Battleground Europe series

[andrew pugh]

Happy New Year All.

Does anybody know when the following books are due to hit the shelves?,the titles are as follows,

Guinchy By Michael Stedman.

The German Advance 1918. By Michael Stedman.

Following or Walking the Ancre. By Michael Stedman.

High Wood By Edward Hancock.

The reason Im asking is because they have been advertised on the inner sleeve pages of the Battleground Europe Series

books for a very long time(years in fact). I find these bookes so helpful and intresting for learning about the Great War.

I feel the series of the books are starting to wain,I hope Im wrong, does anyone else have the same view?.

Regards Andy.

[trenchtrotter]

The first two have been out for ages!!!

Probably out of print?

The last two...well High Wood has been promised for years and years.........

Regards

TT

Sorry lied, complete head loss moment...sorry.... none out as yet...

TT

[Jon th14]

I am friends with the Battleground Series Editor at Pen & Sword. He apologised and asked me to pass on the following:

"Titles in the Battleground series are unique, both in authoring and publishing, in a number of ways; one of these is in the encouragement given to previously unpublished authors. What is asked is that the would-be writer knows his subject well, has visited the area more than once and is capable of seeing a writing undertaking through to its end – correct English is viewed as a bonus. Because they use 'amateur' writers, projected titles sometimes go awry. Even published authors meet tragedy in their lives and may experience a drastic change in their circumstances. Because there is little financial reward for the author in writing non-fictional works, it should be viewed as a hobby (or a step up the ladder to greater writing accomplishments books/TV programme presenting). Writing a Battleground book can become very low in the priority should problems arise in life. No longer are titles announced by them where it is likely that difficulties will materialize."

Whilst I understand that it is frustrating when an eagerly anticipated title is delayed, I do think they do their best to get books out on time. The Battleground Series Editor also wanted me to ask if any members of the Great War Forum were interested in writing a title in the series. He says it does not matter if you have never written a book before, as he will help out as much as he can.

[Seadog]

" Because there is little financial reward for the author in writing non-fictional works, it should be viewed as a hobby (or a step up the ladder to greater writing accomplishments books/TV programme presenting)".

My goodness if this is the case its a wonder we have any Battleground books available at all!. I have also noticed in my major bookshops, that if the series is stocked the books are scattered throughout the "Military" catagory when I would have thought that a free-standing dedicated display unit as used by many publishers would be a great improvement both for the store and the potential purchaser.

Norman

[auchonvillerssomme]

I'm sure that those of us that know some of the authors understand the work and commitment thats needed, total dedication and I think that makes them so much the better. They have my respect and admiration. It would be interesting if any of the authors who contribute here could share their own experiences.

Mick

[Seadog]

"The Battleground Series Editor also wanted me to ask if any members of the Great War Forum were interested in writing a title in the series. He says it does not matter if you have never written a book before, as he will help out as much as he can".

Sorry pals for another response. Read the post again and now it looks even more unbelievable. I am an amateur, have no experience in writing whatsoever, do not require a reasonable fee but I have visited the battlefields. I am therefore it seems a little "over qualified" to be an author but I will give it a shot as it sounds "easy peasy".

Norman

[Jon th14]

"The Battleground Series Editor also wanted me to ask if any members of the Great War Forum were interested in writing a title in the series. He says it does not matter if you have never written a book before, as he will help out as much as he can".

Sorry pals for another response. Read the post again and now it looks even more unbelievable. I am an amateur, have no experience in writing whatsoever, do not require a reasonable fee but I have visited the battlefields. I am therefore it seems a little "over qualified" to be an author but I will give it a shot as it sounds "easy peasy".

Norman

I think you're reading a little too much into this.

I know that Pen & Sword are very proud of the Battleground Series and the authors that have helped to put it together. The point was simply that many of the Battleground Series authors are first-time writers. The term 'amateur' was used in a publishing sense and in no way was meant to demean the current authors. I doubt that there are many publishing companies that will take on as many first time authors as Pen & Sword. The help given to these authors has meant that many have gone on to writing bigger titles, so the experience they have gained has been invaluable.

Unfortunately there isn't a huge amount of money to be made in publishing, unless you're called J K Rowling, and the Series Editor is just being realistic here. The last thing he would want is to disappoint an author, so he feels it only fair to make them aware of the dedication that is needed.

I know the Series Editor very well and know he would never insult his authors. If you ever get chance to speak to any Battleground Series author I'm sure they will be only too happy to tell you how much respect they have for him and how helpful he has been.

My original reply was to give Pen & Sword an opportunity to explain why some titles have been delayed and I'm sure that we all understand that there are times in life when tragedies occur and work and hobbies take a back seat. That is what has happened in the cases of the books mentioned in the original post.

[stevem49]

Deleted my post. I do not want to be involved in what seems a personal argument between P&S and Paul

sm

[Paul Reed]

Hmm - ok, well if that's what you think, I shall shut up.

[Mick D]

I've enjoyed every one that I've bought and I own every WW1 related book.

I hope that all existing authors continue to do what they do, and produce more!

I would like to encourage any would be author to do one, if it was WW1 related I'd buy it !

Mick D

[andrew pugh]

God Evening All.

Im sorry if I have stired something up,I did't mean that to happen,Its was just an observation that these books have been advertised for some time, but never published,when you see them advertised, in my case, especially one particular title, you look forward to it being forthcoming,then let down when it's not.These books have helped me so much in my research and of understanding

the Great War.They are, in my opinion, excellent books, so please! please! encourage these writers to finish these books.

Once again I hope I havn't caused upset.

Best Regards Andy.

[PhilW]

Of course, it would be possible for any member of this forum to contact the series editor re publication dates or becoming an author by sending him a personal message - look for his name in the front of one of the books and then on the list of members of this forum.