those bad boys in a book and I'll give you money for the whole collection!

  This way I can continue to support my favorite magazine empire (by subscribing, passing along old issues to buddies/neighbors/paddock walkers at the AX, etc), free up storage space at el casa (by having 3-4 books instead of ~60 mags...), and still have access to the articles that I save my GRM's for.

  So, any chance of it happening?

  Thanks!

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  Dec. 12, 2011 5:10 p.m. imirk Reader

  BRILLIANT!

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  Dec. 13, 2011 9:10 a.m. Marjorie Suddard General Manager

  We've talked about it for a long, long time, but the realities of publishing and distributing bound books are pretty grim. We do have some major new developments in the works for next year, though. Think digital...

  Margie

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  Dec. 13, 2011 9:28 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

  Marjorie Suddard wrote:

  We've talked about it for a long, long time, but the realities of publishing and distributing bound books are pretty grim. We do have some major new developments in the works for next year, though. Think digital...

  Margie

  
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  Dec. 13, 2011 9:34 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

  in other book related news, there are a ton of "Learn me car book..." threads out there...is there a place somewhere in GRM Online-ville where a list can be compiled? Maybe for each issue, people can submit their favorite books. The powers that be can choose from those submissions and allow the readership (forumgoers) to vote on their fave, and then in each issue, the book with the most votes gets a paragraph in a sidebar somewhere? A list then could be compiled and voilla...a required reading list is born, rather than have thirteenty six lists out there...just thinking out loud...

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  Dec. 13, 2011 9:38 a.m. Tom Heath Web Manager

  Why make it all that complicated? Why not just start a thread saying "read these cool books" and if the community likes the idea, the thread will be hotlink-long before you know it.

  Adding all the voting functionality and magazine integration (realize how far apart the digital world and magazine timelines are) makes ideas like this 1000% harder to do.

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  Dec. 13, 2011 9:48 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

  understood, and please understand I dont doubt for a minute that the workload to create the awesome product you all do is massive....I guess its just that there are already a bazillion threads...well, hold on I may spend my lunch on a project...stay tuned for updates...

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  Dec. 13, 2011 12:12 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  Marjorie Suddard wrote:

  We've talked about it for a long, long time, but the realities of publishing and distributing bound books are pretty grim. We do have some major new developments in the works for next year, though. Think digital...

  Margie

  Then make it a 1-issue magazine like Hot Rod does with the photo archives and what-not.

  Digital may be the cool hip new thing, but I'm still not taking my laptop into the garage... or the bathroom.

  Please reconsider...

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  Dec. 13, 2011 12:23 p.m. Tom Heath Web Manager

  Javelin wrote:

  Marjorie Suddard wrote:

  We've talked about it for a long, long time, but the realities of publishing and distributing bound books are pretty grim. We do have some major new developments in the works for next year, though. Think digital...

  Margie

  Then make it a 1-issue magazine like Hot Rod does with the photo archives and what-not.

  Digital may be the cool hip new thing, but I'm still not taking my laptop into the garage... or the bathroom.

  Please reconsider...

  Digital isn't the next cool thing...it's the next THING. The USPS has practically guaranteed it.

  That's not to say the print magazine ever will go away, but we have to look at how we can best deliver content. With full color, web enabled readers at $200 and dropping, we'd be foolish not to find a way to offer the magazine to people who like to read that way.

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  Dec. 13, 2011 12:41 p.m. Marjorie Suddard General Manager

  Yup, the answer is both print and digital offerings. I look at it this way: Some people like chocolate, some like vanilla. That's why there isn't a "vanilla only and you chocolate people are all wrong" ice cream store.

  Though I, personally, would shop there.

  Margie

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  Dec. 13, 2011 1:04 p.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

  Javelin wrote:

  Marjorie Suddard wrote:

  We've talked about it for a long, long time, but the realities of publishing and distributing bound books are pretty grim. We do have some major new developments in the works for next year, though. Think digital...

  Margie

  Then make it a 1-issue magazine like Hot Rod does with the photo archives and what-not.

  Digital may be the cool hip new thing, but I'm still not taking my laptop into the garage... or the bathroom.

  Please reconsider...

  Something tells me we are only a few years away from a rugged touch screen all in one digital interface device...think "iPad developed by Klingons instead of Stevie-boy"...It will fit into your life like your cell phone does now...you dont go anywhere without it (well most of us). 20 years ago, when cell phones were the bastard offspring of Pagers, people didnt carry them because they were bulky and inconvenient...now they can give your beard a trim and make you waffles. Digital tablets will soon replace them, and be tough enough to take under the car when you need a how to for replacing the ball joints in your hovercar.

  Thats my best guess anyway

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  Dec. 13, 2011 1:07 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  Tom Heath wrote:

  Javelin wrote:

  Marjorie Suddard wrote:

  We've talked about it for a long, long time, but the realities of publishing and distributing bound books are pretty grim. We do have some major new developments in the works for next year, though. Think digital...

  Margie

  Then make it a 1-issue magazine like Hot Rod does with the photo archives and what-not.

  Digital may be the cool hip new thing, but I'm still not taking my laptop into the garage... or the bathroom.

  Please reconsider...

  Digital isn't the next cool thing...it's the next THING. The USPS has practically guaranteed it.

  That's not to say the print magazine ever will go away, but we have to look at how we can best deliver content. With full color, web enabled readers at $200 and dropping, we'd be foolish not to find a way to offer the magazine to people who like to read that way.

  8-track, VHS, and DVD were all the next "thing", too.

  Print is immortal.

  I have to stare at PC screens and smartphones all damn day at work. When I get home, I want to sit on the back porch with a cold beer and a physical magazine / book.

  But regardless of all that, I'm talking about a reference book. I know I can get onto GRM or gizoogle all day long and "ind" this stuff, that's not what I want. I don't have my repair guides digitally, my setup notes digitally, etc, etc. I want a reference book full of buyer's guides so in 4 months when I suddenly decide I have to have an S2000 I can go crack open the book real quick and re-learn it without resorting to a "learn me" thread.

  You know, just for an example, a guy wrote a book on the early years of Trans Am (66-72). They printed a book and have a website. The site has something like 80% + the content the book does, yet the book sells for over $125 second-hand. I have the site bookmarked. I check it once a month or so. I have saved eBay and Amazon searches scouring daily for the book. They're talking about printing a 2nd, revised edition. Mostly because they think they can sell it out (10,000+ copies) before it even hits it's release date.

  Just think about it...

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  Dec. 13, 2011 1:10 p.m. Marjorie Suddard General Manager

  Agree with many of your points. To reiterate, we're thinking the obvious answer right now is "both."

  Margie

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  Dec. 13, 2011 1:12 p.m. Javelin SuperDork

  Both would be most excellent.

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  Dec. 20, 2011 5:05 p.m. Tim Baxter SuperDork

  Not GRM-specific, since I have no idea what the GRM workflow is like these days, but in general, the answer most publishers are belatedly discovering is that all content SHOULD be going into a database right from the top. From there it's relatively easy to query and output for whatever format you need: print, web, app, whatever. The content itself is media-agnostic, and then the media determines how it should be output.

  Unfortunately, almost nobody does it that way. So you end up trying to repurpose content from one medium to another. Which is a real bitch, and the seams usually show.

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