You can help make Version 3 of The Van Halen Encyclopedia a reality:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1304153277/the-van-halen-encyclopedia

Is he actually serious with the $25,000 funding target? Looking at what he needs the funds for (very vague at best) there is no way he needs that amount. It is extremely excessive.

http://www.vanhalenencyclopedia.com/updates/2012/6/3/van-halen-encyclopedia-print-edition-kickstarter.html
Van Halen Encyclopedia Print Edition Kickstarter
June 3, 2012

I’ve put a project up on Kickstarter for a third print edition of the Van Halen Encyclopedia. Kickstarter is a service where those who support a project can pledge to suport the project in advance. This is a more formal version of how the first edition came about; hundreds of members of the VHML placing advance orders to support the initial printing.

So, if you want to see a new edition of the book, pledge what you can.

The project’s page also features my first attempt at iMovie…worth the price of admission alone for the laughs.

Why not just get a publisher? There has to be a publisher that would want to put this into print….

ffoner:
Why not just get a publisher? There has to be a publisher that would want to put this into print….

One reason is that publishers generally do not like large books from authors unless they have a proven track record. CJ Chilvers suggest the book could be around 350-400 pages. That is quite large for many books today. Also, bookshops prefer smaller books as they can stock more books. Self-publishing for a book like this would likely result in increased profits (if a publisher released such a book the author would likely get 15-20% of the selling price). Indeed, I think he could make a very nice profit on the book. However, I have no idea why he has set the funding target at $25,000.

Ron do you happen to know why Chilvers has set such a high target?

I’m kind of confused on this myself…..I have no problem contributing 50 bucks for this, but 25k? Hopefully, there’s a lot of hardcore VH fans out there to make this happen…..

MCS, fair points, although Chivers can certainly point all over the internet to the book’s popularity, so I do think he could make the case to a publisher that the book would have a market.

If it’s profit we’re talking about his own personal profit though, what’s with the 25k funding? Is a donation to him just so he can profit?

I don’t mean to sound harsh. I know CJ’s a good guy. I’m just a bit puzzled by the 25k funding for a self-published book. Why not just sell it for 4.99 via Kindle? Or use one of the print-to-order vanity presses, which would mean that as someone ordered the paper-version, one would just be printed and sent to them after they paid….

ffoner:
MCS, fair points, although Chivers can certainly point all over the internet to the book’s popularity, so I do think he could make the case to a publisher that the book would have a market.

If it’s profit we’re talking about his own personal profit though, what’s with the 25k funding? Is a donation to him just so he can profit?

I don’t mean to sound harsh. I know CJ’s a good guy. I’m just a bit puzzled by the 25k funding for a self-published book. Why not just sell it for 4.99 via Kindle? Or use one of the print-to-order vanity presses, which would mean that as someone ordered the paper-version, one would just be printed and sent to them after they paid….

As you note, he could sell it on the kindle etc for a reasonably low price and make a very good profit. The 25k figure probably annoys me more than it should, but I would love a third edition. However, unless there are quite a few rich VH fans who are clamoring for a third edition I cannot see how that figure would be reached.

He states “For a book like this, there’s a few big expenses: the materials for a high quality book (cloth hardcover and thick bright paper for easy reading), a design that makes it worth keeping around on your shelf for years to come and the amount of time devoted to incorporating 11 years worth of updates.” He goes on to add “The last hardcover edition came in at around just over 320 pages. This time it might be 350-400. The number of additions to make is gigantic and the interest in the book, for such an undertaking to be successful, needs to be equally gigantic to make it happen.” Printing costs while high, are not that expensive (I have had stuff professional bound as well as having a book published). In addition, there is no other mention where the funding will go. Moreover, the book is being revised and updated. I would suggest that almost all the new research would be done through the Internet. Anyway, good luck to him if he reaches his target and I hope he does as I would love to get a revised and updated edition.

If you guys have questions, there’s a “Ask A Question” link on the KickStarter page. Drop him a line. Remember, CJ is one of us, just another fan, not some two-bit hack over at Rolling Stone. You can also contact him here:
http://cjchilvers.wufoo.com/forms/contact/
or here:
http://www.vanhalenencyclopedia.com/contact/

Thanks for that Ron. I sent him a message asking for a greater explanation on why he needs $25,000 to fund the book.

I heard back from CJ. He basically says he needs the money for printing and shipping, and to basically justify the time it will take to do the project.

The sad thing about KickStarter is that unless he gets $25k or more in donations, he gets $0.00 and all donations revert to the donor. It’s all or nothing. He’s gonna have to get some good traction in order to reach the goal I think.

I would not be surprised if the $25,000 target is putting people off contributing as they have the belief that the figure would not be reached. Raising $25,000 in 30 days is a tough task. I honestly think he would have had better success by making the third edition an e-book. You instantly eliminate printing and shipping costs and even selling something like 1000 copies at $10 each would result in him turning a nice profit. Anyway, time will tell.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/van-halen-encyclopedia-author-plans-new-hardcover-edition/

‘Van Halen Encyclopedia’ Author Plans New Hardcover Edition
by: Matthew Wilkening

The ‘Van Halen Encyclopedia’ is a treasure trove of information on one of hard rock’s most legendary bands. Heaven knows we’ve quoted from it more than a few times. Now, author C.J. Chilvers is seeking to release a new hardcover edition of the book — with your help.

Chilvers has started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the new edition of the book, which may add as many as 30 pages to the already-massive 320 included on the most recent version. A $10 pledge gets you a pdf version of the new book, with $25 earning you a hardcover copy.

As for what motivated him to create a new edition, Chilvers tells us, “It’s really about the amount of secrets that have been sent to me in the last decade. It’s too much to keep to myself. Everyone seemed to love the design and feel of the first edition hardcover, so I wanted to bring back that level of quality. But books are much more expensive to produce now and thousands of people have the 1999 edition, so it’s a matter of determining the level of interest out there.”

All eras of the band, and all solo projects will be featured: “I’ve never played favorites with singers or side projects. I’m a guitar player, so I’ve always gathered information with a bias towards the music, not towards the politics of vocalists. You’ll find exhaustive information on Dave, Sammy, Gary and every side project, no matter how brief.”

That includes, of course, information on the band’s new album, ‘A Different Kind of Truth.’ Chilvers’ main goal seems to be to set the record straight about the band’s history. “What always surprises me is the amount of misinformation that gets out there. Sometimes it’s the band themselves — I’ve found a few mistakes — or maybe mis-remembered stories — from their latest video interviews — that don’t line up with the facts I’ve gathered. But sometimes, it’s just blatant, self-serving stories that contradict eyewitnesses from people who wish history had gone a different way (coughs) Gene Simmons (coughs).”

$25 for a hardcover edition….I’m down with that.