Dear Tweeters,

Here is another viewpoint on the situation with the gull book.

Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch

Niklas Holmstrom <niklas at SEAWATCHING.NET> wrote:
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 02:07:03 +0200
From: Niklas Holmstrom
Subject: [EBN] Book publishers
To: EUROBIRDNET at listserv.funet.fi

Dear EBN:rs,

I think most of you have followed and read the mail by Visa Rauste, Harry Letho
and Klaus Malling Olsen answers concerning the latters "Gull book". The book is a
Bible for every birder, but the many errors that have shown up make most of the
experienced birder (and readers and buyers) suspicious. Of course, if
experienced birders are unhappy, what would not the unexperienced learn, thats
not right in the 2003 ID?

I don't know how many of you who are subscribers to the birding magazine "Alula",
but in the latest issue Antero Topp reviewed our book (Flight Identification of
European Seabirds). In my opinion the Alula review are a bad one for the book,
but a very welcome discussion/review of the birding book publishers working
routines today! It's a bit funny, in the "Gulls" (printed in Italy) the photos was very
good, but in the "Flight ID book" (printed in Hong Kong) most of the photo prints
was too blueish or with a pale wash, even after two proofs and two scannings!

I also know that the authours of "Pipits and Wagtails" had lots of problem with the
publisher Helm/A&C Black concerning maps and photos. Apperently, we (the
authours of the Flight ID book) and Malling/Hanssons Gull book have witnessed and
have been victim for a fast and money focused production!

I have working as a cheif editor on a big publishing firm in Sweden, most of my
works was on the teaching-aid fields, so I'm no lost behind a wagon. My big
disapointment on Helm/A&C Black are the unprofessional work they do and the
professional work they always seem to lack! Most publishers in Sweden are very
fair, but when the (so called) biggest ornithology publisher "In the World"
(Helm/A&C Black) refused our request of a third proof (because the photos were
still bad in colour in our opinion) on the Flight ID book, we know better! Helm/A&C
Black would perhaps be the biggest ornithology publisher, but far from the best and
one, which means listen to the authours working for them!

I'm still working as a editor and a instruction leader and are happy with that, but I
will probably never work for a publisher abroad again. Publishers that ignore the
authours and their big effort to give the readers in the end something special and
new, will soon or later vanish from the market. Helm/A&C Black would perhaps be
the biggest ornithology publisher in the world, but so far they are far away from a
publisher company who are the most "human and most care taking"!

I'm very well aware of my friend Klaus, which have to take much "shit" (photos and
captions) because of a hurry and money-focused-minded to a publisher! We,
(Flight ID book) of the final work on our book, was not happy with the photos in the
second proof of the "Flight ID" and demanded a third proof. Helm/A&C Black said
"No", because it will be alright in the final print. They said. Was it? How come? The
"Gull book" was much better in the photo print then the "Flight ID" was, after two
set of proofs.

In the future I hope European birders will see and buy more of well done birding
and locate writing books then the "low quality" standards than the "big publishers"
produced today! We will probably see more of good and wellwritten web sites in the
future, which is more flexible and updated, thank god!

Perhaps I shouldn't tell everybody this, because it would certainly reduce my
royalty amounts, but I want birders around Europe to know what is going on! This
is bad, very bad, indeed! Can anyone trust birding ID books nowadays?

All the best

/Niklas


Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

near Lyman (Skagit County), Washington

garybletsch at yahoo.com


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