[FM Discuss] books and fm - need your thoughts!

[Elisa]

Adam,

Big question.

I'll try to reply with a good enought english.

> adam hyde wrote:
> > hi,
> >
> > I just wanted to pitch-in with a few questions about how people would
> > like to manage books in FM. This is a pretty important moment for FM as
> > we are really about to enter into a very interesting new phase - book
> > publishing. Its especially interesting as I don't see anyone on the map
> > able to go direct from 'wiki' (FM is at its heart a wiki) to polished
> > books as easily as we can. So...discussion on this is really important
> > for the shaping of what we are doing as we are cutting new ground and
> > there are no established models that we can follow.
> >
> > So please chime in with your thoughts, small, big or otherwise!
> >
> > A short update first...It seems like the automated PDF generator
> > (Objavi) is working nicely. Brianna made a Wikimedia Commons manual in
> > FM and then uploaded this to lulu.com and its looking lovely. Its the
> > first book made using Objavi and I got the thumbs up from FMs designer
> > (Lotte) so it passed the FM good-design certification process :)

Good!

> >
> > There is just one undocumented feature (ah, yes, Joshua we might even
> > call this one a bug ;) to sort out with the generator and how it manages
> > embedded fonts, but when this is done then I think we have a pretty
> > astonishing mechanism in place for producing books straight out of FM.

Maybe a newbie question : in wysiwyg, we put easily wrong code html. Do we 
need make a correction before publish and print the manual ? Or it's 
absolutely not important and forget this task ?


> >
> > The question that needs to be addressed now is how are books to be
> > managed.
> >
> > The first thing to remember is that all the sources in FM are GPL so
> > anyone can make a book out of FM and do what they like with it. The
> > first question to answer then is what exactly is a FM book? Is it
> > something made in FM and sold in FM, or is it something broader? I can,
> > for example, imagine several scenarios, none of which are exclusive (nor
> > is it an exhaustive list of possibilities) but we may wish to prefer
> > some approaches more than others.
> >
> > So... here are three of the main possibilities I have thought of, please
> > critique and throw in other possibilities...
> >
> > *FM Book Shop*
> > This is the most traditional model. FM produces a series of books and
> > sells them online or possibly strikes up distribution deals with book
> > shops. This would be managed 'by FM' (in this case me really unless
> > someone puts their hand-up as we don't have anyone else working fulltime
> > for FM). Profits (if any) are managed by FM (me again unless someone
> > else wishes to take charge of book sales).

Actually book are more current than pdf (and ebook are not current too). So i 
think FM can't forget this part. FM have to be a printer editor too. But 
who ?
Do you want take care of a FMshop book ?

> >
> > *Maintainer Seller*
> > What books are made and sold are determined by the Maintainer(s) of each
> > manual. How they are sold is also determined by the same person(s).
> > Profits (if any) are managed by the Maintainers.

I think it possible if the maintainer want!!! All maintener want to take care 
of this ? This task can afraid people to become maintener. 
This model it's not commun, but its interresting. In the other way, If the 
maintener want to win profits, he will work hard (writing, cheking, managing) 
=> better quality of the document.
Furthemore, the maintaner know better than other the price of "his" manual, 
the quality and the print needed (better than the manager - maybe-)

We can open a poll : "Hey, maintaner are you ready to do that ? Have you any 
interest in doing that ?"

I am a maintaner in the french manual about Inkscape : and here is my answer : 
Oh yes! But why it's me who get the money ? Other author have write. Which 
status to the money (if profit). How i can give them back to the other 
author ? 

Do author participate in writting if the profit go to another people ?

It's little complicate. 

But i agree in testing. This model is more human. But it's necesary to creat a 
real community (to know better each other).

> > *Independent Seller*
> > Possibly the least traditional - we endorse _anyone_ to make and sell
> > the books. In this case we provide the sources for the book and if
> > someone wants to sell the books using any method and at any price then
> > we say go for it. Profits (if any) go directly to the seller.

What is provide the sources for the book ? FM already do that, no ?
I'm not to do the work of other. But i'm not against creat some links 
with "big" free editor who have creat link with traditional bookshop, (to 
make the manual publicity, even and some events) (i'm thinking on 2 or 3 name 
in france for example). 

-----------
Now, what i imagine :
- for every fnished manual 4 buttons : (1) buy the pdf (for support), (2) buy 
the book (for any use, we have to think at a pocket format too), (3) read on 
line, (4) donation to support FM goal.
- a dedicated page "FM bookshop".
- To help some print project or any project we can make a call for community 
(like LGM done)
- The person who print the book have to know what he do. It's not a 
automatically print of all manuals.

Hope it help.
Elisa
> >
> >
> >
> > There are questions associated with each model. I have some thoughts on
> > these already but I would rather not shape the discussion with questions
> > about each here.
> >
> > ok... _your_thoughts please!
> >
> > :)
> >
> > adam
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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-- 
Elisa