Gascher's Collectors Guide v2

Alrighty, I hope you are familiar with the following book

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It contains most schleich made up to the years 2009.

I, your beloved Drunken Knight, am planning to make the second volume.
Six years of schleich might not be much, but I plan to include bayala and the world of knights as well as smurfs, peanuts and DC.

Good idea?

If so, I need a few avid schleich collectors [Wild Life/Farm Life and Bayala/Knights] because I don't own much non horse models. From those people I'll need photo's of each model and in return your photo's will get your name under them and a mention in the source list and the thank you note in the book as well.

I'd like to hear if there is a interest in this potential book and if people want to help me.

I don't mean to burst your bubble as I do think this is a great idea and I would love to see a new book but honestly I don't think it's worth the trouble. Books are really being phased out now, plus collectors are resorting to websites rather than books for information. TAI especially is a great resource. Perhaps it would be a good idea to help contribute to TAI instead of writing a new book? I wouldn't want you to put all the time and hard work of cataloging every single model Schleich produced, as well as money to print the book and hire editors, graphic designers, publishers... you name it. And this is coming from someone who as gone through the trouble of writing her own book and maybe made $10 if that from it. I self-published and did everything myself so I don't have any money invested in it, but for the time I have in the entire process of writing and designing the book isn't worth maybe $10, even if I didn't go into it for the monetary gain but rather the adventure and experience.

Seriously, I don't want this to come across as discouraging or rude but I don't want you to be disappointed in the end

LeeAnn wrote:

I don't mean to burst your bubble as I do think this is a great idea and I would love to see a new book but honestly I don't think it's worth the trouble. Books are really being phased out now, plus collectors are resorting to websites rather than books for information. TAI especially is a great resource. Perhaps it would be a good idea to help contribute to TAI instead of writing a new book? I wouldn't want you to put all the time and hard work of cataloging  every   single   model   Schleich produced, as well as money to print the book and hire editors, graphic designers, publishers... you name it. And this is coming from someone who as gone through the trouble of writing her own book and maybe made $10 if that from it. I self-published and did everything myself so I don't have any money invested in it, but for the time I have in the entire process of writing and designing the book isn't worth maybe $10, even if I didn't go into it for the monetary gain but rather the adventure and experience.

Seriously, I don't want this to come across as discouraging or rude but I don't want you to be disappointed in the end

That's why I first see if people think it is a good idea to do.

Of course! It's just my two cents but it's something to think about

LeeAnn wrote:

Of course! It's just my two cents but it's something to think about

If there is interest, I'll do the work myself, mostly.

I have alredy worn one of Gasher's books to shreds.

To have a book that one can make notes in, - when you got the model, prices on Ebay, notes about variations etc.

But Gwaine, do you have the capital ? A book like Gascher's must have cost a fortune to make

SUSANNE wrote:

I have alredy worn one of Gasher's books to shreds.  

To have a book that one can make notes in, - when you got the model, prices on Ebay, notes about variations etc.

But Gwaine, do you have the capital ? A book like Gascher's must have cost a fortune to make

I have a computer, that is a head start.

I also think this isn't a good idea It is a LOT of work, to sort everything out and to collect everything that you need. And LeeAnn is right, you can help with TAI if you want to contribute to something I know that Schleich needs to make an other guide for the years 2010 and up, but I think it is only a matter of time Maybe you can make an other type of book? I know you wright and like to RP, maybe you can make a Schleich based story about your animals?

NightLioness wrote:

I also think this isn't a good idea It is a LOT of work, to sort everything out and to collect everything that you need. And LeeAnn is right, you can help with TAI if you want to contribute to something I know that Schleich needs to make an other guide for the years 2010 and up, but I think it is only a matter of time Maybe you can make an other type of book? I know you wright and like to RP, maybe you can make a Schleich based story about your animals?

Writing is not always easy, piecing bits of info together works better for now.

If I may be so bold as to put forth a suggestion?

If you decided to make this guide make it a series of shorter books. Or perhaps a series of magazine-style type books?

For example, you have a notable headstart on the subject of Schleich horses. Make volume 1 about the horses.

Advantages:
1: less data to collect
2: smaller project, easier to get the feel of how you want to do things. If you make changes to how you do things halfway through, there's a lot less to have to change.
2: focusing on specific interest group
3: allow yourself the choice of whether or not to make more if/when you finish.
4: if you decide to do more, once you finish you can re-release as a special edition set. You're aiming at collectors, might as well let them collect your collectors guides. :)

You would effectively make yourself a much smaller data group, which means you can spend more time focusing on those figures you do have. It allows you to hone that infomation/layout/style better and without having to rely on so many other people.

Larger projects are ambitious, but it might be good to start small as to avoid being overwhelmed.

Ultimately it is up to you. Just my thoughts. Which aren't worth much.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] is an evil genius, I swear it.

Lol. Thanks, I think.

Seriously though, start small. Brainstorm. Decide what the minimum you want to include is.

You have the advantage of a large friendly "herd" of collectors here.  Decide what did and did not work for the Gascher's guide. What information do you absolutely need/ want to include and how you want to present that information.

And hey, if it works out, yay! Congrats! But at least get yourself a mockup of a design format and decide from there.

And if for any reason you decide not to publish, at least you have a guide for yourself.

Wilorvise wrote:

Lol. Thanks, I think.

Seriously though, start small. Brainstorm. Decide what the minimum you want to include is.

You have the advantage of a large friendly "herd" of collectors here.  Decide what did and did not work for the Gascher's guide. What information do you absolutely need/ want to include and how you want to present that information.

And hey, if it works out, yay! Congrats! But at least get yourself a mockup of a design format and decide from there.

And if wellfir any reason you decide not to publish, at least you have a guide for yourself.

It is certainly worth contemplating.

I collect tons of horses and would love to send you pics to help out!

Also, I think doing just the horses for a start would be nice. I already know several pals who would die for one!

First, I applaud you for even seriously considering writing a book.

Random unsolicited thoughts:

+ choose a working title (I think Gascher's is covered by copyright)

+ decide what subject(s)/years you will cover

+ please, please use an index or table of contents or both

+ determine minimal requirements for each entry

+make a mockup of a page or two.

+give yourself deadlines for when you want what done by.  If you want to have pictures of the 2014 models in by May, stick with it.

+ look up the pros of purchasing your own ISBN number(s)

+ motive:  don't do it because you think you'll get rich, do it because it's something you want to do.

+ Estimate how many pages your subject will take up 

+ get a printing estimate based on number of pages,inclusion of pictures, color vs grayscale pictures from some self publication places.

+ remember:  you are doing this because you want to, not to make money. But the money will impact if and how it goes to print.  There are ways to help fund such endeavors, but plan accordingly

+ get a beta or proofreader or two.  Fact-checker. To help reduce the likelihood that transpositions and other errors make it to print. It's easy to accidentally write 250159 as 251059

+alternative: consider selling as an eBook : printable or not. Reminder, eBooks require seperate ISBNs from their print counterparts.

+backups. In at least two different places. Nothing is worse than Spending hours on something and your computer fatally crashing and it being gone forever.

From my perspective, I think you can do whatever you'd like to. I would definitely love to have a more complete and accurate book about the collection of Schleich models on hand (are you just doing the years like 2009/2010 and to present? or ALL of the models and products released by them?). I would love to have a series of parts of it if that is what you choose to do as well. Or if you decide not to do this after all, the TAI website will suffice me. What I mean is basically do what you gotta do, and I think you will have support for it.

That said, based on the experience of others and what's been said here so far, I agree that you probably can't expect to make much money off the endeavor. You may make some profit which would be great of course, but you never know how popular it will be. Otherwise all of the suggestions thus far are great, breaking it into smaller portions like horses, farmlife, pets (dogs, cats, hamsters, etc.), wildlife, etc. etc. is a great idea so that collectors can get what they want specifically (horse/dinosaur only collectors for instance) or you can get the whole set since deep down we are all collectors of any paraphernalia from brands sometimes (i.e. booklets, tags, catalogues etc.)

My suggestions would be do your homework about costs and materials etc. before you start. Cross reference cross reference cross reference a million times for best accuracy, and get it proofread by others as well (that is the biggest thing that bothers me about Gaschers is there's a lot of wrong data in there, though its still a useful book)[also, other than general facts, perhaps find photos of rarer models that even we collectors find rarely. Everyone knows of the super beagle and pinto, but did you know there is rare hot cocoa/coffee colored St. Bernard out there that there is only a handful of pics of? its like the chupacabra of Schleich, no one is even really sure it really exists since its seen so few times. In fact, here it is: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Or make it unique like putting prototype models (I don't think Schleich has many though, that's mostly a bullyland thing)].

And just a personal preference, instead of putting actual monetary values in the book (which are fine btw if you prefer them) I would use a scale instead since prices change so much over time, whether just a little or a lot. i.e. common, less common, difficult to find in decent condition, rare, ultra rare, and To Be Determined (TBD, for instance brand new models may become rare after a few years or stay at an affordable price and finding rate). That way its a general price range and value range based on commonality. You could use a color dot scheme like Schleich and Safari do for prices, or list a general estimated price range for each category.

Lastly, just enjoy it. If you do go through with it it will be a massive task. But you will learn all sorts of things about Schleich you probably never knew, and if you do a good job I'm sure it will be appreciated by collectors. I for one, would really appreciate a project that was the product of hard work from STS members. And now that I've babbled enough...

*Valencia Stables* wrote:

I collect tons of horses and would love to send you pics to help out!

I have most horses myself, so the horses thing would be no big deal for me.

Ah! Good! Then you should be good to go, so just in case you don't have any, I would be glad to help!

Wilorvise wrote:

If I may be so bold as to put forth a suggestion?

If you decided to make this guide make it a series of shorter books. Or perhaps a series of magazine-style type books?

For example, you have a notable headstart on the subject of Schleich horses. Make volume 1 about the horses.

Advantages:
1: less data to collect
2: smaller project, easier to get the feel of how you want to do things. If you make changes to how you do things halfway through, there's a lot less to have to change.
2: focusing on specific interest group
3: allow yourself the choice of whether or not to make more if/when you finish.
4: if you decide to do more, once you finish you can re-release as a special edition set. You're aiming at collectors, might as well let them collect your collectors guides. :)

You would effectively make yourself a much smaller data group, which means you can spend more time focusing on those figures you do have. It allows you to hone that infomation/layout/style better and without having to rely on so many other people.

Larger projects are ambitious, but it might be good to start small as to avoid being overwhelmed.

Ultimately it is up to you. Just my thoughts. Which aren't worth much.

If you do the catalogs, I totally agree with doing smaller ones with specific groups like wildlife or farm life or horses or prehistoric life. Personally I have no interest in Schleich's horses, dogs, Bayala, or the knights and dragons, as I don't collect them. As I am trying to collect them all, I would buy catalogs that had just farm life, wildlife, prehistoric life, or their DC line. One with all of Schleich's special edition or region specific models would be nice too.

I think it's a very good idea! I love the Gascher's book, it's very nice to glance through.
But it's not up to date.

I can help you with the pictures. I have lots of cows, farm animals and pets.

AmyJD wrote:

I think it's a very good idea! I love the Gascher's book, it's very nice to glance through.
But it's not up to date.

I can help you with the pictures. I have lots of cows, farm animals and pets.

Thanks for your featback Amy!

I personally think that the best option would be to do separate magazine style books on each 'world' of Schleich. I only collect Schleich wildlife, so just having an individual book on wildlife would be amazing! I applaud you Gwaine for offering to take on such a huge task and challenge, and I support your great idea 100%.

SchleichWildlife wrote:

I personally think that the best option would be to do separate magazine style books on each 'world' of Schleich. I only collect Schleich wildlife, so just having an individual book on wildlife would be amazing! I applaud you Gwaine for offering to take on such a huge task and challenge, and I support your great idea 100%.

Thank you very much for your input

What about the copyright of Schleich? Gives Schleich permission to publish a book about their brand and figurines?
I'm not sure if this is a good idea.. Printing a book is also very expensive..