The latest sales figures for my books became available yesterday, and here they are:
This is the first full month of figures since DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME was published, and it is interesting to see that the paperback edition is selling better than the hardback and ePub editions. It is also interesting to see that sales of the original PORTABLE WARGAME book continue to grow, albeit at a slower and steadier pace than earlier in the year.
My total sales are gradually creeping towards a thousand, which is a lot more than I ever hoped I would achieve. Perhaps my next book about the Spanish Civil War will sell just enough to tip my sales over that number ... but it won't unless I get a move on and finish it!
This is the first full month of figures since DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME was published, and it is interesting to see that the paperback edition is selling better than the hardback and ePub editions. It is also interesting to see that sales of the original PORTABLE WARGAME book continue to grow, albeit at a slower and steadier pace than earlier in the year.
My total sales are gradually creeping towards a thousand, which is a lot more than I ever hoped I would achieve. Perhaps my next book about the Spanish Civil War will sell just enough to tip my sales over that number ... but it won't unless I get a move on and finish it!
Well deserved success!
ReplyDeleteRoss Mac,
DeleteThanks for your kind words. It may well be that I've actually sold even more books than first appears, as some of the sales statistics from Amazon and Barnes & Noble seem to be a at least a fortnight or even a month in arrears ... probably along with their payment to Lulu.com!
All the best,
Bob
Well done, Bob!
ReplyDeleteArchduke Piccolo,
DeleteMany thanks. It's nice to have ones efforts appreciated.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteWell done there - very good sales indeed...you will certainly be able to afford those Ocean Voyages with trips abroad with all the trimmings. Great going and all the best for the next Publication. Cheers. KEV.
Kev,
DeleteI wish that I made the sort of money from my sales that would pay for a cruise! The actual profit I make varies from seller to seller, but averages out at about £1.00 per book. The only cruise I can afford is a free trip on the Woolwich Free Ferry across the River Thames!
Work on my next book is well underway, and I hope to get it finished by the end of the month.
All the best,
Bob
Very well done Bob! Those are very respectable sale figures especially for non-fiction. I've been messing around the PW myself actually in the last few days. Has anybody used it for ACW?
ReplyDeleteConrad Kinch,
DeleteThanks very much! I suspect that sales of DPW might have taken off in the light of Arthur Harman's recent review, but this will probably not be apparent until next month's sales figures come through.
During the play-testing I used the PW rules for fighting some ACW scenarios using my BATTLE CRY figures and terrain boards. They seemed to work fine.
I look forward to reading more about your recent 'messing around' with PW.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob, I was wondering if you could give me some idea of how to research my dads military service history. He served in the Pacific from 42 to 46. As many have commented he wouldn't talk much about his experiences, just a little info once in awhile. He passed away a few years ago and I really regret not getting him to sit down and record his history. We had at one time a hard copy album from his division which was disbanded after the war.We had other things but they went missing during a move. I stumbled upon the Crusader project and I find it fascinating. You seem rather busy and this may not be the forum to ask you this but I don't really no where to start.Thanks in advance and I understand if I'm way off base here. Regards Steve
ReplyDeleteColtcubb (Steve),
DeleteI can make a few suggestions that will hopefully point you in the right direction.
Firstly try to get hold of a copy of your father's service record. The MOD will provide this (for a cost of £30.00 I think) as long as you are the eldest surviving child and you can supply a copy of his death certificate.
Secondly there is an online 'pay to use' database called Forces War Records that may have something, but you have to pay to find out. They sometimes have 'free' weekends (usually near an important date like 11th November) when you can look for nothing.
Thirdly take a look at the National Archives online catalogue. That might contain documents such as his unit's War Diary, although that might be held at the IWM.
During my search I found out about my father being court-martialled for the loss of his rifle. It was stolen by Burmese bandits, even though he had chained it to his bed. Luckily he had removed the bolt and taken it with him. He was found guilty, demoted, and restored to his former rank all in the space of ten minutes when the presiding officer discovered that my father had prepared all the documentation for his own prosecution!
Good luck with your search, and I hope that my suggestions help.
All the best,
Bob
Thankyou so much for responding to my post. I can tell from your response that I should have mentioned that he served in the US army, he was a medic I was surprised to hear your father served in Burma that was a nasty bit of warfighting. Very interesting story about your dad,what more should he have done to prevent the pilfering of his weapon. Was his unit captured or did they manage to fight through the to the end of the war. When you say mod I assume that's ministry of defense so I guess I would start with the dod, department of defense. While I consider myself more informed about the war then most I'm far from an authority. What is IWM and is there a similar US resource
ReplyDeleteThankyou Steve
Coltcubb (Steve),
DeleteMy knowledge of US military records is rather limited, but I suspect that you can acces them by contacting the relevant department at the DoD.
My father was a member of 6th Airborne Division. He joined just after Normandy, and took part in the fighting on the northern sector of the Ardennes during the counter-attack. He then took part in Operation Varsity (the airborne element of the crossing of the Rhine) and the race across Germany. He ended up in Wismar on the Baltic ... where he was involved in a confrontation with the Russians, (The Russians learned the hard way that you do not threaten paras with sub machine guns and walk away unmolested afterwards. I understand that six Russians ended up dead.)
Almost as soon as the war in Europe was over they made ready to go out east, but before they went the war ended. By then he was a Staff Sargeant, and he was selected to be a member of the British Training Mission that was sent to train the new Burmese Army, He was posted to the Chin Hills Battalion, which spent a lot of time fighting Communist 'bandits'. He stayed there until 1947, when he was sent to India to help oversee the independence of India and Pakistan ... and to try to stop the communal violence that took place.
Good luck with your search into you father's military career,
Bob
PS. The rifle had to be chained to his bed because the Armoury was locked at 6.00pm ... and my father's duty didn't end until 6.30pm. As he was the senior admin NCO, he had to be court-martialled ... and had to provide all the necessary paperwork for the prosecution and defence.
A Brigadier had to travel halfway across Burma from Rangoon to where the Chin Hills Battalion was based to chair the court. When my father was found guilty, he was demoted from Staff Sergeant to Bombardier (Corporal) ... and it was then realised that he could no longer perform his former duties because the job could only be performed by a Staff Sergeant. When the Brigadier commented on the excellence of the paperwork presented to the court, he was told that my father had prepared it. At that point he ordered my father's reinstatement to his former rank.
Some time later the Brigadier had my father posted to Rangoon, where he was promoted and became the Brigadier's chief clerk. It was whilst he was there that he helped to rescue the family of the assassinated Burmese Prine Minister.