What Book Would You Like To See Written?

You propose the motion, I’ll second it. 😀

Something really ought to be done about politicians.
Can we make them illegal, or perhaps a cull.

Quite right DH,it was largely BEA’s fault,although DH were themselves partly to blame in not arguing strongly enough for sticking with the original ‘Big-Trident’ and simply bowing to the whim of BEA.
You mention that the original Trident would’ve been about the size of a 727-no coincidence there!Having opted for the small version of Trident,DH were then asked by our government to hand over all thier research data to Boeing as a gesture of goodwill,the idea being that the Americans would tell us all they knew-unfortunately we already knew more than they did,so didn’t get anything in return!Boeing were at the time developing the 727,and a large proportion of DH’s work was incorporated into it.So,we opted for an aircraft that was always going to be too small and gave all our research data to our nearest competitor-nice move Mr.Sandys!:mad:

Ant, I don’t know where you were apportioning blame for the Trident but it was entirely the fault of BEA.
The original DH design was basically the same size as the 727 became, to be powered by new RR Medway engines.

BEA said it’s too big for us, make it smaller. Unfortunately, DH did.

Can’t remember the exact production figures. I think it’s something like 135 v 2000.

Thanks for your suggestions chaps,some very interesting ideas. I hadn’t really thought about civvy stuff,I think perhaps if I did it would have to be about the HS Trident-what a monumental c*ck up of a development programme!The Trident was one seriously wasted oppertunity…:rolleyes:
As for chatting to veterans,that’s another good idea.My dad was in hospital for a relatively minor op a few years back,and he had a chap across the ward from him who flew as a Nav on Wellingtons and Lancs (two tours) and then went to RAF Oulton in Norfolk where he became the assistant lead Nav on 223Sqn, a special ‘Spoofing’ unit operating as part of 100Group in 1944-45. Sadly,I only managed to chat to him the once and I didn’t record any of what he said,something which I’ve regretted since.
Possibly the most striking thing was that he survived a mid-air collision with another Wellington on a mission to Bremen in 1941.Much of the belly of the bomber was ripped out,and the crew did a remarkable job in bringing the machine back to Binbrook. AVM Harris made a special detour to Binbrook just to meet the crew and marvel at the damage while he was on his way through the area the next day.The other machine involved failed to return.
It’s remarkable to think of the frail old man in his bed as being the same man who navigated 6 men and a stricken machine back across the North Sea in pitch blackness with no navaids or instruments working properly.You never know what that non-descript old chap shuffling past you in the street has done for you.

Hi Ant,

Do you have any relatives that were in the forces during the war or any other conflict. Still living preferably.

Then write a book with them. People tell the most interesting stories especially the ones still alive.

Failing that find the nearest old boys pub go into it and find any of the old guys who are willing to talk to you and make it a collection of short stories. You never know you might get some inspiration for your very own fictional book.

I would like a book on BOAC wartime flights. Mossies to Sweden, Boeing 314’s to the states, Lodestars to Malta etc. It would also be nice to see a history of Imperial Airways. Have a book on BEA published about 10 years ago and it was excellent. Don’t forget us civil buffs.
Although my ultimate would be a reprint/update of AJ Jacksons ‘British Civil Aircraft since 1919’. If you are into British civil aircraft get a copy, its a must!!

Some good points there folks.

Ross is right, but there is also a 3rd way – I’m the Business Advisor for a publisher of aviation books (http://www.mmpbooks.biz) and we publish what our authors offer, and what seems to be likely to sell. Our bestsellers have included unlikely titles such as ‘Japanese Submarine Aircraft’ and ‘The Gloster Gladiator’ – the latter I’m really proud of, as we’ve had reviews calling it the best Glad book ever etc, and the author, Alex Crawford did a storming job (I proofread it – a tough job and I have to admit INTRODUCING an error – doh. Alex still talks to me though!). The difference is we are a not for profit publisher – we volunteer our time, and don’t get paid, the author dosn’t get paid (sorry folks), BUT books that otherwise wouldn’t see the light of day do get published. We aren’t a vanity press, because our books sell worldwide, and very sucessfully – who knows, one day we might start making some money (and the authors will get first dibbs)…

Ant – often the person who knows they aren’t the final expert are better at explaining it than the ‘so-called’ expert who’s actually not!

I’d loe a book on Sea Furies and a biog of Mr Hannah would be tops – but I can’t see him saying ‘yes’ to that one. Pilot mag did an interview years ago – I think by Mike Jerram – excellent.

If you want to know about the UK book trade by ‘The Writer’s & Artist’s Yearbook’ published by A&C Black, or have a look at the reference copy in your local library. It’s the definitive guide to the trade and how it works. I should add that I’ve over a decade in bookselling, currently volunteer for the publisher, and write and publish myself. It’s great fun, but don’t expect to get rich. If anyone has any other Q’s I’d be happy to try and advise, here or PM.

Cheers

Military aviation tends to dominate – what about a comprehensive history of UK airlines?
I’ve got the excellent ‘British Independent Airlines 1946-1976’ by A.C. Merton Jones (just buy it!) but that is only a small part of the story.

Most publishers want a book that appeal to a wide audience and that also stands for the specalist houses.

By all means cover a subject that has not been dealt with before but unless it ticks several interest boxes then it will not be considered for release however well it is written. Single unit histories or individual biography usually falls into this category and self publishing needs to be considered.

To put things into perspective the current Volume of Coastal Command Losses has a print run of less that 4,000 as this is the expected number of worldwide sales by the mainstream publisher using all his marketing skills and tools.

An individual unit history could expect to sell much fewer units (I remember Don Caldwell saying that his two volume history for JG26 sold under 3,000 units).

Return on investment on a factual history is also very low as author royalty is 10 to 15% of RRP.

Cold facts are publishers decide on the audience and select books to suit. To become published authors need to tailor their book to meet the publishers target.

Alternative is to self publish but expect to break even at best on research costs.

Regards
Ross

Ant-

Interest is key….my father has been hounding me for years to write for AP or UPI or Reuters or something, but I tell him that the motivation would’nt be there because I have NO interest in writing about what THEY want me to write about…the two articles that I HAVE had published were both about warbirds (one for Air Action, one for Classic Wings Downunder) and I was SERIOUSLY motivated to write both, just because it was something I really wanted to do….I can’t say MONEY was a motivating factor because I knew I was’nt gonna be paid for one article and I have YET to see a dime for the other…..

Have you seen the recent book ‘Chino’? I forget who it’s by, but I had a chance to peruse it, and it’s just an evolutionary history of one of the great warbird meccas, a ‘how it came to be’ story focusing on the whos and the whats of that great little airfield….maybe Duxford could use a similar chronology? Start with the wartime years as the base for the Spitfires giving way to the Jugs and ‘Stangs of the 78th FG, then go through the after-war years and show how the build up and interest in the warbird movement came to be and where it is now….this would allow you to cover a broad spectrum of subjects along the way (maybe you could put in a few ‘asides’, pages devoted to special aircraft like MH434 and special people like Mark Hanna or Stephen Grey)…special subjects that have REALLY left their mark on historic aviation….that is, if there isn’t already one like it out there…

Just my 2 cents worth…

Mark

Thanks for your feedback folks,this is just the kind of input I need.
With regards to writing about what I’m interested in,I realise it would be tricky to write about something I wasn’t interested in, but thankfuly I have a pretty broad interest,so for example I’m just as interested in Thunderbolts over Burma as I would be in Spitfires in the BofB.
As for factual vs fiction,I take your point Ian,it would most likely be easier to do something factual and avoid the need for a storyline,although I have the feeling that coming up with my own storyline would all be part of the ‘fun’.A glutton for punishment is me…
Something which I meant to say in my initial post is that I’m not too hot on the technical side of things,so writing something like ‘A History of Retractable Undercarriages’ or something like that would probably be a bit out of my depth.I have some of the theory,but not a great deal,and I have almost no practical experience of these things ( I often get out of my depth reading the technical bits of Aeroplane’s Database sections,for example).For the same reason,I would have my reservations about undertaking an in-depth type history of a particular aircraft,so my feeling is that I should go for something like a history of a particular organisation,squadron or series of events or perhaps a novel of some kind.
Kepp your thoughts coming,any input would be much appreciated. 🙂

Someone was asking me to try and contact a certain Mr Hanna about a biography on him…

A little ashamed to admit, but I haven’t contacted him about it yet – I think I should!!!

Having written a couple of small books myself, I would suggest that whatever you do write about has to be something that interests you. If not, it can be difficult to motivate yourself to sit and write. There’s no point in choosing the air war in the Far East if you’re only interested in the European theatre, for example.

My own preference would be for you to write something ‘different’. I always like to see new subjects covered which haven’t already been touched on. There’s little need for another non-fiction book on the Battle of Britain, for example, unless you do manage to find a fresh approach. :rolleyes:

From a personal point of view, I find non-fiction easier to write. Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, you still have to do the historical research to get your details correct, and the non-fiction at least cuts out the having to invent a storyline part!

Whatever you do choose to write, I look forward to reading it in due course.

I have always been very curious to know how the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Far East AF did against Japanese aircraft….I have heard mixed results, that the Spittys and Hurris were no match for the Zero and such, and then I’ve heard the reverse….I’d love to know the truth….

I’d also pay good money to know more about Gen. George Kenney’s 5th air force and the B-25’s they modified with 75mm cannons, and tons of .50 cal machine guns, skip bombing tactics and techniques, parafrag attacks…some incredible stuff there, and only one or two books on it!

Let me think more about it…I might come up with something else…

Mark