forum SignWriting List Forum
  Message 565  |  Previous | Next  [ Up Thread ] Message Index
From:  Valerie Sutton
Date:  Fri Nov 6, 1998  4:02 am
Subject:  Cheaper SW Books?


November 5, 1998
Another question asked recently...

"Your publications are too expensive...where can I buy SignWriting
publications cheaper?"

The answer is....If you desparately want SignWriting publications, but
can't pay for it all immediately, write to me privately and we can work
something out together - perhaps we can set up a payment plan. No matter
what, I appreciate your interest :-)

You see, at present, the Center For Sutton Movement Writing, our nonprofit
organization, is the sole publisher of SignWriting publications. I print
every book myself, page by page, on my own computer. I then bind the books
myself, do the lamination, and prepare the orders and ship them myself. I
also do all the layout and design, and I do all of our catalogs and
literature, and I do all the web design. That is the truth.

The reason for this? At this time publishers can't make money on
SignWriting publications, because so few people are using it at the moment,
so it doesn't pay for other publishers to invest and take the risk.

Do I want it this way? No...I am hoping that school systems will start
using SignWriting, and when that day comes, then schools will start
purchasing books. And when that day comes, there will be money in
publishing our SignWriting books. And then other publishers will begin to
invest in producing them themselves.

For the past 25 years this has been the best way to go - In the beginning
we made the mistake of printing too many copies of books at one time, and
then the writing system improved and the books were out of date within two
months after their printing, and we lost money.

So I save our organization money by printing no more than ten books at a
time. And since we donate books, videos and software to schools now, we
are most definitely a nonprofit!

When you purchase a book or video from us, you are helping us pay our Deaf
consultants, or helping us pay for the color ink or paper that it takes to
print the books. You are helping SignWriting continue.

You are also receiving "hand-made" books - like hand made clothes. That
will not continue forever...but one thing you should know ...I feel
personally in touch with everyone who purchases a book because I prepare it
specially for you when you order.

So the reason our books are not cheaper is because we cannot print
thousands of copies at one time. When the day comes that we can do that,
then the cost per book goes down.

Of course if there is a publisher who wants to take the risk to publish
SignWriting literature, I will do all I can to provide you with beautiful
colorful originals. We can make an arrangement, where we shoulder half the
burden, to see if it sells.

Meanwhile, we are starting to receive orders of five dictionaries at a time
from Amazon.com! That was a surprise. If this keeps up, I will have to
start printing more than ten at a time!

So you can see that this has been a labor of love for the past 25 years,
but well worth it. And the system is stabilizing now....there are fewer and
fewer changes to be made to the documents...so I am hopeful that other
publishers will get involved soon.

So write to me if you want to pay on a payment plan, and I truly appreciate
your support -

Have a great evening -

Valerie :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Valerie Sutton at the DAC
Deaf Action Committee for SW

SignWriting

https://www.SignWriting.org

Center For Sutton Movement Writing
an educational nonprofit organization
Box 517, La Jolla, CA, 92038-0517, USA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


  Replies Author Date
567 Re: Cheaper SW Books? Judy Kegl Fri  11/6/1998

  Message 565  |  Previous | Next  [ Up Thread ] Message Index