Help needed for e-book

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Permalink Reply by Michelle W. Flannery on June 4, 2009 at 10:29pm

Chris, I think your comments are excellent, and thought provoking. Mark would do well to take some of your advice and read some of our discussions. I particularly like the advice you give for Mark to ask the folks who don't garden about their perceptions. What are their questions? Absolutely excellent!

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Permalink Reply by John Walker on June 5, 2009 at 9:38am

Dear Mark,
Thanks for your enthusiasm and willingness to write.
I too have had a similar synaptic burst.
I then realised nobody to tell me how to grow spinach in KY......
So I started kgb and the edible gardening series to have face to face interactions.
I still don't know how to grow spinach......
You may want to check out Steve Solomon's Soil and health library..
pax
John

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on June 5, 2009 at 9:46am

Have you tried planting spinach in the fall? Then in the spring it will come up when it's good and ready, or it will grow in the fall and over whatever winter you have in Kentucky. Would probably love ice storms, leaves encased in the clear hard substance. I know spinach likes snow.

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Permalink Reply by Beva on June 7, 2009 at 6:03am

Well, hello Mark!
I'm the one that thought you ran off with the hot chick... good to see I was wrong! :)

If you go to some of the other discussions, (such as; Change comes quietly ) you will find that this is a great concern to us older folk that the Gen X&Y's have little clue about food production. It is actually frightening to us!
So, now that you have fleshed out an explanation of what you are attempting to do, I am sure you will absolutely get the support and information that is appropriate to the project.

These two generations process information in a different way that ours.
I am sure you already know this. But, part of my input to you will be that gardening is more than just growing your own food.
It is for all of us about making a connection to reality and the natural world.
For the latest generations, they have been cut off from much of the natural world. They live in plastic houses and don't have to worry about dipping water from a well. The experience of gardening can reconnect a person back to a primal state of existence and survival. It is also a way to build confidence and character. Those vegetables will not grow- if today, the grower does not feel like pushing out of the recliner or from behind the video game to provide water. So, commitment and custodianship is also learned and earned.
I hope your project is successful.
:)
Beva

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Permalink Reply by Mike Taylor on November 8, 2009 at 12:28am

Mark,

I understand your questions and motives - market research. Every IMer's advice is the same - find out what people want and then give it to them. Perfectly sensible.

What you, or my Gardening Coaches (Free) Resources pages, provide to readers is time saved - yes all the info is out there if you want to research it, but too many people won't spend the time to find it.

One big issue you face is the fact that what is true for one state is total rubbish in another area. The county I live in has beach sand, loam, slit, clay, decomposed and solid granite, limestone, ancient oyster beds. It also has areas the never frost and areas of annual hard frost and snow, and daytime temps can vary by 15 to 30 degrees from those 15 miles away. It is hard enough to write about my county, let alone the whole state or the whole country. The Master Gardener's Handbook for California takes over 700 pages to cover just this state.

Another issue is the source of your answers to the questions posted. As a UCCE Certified Master Gardener, I am sworn to only provide properly researched and demonstrated information. Anything else is a disservice to your potential readers. I suggest your first step is get a copy if your state's Master Gardener training handbook and read it. Then you will have a solid basis to work from.

'How much would you pay' might not have been the correct way to ask the question. 'What would that be worth to a new gardener?' might have gotten the desired response, or you might have saved that til you compiled a list of topics.

I have started two community gardens this year, and if you want to know what people need to know - go hang out with new gardeners. I have a growing list of commonly asked questions, and , no, I'm not willing to share since that is the basis of an upcoming subscription site...

Alternately, the questions are already out there in this and other forums. It is that lack of spending time to do your research thing again...

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Permalink Reply by Bea Kunz on June 5, 2009 at 10:31am

Hi Mark, good for you on the e-book project.

I'm in the process of doing an e-book on herb growing and gardens.

I'll try to answer your questions with information that will be of help to you.

Q1.....What was the biggest question you first had about starting a vegetable garden?

A......What do I really want to grow. I considered the most difficult vegetables to find in other markets, and the ratio of chemicals used in these versus these. ( example ) strawberries, peaches, and bellpeppers have the most chemical based applied and absorbation rate of all other vegetable/fruits.

Q2.....What were your most pressing questions about starting the garden?

A.......The condition of my soil...the most important part of any garden. Know your soil and make adjustments to its needs.

Q3.....What are you most frustrated about with having a vegetable garden?

A.......The weather can be the most problematic of any other issue. It's the one thing you can not control in any circumstance. It can be your best friend and it can be your worst enemy.


Q4.....What are some common problems that arise with growing your own fruit and vegetables?

A......The weather, insects, water questions ( when, how much, tap versus well or rain water ) location to sun/shade when planning large plots, protection from wildlife, ( deer, rabbits, moles, etc)

Q5.....How much would you pay to do a course that would improve your vegetable garden and save you money?

A......For someone who knows none of the basics, a average size ebook( 40 to 50 pages ) or course would be worth ten to twenty dollars I would guess...really depends on many things.

Hope this helps a bit.....looking forward to having your book. We never stop learning.

Bea Kunz
http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com
http://beasbeatitudes.blogspot.com

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Permalink Reply by TAR HEEL on June 9, 2009 at 1:02pm

....20$????

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Permalink Reply by Bea Kunz on June 9, 2009 at 2:40pm

There are different ways you can market an ebook.
If you do a simple instruction type with nothing more than what can be easily researched then it will be worth less than say.....a book filled with a little history, a time-line walk through blueprint of what, where, when and how. Some photo's and reference points.

The range I'm speaking about gives you a lot to work with, just depends on how much effort you plan to put into the project as to what you could market it for..

E-books will eventually loose their appeal and value if those who are versed enough to write them are willing to sell them for less than the information deserves.

I've seen ebooks of late that are nothing more than duplication of material that anyone can google and copy.

My suggestion to anyone as well as to myself...if it's worth the time and effort to make a project of it, then do it well and make it something special...then put a price on it that will speak to that fact.

A good report, manual, or ebook that can help me to accomplish or finalize something I couldn't otherwise do...then 19.95 would not turn me off and 14.95 would be a steal.

Good luck~

Bea Kunz

You can also add value to it by offering a second edition in 3 months on whatever follow-up would be fitting with your content.

For the upper end of the price range it has to be something that isn't already out there...in other words something from your heart of experience that is fool proof and worthy of knowing and trying.

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Permalink Reply by TAR HEEL on June 9, 2009 at 5:17pm

....does KGI get a cut?

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Permalink Reply by Bea Kunz on June 9, 2009 at 10:31pm

A cut of what ?

Bea Kunz

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Permalink Reply by TAR HEEL on June 10, 2009 at 7:26am

Bea, my reply was meant to insight retrospective thoughts about our motives.My typing skills are minimal at best, so I'm done. I'll be in my garden.No info-mercials/price ranges there.Go ahead and tear me apart.I'll be back after sundown.

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Permalink Reply by TAR HEEL on June 10, 2009 at 7:42am

incite.

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