J'ACCUSE (Foreword)
Fool that I am, several years ago, I decided to write a football book. As an unknown writer, I predictably found difficulty in attracting any of the mainstream publishers who will not entertain any would-be authors unless they have a cookery programme on Channel Four. Consequently, I found myself traversing the route of vanity (or self-subsidy) publishing. I thus found myself having to invest quite a large sum into my book. I then wrote another football book and again I chose a more 'competitively priced' so-called vanity publisher.
When a third project of mine again failed to attract the attention of the bandwagon-jumping major publishers, I then made the decision to bypass publishers and do it all myself. I formed my own publishing company which if nothing else allowed me to be in complete control of my product. However, self-publishing has proved to be as bitter an experience as making use of the vanity publishers was. For a start, when one opts to self-publish, one is compelled to pay for a minimum of ten ISBN numbers, even if one only wishes to publish one title. Anyhow, let me bore you with the following hard luck story.
When one produces a new book, one knows that its only major opportunity of achieving substantial sales is if it is accepted for stock by one of the two major British book wholesalers, Gardners Books, or its poor cousin, Bertrams Books. I have sent several titles to these wholesalers, all without success. The result of their rejection is that book retailers such as Border Books and WH Smith will almost certainly not order copies for their stores if the items are not held in stock by the major wholesalers. One's chances of accumulating sales are thus at the mercy of a handful of individuals, namely Alan Street and Gail Harbour of Gardners. To what extent they scrutinise the sales potential of the titles is questionable, especially when they issue the same, standard customised letter with their rejection of the new titles.
Waterstones at least to their credit will study the new title, irrespective of the decision of the wholesalers, though I guess that Waterstones rarely stock books that are not also held in stock by the wholesalers. Waterstones can also be commended in that they do make public the email addresses of all their stores and new authors are given a fair hearing and able to place their books in various shops, unlike WH Smiths and Border Books whose shops appear to hide behind invisible email addresses.
What is so important then about having one's title held in stock by the wholesalers? The scenario is that many shops are more inclined to order perhaps half a dozen copies of one's book on a sale or return basis from the wholesalers with the result that one's publication will be considerably more conspicuous on the shop shelves and able to attract attention. When the books are not held in stock, they are designated as 'special orders' which means that all shops are forced to order copies as a firm sale and are clearly much more reluctant to invest in many copies which are not available on a sale or return basis. The problem is that stores like Waterstones will order a small handful of copies and it becomes more difficult to attract the attention of the bookshop browser if one has two books with only the spine showing on the shop shelf. If one's books are ordered in greater quantity, the chances are that one will be placed in a face-up position which renders it more eye-catching. The likes of Waterstones will state that they don't shift copies of my books as quickly as some other books, but how many of my books have been displayed in a prominent position in the shop? My titles are always liable to struggle when they are competing on a non-level playing field.
What is even more frustrating is that when one receives sales via the Nielsen BookData site, the source of the orders is not disclosed by the two main wholesalers. How on earth is a new publisher supposed to monitor the progress of their marketing attempts when one is forbidden from discovering who has actually ordered the books that are being delivered to the wholesalers. I have sent Gardners emails about my concerns. They have been less than helpful. They confirm my worst suspicions that the new publisher has little or no opportunity of thriving in a celebrity-driven book trade. I mean, one can hardly move in a book shop without knocking over a celebrity kiss and tell piece of trash. Book retailers appear to pander to the lowest common denominator by stocking a plethora of unimaginative celebrity books. What chance has the new publisher or writer of competing in a market where there is saturated coverage of books by famous non-writers, many of whose best-selling titles are in fact ghost written. It is my humble opinion that if Charles Dickens or William Shakespeare were starting out on the road to literary acclaim today, their chances of success would be thwarted by any absence from Big Brother or any of the other reality tv bullshit. The British bookbuying public are being nourished on a diet of junk food celebrity books when the cutting edge and thought-provoking works of some new authors are being elbowed aside.
Then of course there is the equally frustrating avenue of attempting to attract the attention of the media, whose patronage or lack of it can be instrumental in determining the sales potential of one's new title. I have submitted many books to various radio stations and other media outlets. I take the view that if the book is not reviewed, it should be returned. Review copies should only be free if they actually are reviewed. Depressingly, not all in the media have the integrity to agree, even if one has submitted a stamped addressed envelope for the book's return, if it is not worthy of review. Again, the lack of celebrity status or one's failure to be seen in the right restaurants and winebars usually condemns one to a failure to obtain many reviews. Disc jockeys love nothing more than a yarn with a well-known person in an attempt at networking with them and moving in entertainment circles. They are less favourably disposed towards a clever nonentity. It is indeed a remarkable achievement that almost 100 Waterstones shops have stocked my titles when they have been operating in a virtual vacuum of publicity. I could employ a publicist, but paying someone £1000 to achieve maybe 200 extra sales is scarcely a worthwhile investment.
My advice to any would-be author or new publisher is have a re-think before you embark on the literary world. Your chances of success or fulfilment lie somewhere between nil and zero. In the meantime, for all the individuals and parties who may choose to take umbrage at this preface, then to quote, the Duke of Wellington, "sue and be damned."
Lots of love
Tony Wagtar, talented loser


The book is a statistical history of the Ashes conflicts from the 1946 tour to Australia through to the 2005 series, though there is also a page dedicated to the 2006-7 whitewash, as well as pages on non-Ashes test matches; and the County Championship and Sheffield Shield winners from 1945-2005. The book ends with a fascinating piece on the importance or otherwise of winning the toss in Ashes test matches.

However the bulk of the book concerns itself with the 160+ test matches and merely records all the scorecards. No such volume contains all Ashes scorecards in chronological order in such an accessible way. Whilst the fielders change ends between overs and during other momentary pauses in play, this reference book is ideal for leafing through. Although it is 90% facts and figures, there are brief comments which accompany each test match. Interesting facts include the following:
- Don Bradman's last-ever innings in test cricket in 1948
- Graham Gooch's baptism of fire in 1975
- The test in 1989 when Australia batted all day without conceding a wicket
- The peculiar batting partnership of Botham and Tavare at Old Trafford in 1981
- The test in 1981 when Australia slid from 56-1 to 75-8
- The 'sixties test when debutant Tom Cartwright had to bowl 77 overs
- The finely balanced test in 1975 that was ended by a vandalised pitch
- The 'fifties test when Australia were reduced to 32 for 7
- The Melbourne nail-biters of 1974 and 1982
- The Edgbaston and Old Trafford nail-biters of 2005

Users of bookrix.com are entitled to buy a copy for £8 (postage included) by sending a cheque to: Parkbench Publications, PO Box 1081, Belfast, BT1 9EP. The book normally retails at £9.99.
Otherwise, please order or purchase copies via Waterstones as they are most favourable to new authors.

Impressum

Texte: This book was published in May 2009 and thus all legal copyright rules and restrictions are to be observed.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.07.2009

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