The Heretic Archer is the first archery book to be made available in three different languages almost at the same time. So, nor myself or others were having any idee about the potential market for it.
Surely, the market for the Italian language version was the smaller one, but in this extent FITARCO has helped a lot ordering 1000 copies to be distributed to the italian registerd coaches, and therefore, at present the Italian version has already reached a total of more than 1500 copies distributed.
But while I was betting on the English vrsion as the most selleable one, I have frankly to admit to have understimated the French version market.
Considering that English and French versions have been both introduced to the market around January 26, in less than one month, only, the Englis version is over 700 copies worldwide, but the French version is already over 500 in the France, only.
Even considering that the sales will of course slow down in the next months, I have already concluded that the first version that will need to be reprinted will be the French one!
Of course, these rough numebers are referred to sell in to dealers and distributors, but as everybody seems being ordering what is really selling, and repeat orders are already common, I have to guess that at least 700 copies of the book have already reached their final destination outside Italy: the international readers that I have already to thank for the warm welcome to my and Michele's work.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
Dfferent way of reading The Heretic Archer
I can clearly see from comments around that many buyers of the book are reading it jumping between chapters, and not from Foreword to Chapter 7.3 as it was intended.
Someone jumps to the chapter about stabilizers, others are asking "why no conclusions about limbs comparison", others talk about my philosophy for training. Many are asking "why this" and "why that", while the reason why is clearly described in the text, sometime simply in the previous chapter.
Even more curious, some people that have declared to have bought my book, is asking here and there on the forums for comments about a specific point that is anyhow clearly explained in the book, without any reference to the content of said specific explanation. Have they read it, I question myself?
There is an history, in the book... the history of the development of tuning systems, materials choices and shooting technique during more than 10 years and more than a tons of medals. And how some solutions have been adopted in front of others is sometime clearly explained. If you read it for all the lines, and many times, in between the lines....
Some discussion around drop easily into the ridiculous. Stabilizing your Olympic Bow chapter, for instance, is based on an article published already on magazines many years ago. It means that the basic concepts for it are going back to at least 15 years ago, and are widely accepted in the world of archery. Is like if someone wants a clear explanation about the advantage of the wheel over the other ways for moving easily weights around. Of course we can go to the technical explanation about the wheel, but do we really need to do so? Surely also today we have some undeveloped populations that still will look to the wheel as something new, but we don't loose time to discuss about it with them. And if we really want to re-analyze the subject, than we have to use the resurces mentioned in chapter 7.3 ...
The book is for those that don't want to loose time re-inventing the wheel. And everybody will benefit much more from its content reading it from the beginning to the end, instead of viceversa. IMHO.
Someone jumps to the chapter about stabilizers, others are asking "why no conclusions about limbs comparison", others talk about my philosophy for training. Many are asking "why this" and "why that", while the reason why is clearly described in the text, sometime simply in the previous chapter.
Even more curious, some people that have declared to have bought my book, is asking here and there on the forums for comments about a specific point that is anyhow clearly explained in the book, without any reference to the content of said specific explanation. Have they read it, I question myself?
There is an history, in the book... the history of the development of tuning systems, materials choices and shooting technique during more than 10 years and more than a tons of medals. And how some solutions have been adopted in front of others is sometime clearly explained. If you read it for all the lines, and many times, in between the lines....
Some discussion around drop easily into the ridiculous. Stabilizing your Olympic Bow chapter, for instance, is based on an article published already on magazines many years ago. It means that the basic concepts for it are going back to at least 15 years ago, and are widely accepted in the world of archery. Is like if someone wants a clear explanation about the advantage of the wheel over the other ways for moving easily weights around. Of course we can go to the technical explanation about the wheel, but do we really need to do so? Surely also today we have some undeveloped populations that still will look to the wheel as something new, but we don't loose time to discuss about it with them. And if we really want to re-analyze the subject, than we have to use the resurces mentioned in chapter 7.3 ...
The book is for those that don't want to loose time re-inventing the wheel. And everybody will benefit much more from its content reading it from the beginning to the end, instead of viceversa. IMHO.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Heretic championship
Just back from 3 days in Reggio Emilia for the annual Italian Indoor Championships. During it, my club has established a new record of medals with a total of 14 for individuals and team (6 only in 2005 and 2004 as well, including the 2 top Italian titles in men and women recuve, and the top title for the women club as well.
So, Michele has been back to the top of the podium defeating in the final match Alessandro Rivolta, in a match that was supposed to happen before in Nimes. Elena Maffioli has defeted in the final Pia Lionetti, getting her first Senior indoor title. Then, Elena, Carla and Gaia Banchelli have defeted in the final match the team from Rovereto 254/252 in avery close match. But it has been really an Heretic champinship, as Michele has been able to access the finals also in the compound division. Coming from 3 days of illness, Michele has shot on saturday the qualification round with compound after 4 days of stop and after atotal of 60 arrows only with his new Hoyt compound (got it in inNimes). Bad start, 285 after 30 arrows, then a much better 292 for the other 30, and going to the shoot off for the 16th place against Daniele Bauro, won at the third arrow.
The morning after, qualificatin round for recurves, ending at 592 (295+297) and being second after Alessandro Rivolta 592 (297+295) for one gold. Then, the problem for the organizers started, as in the afternoon Michele was qualified for the finals (top 16) in both divisions. So, the decision to go on with the competition alternating men recurve and women compound to men compound and women recurve.
So, first match recurve for Micele, then the second one was a compound match.
Of course, nobody was expecting Michele to survive to his first compound match against Stefano Mazzi, leader of the board. But 175/174 has been the final score in favour of Michele, that then went on up to the final for the gold against Rivolta in recurve and for the bronze against Antonio Pompeo in compound, with top scores 118 in recurve and 119 in compound.
Of course, in chapter 7.1 of the book you can find my positive opinion about using the compound as a training device for recurve shooting, but frankly I never supposed before last Sunday that this was directly applicable during the finals of a Championship and without any training end during the switches from one bow to the other.
But it was one of those days when the Heretic can go far away from the normal paths... It does not happen often, of course, but in one of those heretic days... only.
So, Michele has been back to the top of the podium defeating in the final match Alessandro Rivolta, in a match that was supposed to happen before in Nimes. Elena Maffioli has defeted in the final Pia Lionetti, getting her first Senior indoor title. Then, Elena, Carla and Gaia Banchelli have defeted in the final match the team from Rovereto 254/252 in avery close match. But it has been really an Heretic champinship, as Michele has been able to access the finals also in the compound division. Coming from 3 days of illness, Michele has shot on saturday the qualification round with compound after 4 days of stop and after atotal of 60 arrows only with his new Hoyt compound (got it in inNimes). Bad start, 285 after 30 arrows, then a much better 292 for the other 30, and going to the shoot off for the 16th place against Daniele Bauro, won at the third arrow.
The morning after, qualificatin round for recurves, ending at 592 (295+297) and being second after Alessandro Rivolta 592 (297+295) for one gold. Then, the problem for the organizers started, as in the afternoon Michele was qualified for the finals (top 16) in both divisions. So, the decision to go on with the competition alternating men recurve and women compound to men compound and women recurve.
So, first match recurve for Micele, then the second one was a compound match.
Of course, nobody was expecting Michele to survive to his first compound match against Stefano Mazzi, leader of the board. But 175/174 has been the final score in favour of Michele, that then went on up to the final for the gold against Rivolta in recurve and for the bronze against Antonio Pompeo in compound, with top scores 118 in recurve and 119 in compound.
Of course, in chapter 7.1 of the book you can find my positive opinion about using the compound as a training device for recurve shooting, but frankly I never supposed before last Sunday that this was directly applicable during the finals of a Championship and without any training end during the switches from one bow to the other.
But it was one of those days when the Heretic can go far away from the normal paths... It does not happen often, of course, but in one of those heretic days... only.
Friday, February 03, 2006
First comments around
And people, finally, has been able to read it outside Italy.
Some comments from the various forums and e-mails received:
- J'adore ce livre !!!! ( I adore this book) ... French reader, woman
- Passionant comme un roman ( impassioning like a novel..) ... French rader, woman
- I really like the way it's sectioned - British reader, woman
- Fantastic!! I like the way it is written as if you are actually speaking to either Vittorio or Michele. - British reader, man
-I think the "heretic" part of the title was well chosen. - British reader, man
-I was also suprised to see so much space dedicated to tuning. - Bitish reader, man
-I like the book very much, and it is pretty much the opposite of the Total Archery - US reader, man
-You have confirmed some of the ideas that I have been trying to pass on to archers for a number of years - British reader, man
Well, the general reactions are expressing mainly what I was expecting: a large content of surprise.
People was expecting the usual, traditional archery book/manual, and they have found, first of all, a 20 years long novel inside it, then a quick reference guide to all specifica aspect of olympic archery and finally many answers. Too many answers, probably, I have to say.
One of the first readers of the Italian edition told me that what he liked in the Heretic Archer was the fact that I was not loosing time to explain too much, to give alternatives and to propose different solutions, like in typical archery manuals, but I was simply giving unique answers, with no frills and alternatives, to all common questions. My personal, sometime "heretic" answers, of course, but without any doubt, very difficult to be misunderstood. And all of them supported by the the international results of Michele, Carla, Elena Maffioli, Andrea Tarelli, Vittoria Martin and Manuela Mustafà, those from my club that have got at least one or more World or European medals in recurve archery in the years.
Of course, soon also negative comments will come, and surely someone will propose to burn the Heretic ... but in the mean time, enjoy reading our book like I'm enjoyng reading your comments about it!
Some comments from the various forums and e-mails received:
- J'adore ce livre !!!! ( I adore this book) ... French reader, woman
- Passionant comme un roman ( impassioning like a novel..) ... French rader, woman
- I really like the way it's sectioned - British reader, woman
- Fantastic!! I like the way it is written as if you are actually speaking to either Vittorio or Michele. - British reader, man
-I think the "heretic" part of the title was well chosen. - British reader, man
-I was also suprised to see so much space dedicated to tuning. - Bitish reader, man
-I like the book very much, and it is pretty much the opposite of the Total Archery - US reader, man
-You have confirmed some of the ideas that I have been trying to pass on to archers for a number of years - British reader, man
Well, the general reactions are expressing mainly what I was expecting: a large content of surprise.
People was expecting the usual, traditional archery book/manual, and they have found, first of all, a 20 years long novel inside it, then a quick reference guide to all specifica aspect of olympic archery and finally many answers. Too many answers, probably, I have to say.
One of the first readers of the Italian edition told me that what he liked in the Heretic Archer was the fact that I was not loosing time to explain too much, to give alternatives and to propose different solutions, like in typical archery manuals, but I was simply giving unique answers, with no frills and alternatives, to all common questions. My personal, sometime "heretic" answers, of course, but without any doubt, very difficult to be misunderstood. And all of them supported by the the international results of Michele, Carla, Elena Maffioli, Andrea Tarelli, Vittoria Martin and Manuela Mustafà, those from my club that have got at least one or more World or European medals in recurve archery in the years.
Of course, soon also negative comments will come, and surely someone will propose to burn the Heretic ... but in the mean time, enjoy reading our book like I'm enjoyng reading your comments about it!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Heretic Nimes
The tournament in Nimes , last weekend, has been the greatest ever, for number of participants and vlue of prizes. But it has also been the "Heretic" tournament!
I was expecting the book to be sold there by a couple of companies, only, then what a surperise to find it in several booths, already!. Surely, the French distributor has done a good promotional work, so the book was in display in not less than 5 booths for the French version and 2 for the English one.
But was it going to be sold, or not? Definitely, at the end of the compettion, the number of copies in display was reduced a lot, and the number of authograps myself and Michele have been asked for has been significant!
A success, I have to say, beyond any reasonable expectation!
Now, buyers have to read it, and this is the real final test!
I was expecting the book to be sold there by a couple of companies, only, then what a surperise to find it in several booths, already!. Surely, the French distributor has done a good promotional work, so the book was in display in not less than 5 booths for the French version and 2 for the English one.
But was it going to be sold, or not? Definitely, at the end of the compettion, the number of copies in display was reduced a lot, and the number of authograps myself and Michele have been asked for has been significant!
A success, I have to say, beyond any reasonable expectation!
Now, buyers have to read it, and this is the real final test!
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