Like every Spurs fan who ever saw Ledley King play, we are more than excited about the mural created off the high road next to the stadium. And we want to honor this great legend by offering you a discount on My Eyes Have Seen the Glory, a fabulous book with interviews of 40 Legends of the Lane, including Ledley King himself. Paul Trevilliion’s brilliant drawing of him even made the cover.
Use the discount code KING20 to get a discount off the retail editions of the book, the limited edition, and the bundle, in which you will receive both books for one low price.
The Limited Edition comes with a hand-signed, numbered print created by Paul Trevillion. Each limited edition is hand-numbered as well, and there are only 200 of these that will ever be printed.
Check out the offer below. The coupon expires on February 1st!
USE KING 20 at Checkout for 20% off of any of the books below.
At the end of 2020, we thought we were set to make some really great things happen beyond the books, with our partnership with Agent Fox Media and an interesting lineup of books. We were ready…
Shutdowns we thought we would emerge from never really happened or happened more slowly than expected. Authors went through life changes. So did we. The world of publishing took a different direction. So did we.
We won’t talk about all the hardships, because there were a lot of those, and a lot of difficult lessons learned as a result. The key is, in the coming year we are moving on—moving forward with revitalizing old projects, launching some new ones with a new focus.
It’s time for doing some new and great things.
We Published Three Books This Year
Sure, we wanted to publish more, but the world had different ideas. Still, we have three more great titles for you to choose from, including the Tottenham Hotspur fan book we talk about below, the D-Word by relationship expert, and perhaps the feel-good book of the year, the autobiography of John Lyons, one of the great actors of our time, and also just a really cool guy.
Check them out for yourself, and grab a cozy read today!
What’s Next for My Eyes Have Seen the Glory? Limited Editions and The Decade Collections
In May we launched one of our most popular titles: My Eyes Have Seen the Glory. This giant volume contains 40 interviews with the Tottenham Hotspur legends. We still have some of the Limited Editions that come with a print signed by the great sports artist, Paul Trevillion. We also have an art collection from the book, created in collaboration with Colorsport and Art Photo. Check those out at this link.
In addition to this great title, we’ll be adding more in 2022: The My Eyes Have Seen the Glory DECADES EDITIONS. We’ll be producing a few of these going forward, including the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
And we’ll be asking for your help, Tottenham fans. We want you to choose who will be in these collections. We’ll also be offering wall art collections, calendars, and more! There will be books, collectibles, and merchandise for every fan and every budget.
The Tao of Trek: The Philosophy of Star Trek Through the Years
Gene Roddenberry submitted his 16-page treatment for Wagon Train to the Stars to the Writer’s Guild of America in March of 1964. There were exactly three copies. That is when Star Trek was born. But so much has happened since then.
Star Trek has influenced society and become a part of our culture not just in the United States, but around the world. At the same time, society has impacted Star Trek with modern continuations and adaptations going beyond the vision Roddenberry once had.
What have those effects been? What impact has Trek had on society and the way we live? Can we learn more from the underlying philosophy of the series? Our answer is that yes, we can. We are not just fans. Not just watchers. We are followers of the Tao of Trek, and we think others can and should be, too. We’ll outline the philosophy of Trek as it was, as it has evolved over the years, and as we think it will be in years to come.
Stay tuned to learn more about the coming Tao of Trek. For even more information, visit https://tao-of-trek.org and sign up for our newsletter.
The Demon House: A True Story of Haunting and Possession
Hardship after hardship seemed behind them as Julie Evans and her daughter were finally offered a council house. It was a real house, not an apartment in a high rise, and it seemed too good to be true. When Julie saw the house, she wondered what she was getting into.
Filthy floors were just the start. Walls covered in symbols and words she didn’t fully understand written in nail varnish, the garden filled with used needles, and a former resident institutionalized should have provided some clues. But grateful for a place to live and call their own, Julie and her then-husband started the cleanup. But right away weird stuff started to happen.
Cold spots, misplaced keys that turned up again right where they’d been left, and things that went bump in the night were only the start. They went from inconvenient to annoying, annoying to scary, and scary to terrifying.
Out of options, Julie turned to the church. Some things helped for a while. A demonologist acknowledged an unknown, inhuman presence, but was unable to remove it. Things went from bad to worse, and from worse to unspeakable. Desperate, Julie turned to the only ones who seemed to even understand her position.
The final option seemed to be Chris Fleming and the team from Help, My House is Haunted. A battle ensued, and there could only be one victor. Because darkness and light can’t occupy the same space…
Come along for this true tale of haunting and possession, and a battle that’s as real as it is unbelievable. You’ll learn what warning signs to look out for, what to do and not to do if you feel you are under attack, and where to find the help you really need. You’ll laugh, you’ll scream, and you may even cry. Check out https://thedemonhouse.com to join the mailing list and for more information.
Check out episode 8 of Season 2 of Help, My House is Haunted on Discovery+ streaming service.
Much more to come!
There are more books on the horizon. Sports artist Paul Trevillion is putting together an amazing scrapbook—his art through the years, from Winston Churchill to sports stars and celebrities, Trevillion has seen, and drawn it all from the time he was a small boy. He’s a living testament that anyone can achieve their dreams if they put their mind to it.
We’re also working with Samantha Fox, and getting her autobiography, Our Sam, into the world. We can’t wait to share her incredible journey from pop star to model to global pop and rock icon, she’s seen the world, and had an incredible life filled with unique experiences. You won’t want to miss this fabulous story.
We promise to keep you updated, and keep bringing you great stories that promise to change the way you look at the world around you.
Stay tuned!
No spam. No selling of your information. Just news, updates, tips, and tricks. Are you in? Subscribe today!
From now until 30 November, enjoy a special deal! We’ve bundled the few remaining Totteham Hostspur Limited Editions of My Eyes Have Seen the Glory with a retail edition for a special price: purchase both and get 20% off the retail edition when you order both at the same time.
Hand-signed and numbered!
The great Paul Trevillion, sports artist extraordinaire, has hand-signed each poster that comes with the Limited Edition. You won’t find another one of these anywhere else, and there are only 200! No more will ever be created, and each has a unique number that matches the one on your book.
Opportunities are coming to attend events where Legends can sign your book9s) as well, increasing their value as collector’s items. Grab a retail edition to read, and a limited edition to keep!
You can still get 10% off using the code LEGENDS10 from now until 30 November! This discount is only good for a limited time, so act now! Also, to be sure you get your order in time for Christmas, order as soon as possible. Even with rush shipping, we can’t make any guarantees for Christmas delivery after November 30th, so don’t delay!
Grab your copy of My Eyes Have Seen the Glory now!
Already have the retail edition? Want a Limited Edition for your collection?
You can order the limited edition separately using the button below. Your books will come from the United States, and the posters are shipped from the UK. Remember to order soon to ensure delivery by Christmas for this gift-giving season. Ordering late? Let us know and we will create a special gift card for you! Place your order today!*
*You’ll receive an email with the number of the book and the poster you will receive once your order is complete. Books will be shipped right away, however, be aware that shipping delays may keep your book from arriving on time.
Use the coupon LEGENDS10 for 10% off at checkout for a limited time only! This is the only time these editions will go on sale!
Good news from our warehouse! The printers have completed the print run of the Limited Editions of My Eyes Have Seen the Glory, and they are GORGEOUS! You can see the first photos here (the first photos we have seen of the physical copies of these books)
They will be hand-numbered on the jacket and the interior, and the full-page photos (even in warehouse office light) look astonishing. Check them out!
As you can see, even in “poor” lighting, these books look incredible. They’ll be shipping our way and yours before you know it. We can’t wait to have these in our hands. I ordered mine. Did you order yours?
We really want to get these books in the hands of true Tottenham Fans! This season has been a rough one from all of us, but what we can all agree on is that Tottenham has a rich history filled with great players and coaches who have become LEGENDS in their own right. We look back with pride on the Glory Days and Glory Nights when football was for the fans, and we played for the GLORY, not just for the MONEY.
Order your limited edition today if you haven’t already! Orders will be shipping soon!
Listen for me, Rick Mayston of Agent Fox Media, and Micky Hazard on the Spurs podcast coming May 4th! We can’t wait to talk books, legends, Spurs, and more on this epic podcast!
What sets the Limited Edition apart from the retail editions to come?
There will only be 200 ever produced. Each book will be hand-numbered.
8 x 10 format (The retail edition is 6 x 9)
Full-page photos (Photos are smaller in the retail edition)
Each comes with a Limited Edition print signed by Paul Trevillion
The Cost for each book is £180. US Prices will be based on currency exchange rates the day of purchase.
This will become a collector’s item right away.
GLORY DAY IS HERE!
A little bit about the book My Eyes Have Seen the Glory
In My Eyes Have Seen the Glory, forty legends of White Hart Lane from the double era to the modern day re-live, in their own words, what it was like to play for, play against, watch and manage the mighty Spurs.
This unique book assembles the largest-ever group of Legends to be interviewed about Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in one place including: Darren Anderton, Ossie Ardiles, Ray Clemence, Alfie Conn, Jermain Defoe, Alan Gilzean, Micky Hazard, Glenn Hoddle, Martin Jol, Cliff Jones, Ledley King, Gary Mabbutt, Alan Mullery, Harry Redknapp, and Steve Perryman. Their passion and deep admiration for the club shines through.
Featuring wonderful illustrations by the legendary sports artist and illustrator Paul Trevillion and incredible photos by Colorsport.
We get to the heart of the club’s landmark successes in the double year, the subsequent attempts to emulate those achievements (including the incredible arrival of Ossie and Ricky) and the cup successes of the ‘80s through to Tottenham’s recent re-emergence at the higher end of the table once more, playing in one of the greatest club stadiums in the world.
My Eyes Have Seen the Glory is a must-read for all Spurs fans who are fascinated by Tottenham Hotspur’s rich history, and want to relive at first hand the glory, dedication, commitment, trials and tribulations shown inside the dressing room – and on the hallowed pitch of White Hart Lane.
*The publisher has agreed to donate £1 from each sale of My Eyes Have Seen the Glory to the Tottenham Tribute Trust (registered charity number 1094092).
GREETINGS SPURS FANS!
If you are not familiar with the American Film, The Big Lebowski, that is Walter over there on the right. And Walter is very concerned with the rules.
And we have a few related to the release of the LIMITED EDITION of what Paul Trevillion calls, “The Greatest Tottenham book of all time.” Here they are:
One Limited Edition Per Person. No exceptions.
Books will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. No, you cannot reserve one ahead of time even if you give us extra money or buy us great whiskey. We do accept both of those things, but just not as a bribe for a spot on the Limited Edition list.
Four numbered books: 1, 61, 100, 200 will be reserved from this sale. Everyone wishing to purchase one of these four numbers will be entered into a drawing, and winners will receive the right to purchase the number they registered for. More details to come.
No other numbers can be reserved. The number you receive will be based on when you ordered. Again, no bribes will help you in this case.
The sale will open up on April 2nd, 2021 at 3 p.m. BST, 10 a.m. EST (US), and 8 a.m. MST (where we, the publisher, are located. No one else knows what Mountain Standard Time is).
When the Limited Editions are gone, they are gone. No more will be printed, ever.
Books will ship on or around April 23rd, 2021.
That’s Pretty much it.
SEE YOU ON GLORY DAY!
(Above) Walter, Cares a Lot about the Rules, especially when it comes to bowling.
(Below) Paul Trevillion, Sports Artist, 87 years old, has more energy than I do and lives life pretty much free of rules.
Right Now, the Button Below Does Nothing. On Glory Day, it will take you to the live page where you can order your Limited Edition copy of My Eyes Have See the Glory (until they are gone).
Last week in the Bookseller in the UK, there was a sponsored post placed there by HP Book as a Service printing solutions. Other print to order vendors are emerging in a variety of markets with a variety of offerings. Ingram is no longer the only game in town for on-demand publishing on a global scale, and publishers large and small are taking notice.
For those who have self-published or for true micro-presses, Print on Demand, or as we like to put it, print to order has long been a solution, with two major players in the game: Amazon, and Ingram.
Each has different rules, drawbacks, and issues. But the fact that Draft2Digital (although really they are working with Ingram) and others like HP are looking at printing books on demand for both publishers and authors is both a bonus and an indicator. The bonus is that we are beginning to see broader choices, and that competition can only be good for both pricing and quality.
But more importantly, it’s an indicator. The post even offers a free eBook download from HP called “Think Globally, Print Locally.” It’s an interesting read, because it states things we already talk about at Mooney and Lambert.
Print to Oder is Environmentally Responsible
This is for more than one reason. First, we don’t waste energy and resources printing books we do not need. Print runs by large publishers have a huge impact on the environment. They also result in books being returned by bookstores and others, when they are most often pulped, or destroyed. This takes fuel and energy as well.
The second is that we can use Print on Demand vendors around the world to fulfill orders closer to the customer’s actual location. We don’t waste resources (and money) sending books around the world from a single location.
Finally, we can ensure print quality around the world, regardless of where the customer orders the book from by using a consistent network.
Developing Local Connections is Challenging
It is possible to publish globally by establishing relationships with local publishers in a variety of locations. However, this is a challenge for small and micro-presses, as such relationships can take time to develop. The challenge of a global pandemic meant shutdowns for a number of those partners, and even in some of them disappearing altogether.
For a global solution to work, a print on demand network is absolutely essential, and places like Ingram (and now HP and others) are developing such networks. This aligns with HP’s new model, “everything as a service” which offers cloud printing and even new, more agile printing press solutions for both large and small presses.
This Model is for Everyone
Look, lower costs equal greater profits for authors, agents, and everyone involved in the process. It’s better for our planet. And it means books that will sell in smaller projected numbers are still viable for publishers to take on, because production costs are reduced.
The old way of publishing is simply irrelevant to the modern way of distributing and printing books. Indie bookstores, small presses, and authors all come out ahead in the long run.
We don’t want to claim to be the first. But Mooney and Lambert has taken a unique position in the market, working with Agent Fox Media in the UK to form a new kind of publishing partnership, a post-Brexit, transatlantic agreement with historic implications.
And it’s Working
Authors who normally would have held out for deals with High Street and New York publishing houses are seeing the benefits of a more agile approach, one enabled by print to order publishing.
They’re books get to market faster, can potentially sell more copies, and the authors get a better contract to start with. This is the publishing model of tomorrow, and we’re pioneering it today.
We’re open to talking to agents and authors, and we’ll be opening for submissions coming in June. Watch this space for more exciting news!
Over 30 million records sold. The most photographed British star of the ’80s – alongside Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher. Not since the Beatles has a British personality been so well known internationally, across a complete cross-section of ages, genders, races, and religions. Now, for the very first time, Samantha Fox has decided to tell the whole, and sometimes painful, story of the bullied North London girl who managed to captivate an entire world.
“My first memory is of an explosion and the smell of burnt flesh.” With those words, following a prologue in which readers are introduced to her backstage in 2015, Samantha Fox begins her story. Thoughts of Myra – the love of her life who has been battling an aggressive form of cancer for almost two years – whirl through her mind, then shortly she takes to the stage once more, to sing “Touch Me ” the song which made her world famous almost 30 years earlier.
Samantha Fox’s autobiography is a captivating tale about a fighter who has gone through hell more than once, but who has always come out stronger; someone who has remained in the public’s consciousness for almost four decades now – and who continues to play to sold-out crowds across the world.
There is a giant elephant in the room every time you talk books with an Indie bookstore. Amazon. The big gorilla. But there is another one, too. One that has been talked about, but only deep in book circles. There are things happening that neither authors nor bookstores understand, someone is keeping a fair amount of money, and authors and bookstores alike are losing money as a result.
It’s Ingram. Ingram and Baker and Taylor. So let me explain what I mean, the issues at hand, and what I think a solution might be.
The Price is Right
So this hit my eyeballs first as a self-publisher and then again as I formed a publishing house. Let’s look at some actual data.
In the background of Ingramspark, publishers get to choose the discount they offer to bookstores and retailers. You can choose anything from 0% to the recommended 55%. I’ve found, and so have other authors, that if you discount your print books around 40% the elephant in the room, Amazon, will still order them. (although there is a second option, one we and a lot of self-publishers use to get books on the ‘zon). This also keeps our books profitable without setting ridiculous prices.
It looks like this:
However, what a bookstore sees when they go order in their catalog if you have set a 40% discount is actually a 20% discount off retail. There’s 20% missing. That makes it difficult for the bookstore to maintain their profit levels and we, the self-pubbed authors or publishers, are not getting that 20%. Where does it go? Who does get it? And why can’t we have it back?
Even if you set your prices with the 55% discount off of retail for booksellers and others, they see a 40% discount on their dashboards. Oddly, at least reportedly, Amazon and other larger bookstores get something closer to the actual discount you set. It’s only the Indie stores who get this odd charge, or at least so it appears from the data we can find.
The Hidden Middle Man
There’s a hidden middle man: Ingram Book Company. They sit in the middle of US distribution (probably others too) and they take 10-15% before they offer the title to bookstores. At least according to Ingram.
But one author discounted their book 40% in their Ingram dashboard, went and talked to her local bookseller, who told her the discount they were offered was only 5%.
5%.
Someone is keeping a lot of money—money that belongs in the pockets of authors and small presses and indie bookstores. Worse, it makes these small press books less appealing to those indie bookstores, and so they order the big-name books from big publishers, who likely have a different deal with Ingram than we small fish can negotiate. This information, while technically public, is not shared widely, so many bookstores don’t know it’s happening, at least when we ask them about it.
So it looks like the little, greedy small press is only discounting their books by a small amount. The bookstore, therefore, and understandably, does not order their books.
The Potential Solution
As publishers, we love Indie Bookstores. We really do. So we want to sell them books at a reasonable price, ensure those books are returnable (a common need of bookstores), and yet still be profitable. Of course, we want to offer books through the usual channels: Ingram, Baker and Taylor, and of course, Amazon. Not because we love the big yellow giant, but because we have to.
And we know it is easier for indie bookstores to order books from Ingram. One-stop invoicing for several titles makes sense and makes things simple for them. Until a publisher has a pretty extensive catalog, it makes little sense for them to order direct from the publisher.
Except that we like to shop small, shop indie so that Amazon does not get all the pie out there. We want to send people to local booksellers over the big guys: and we do whenever possible.
So how can bookstores shop small, and return the favor? The answer is to order books direct from small presses whenever possible. Let the small press help you save money, beat the Ingram stranglehold so similar to what Amazon has, so we can direct customers your way.
It’s not just Mooney and Lambert. It’s every small press out there. We really do want to help you, but quite frankly we need your help, too. Shop small press and send a message to Ingram and the big players that the playing field needs to be level, and transparency is essential for them to build trust with indie bookstores and publishers.
It’s time to change the face of publishing and make a difference. That change starts with each of us and the choices we make every day.
Just over a year ago now, perhaps a little longer, my friend Jerry Mooney and I sat down to talk about the ghost of an idea that had been chasing around in my head. I wanted to take our talents and those of the people around us and harness them. I wanted to start a publishing company.
But not just any publishing company. The publishing industry has a problem, especially big, traditional publishers. Well, they have several and I’ll talk about a few here briefly because they are the “why” behind what we do. Since I already had the name “Unbound Northwest” and my own company, Unbound Media, we decided to go with Unbound Publishing, not for lack of other ideas, but because of the meaning of the name.
We wanted publishing to be Unbound. Open. We wanted to be transparent, and to help authors understand how publishing works. We also wanted to go on the beach of traditional publishing and kick some sand in the face of those big bullies. We’ve written about that a little bit before, here, and I’ll talk about it a bit more in a second.
Why the Name Change?
Well, this is where things get a bit complicated, but stick with me. When we went to get the domain name unboundpublishing.com it was already taken. By whom? Well, a pharmaceutical company somewhere in the Midwest who have some kind of app, and own the domain, even though that is not the name of their app.
No problem. We grabbed unbound.pub, unboundpublish.com, and a handful of others. No big deal, right? We figured eventually the pharma company would give up their name, and we could scoop it up then.
Then we were approached by an agent in the UK and formed our partnership with Agent Fox Media and Rick and Beverly Mayston. Rick mentioned our name, and that there was another Unbound in the UK, but a company who focused on crowdsourcing as a way to publish books. That was not their legal name, and in fact, they operate under a different business entirely. So there is not a legal issue with the name.
However, as we released our first couple of titles under the partnership and a couple of US titles, some confusion arose, because both crowdsourcing and our own model don’t follow the traditional model. So on Twitter of all places, there was some confusion regarding who was who.
Rather than fight the confusion and fight over who the real “Unbound” was, we decided to change our name. Although Lambert and Mooney was tossed around, it was too close to a cigarette brand in the UK, so we reversed the names, and ta-da! Mooney and Lambert.
What Else is Changing?
Well, not much and everything at the same time. We’re growing up because we’re growing. Also, 2020 has been interesting to say the least. The publishing industry, including us, has been tipped upside down and forced to look at the way we do business in a different way. Here are the details you need to know.
We’re staying in the Print to Order model. We won’t do print runs generally speaking, and not just because of cost, but because we want to minimize our environmental impact.
We’re author-centric. Our contracts are designed to reward authors, to increase royalties based on sales, and to cap out with a healthy return for authors and their agents.
We’re exploring new tech that lets us control printing and printing costs more directly.
We’re working to change the pricing model Ingram and other distributors use when selling to bookstores to make sure the indie shops who carry our books have the greatest chances of success too.
We will continue to be nimble. Big publishers take a long time to bring books to market. We want to be faster but without sacrificing quality.
We want to give stories a chance. Large publishing houses are resistant to newcomers or some niche topics. We want to embrace those.
We are about equality and diversity. Everyone deserves a voice, and their voices should be heard. A story should be evaluated based on merit, not on race, gender, sexual orientation, or other factors.
We’ll use AI and the latest technology to make publishing affordable and accessible for as many people as possible.
We will build networks and creative ways to assist authors even if they want to self-publish or just need an “assist” from a professional partner.
Our goal is to change publishing and the way we think about it one book, one partnership at a time. Our name change will simply help us stand out from the “unbound” crowd to enter a new space we can call our own.
What’s Next?
We have an exciting lineup of books for next year and beyond. And we are not done yet. We are looking for strategic partnerships with agents, editors, other publishers, bookstores, and authors.
Stay tuned for book announcements, new partnerships, exciting developments even for you indie authors and self-publishers. We’re looking to change the future and even the conversations we have about publishing.
Recent Comments