Endorsements?
Written by Mark Van Steenwyk : September 6, 2007
Hey all. I’m continuing in my work to replace all the scripture used in the Missio Dei Breviary with the NET Bible. The NET Bible is the most open source translation out there–and it hasn’t sacrificed scholarship at all. The only issue I have with them is that they’ve maintained masculine language in those cases where the passage should be gender non-specific.
I’m also finishing up an introduction and title page. The breviary will be licensed under Creative Commons. Basically, I’ll allow everyone to distribute it as much as they want, as long as they attribute the source and don’t make money off of it.
I’m going to use Lulu.com as the printer. That will allow an easy way to sell the book through their service, as well as sell it through Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble’s website. I doubt it will be sold in actual stores.
But there is one question remaining: should I include endorsements on the back? That would certainly help with sales…but I’m not sure if I should do it. And if I did, who should I get to endorse it? Any thoughts? Any offers?
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I’ll endorse it!!! I’m sure that would bring in one, maybe two extra readers.
Endorsements are basically a good thing. It’s pretty much the same thing as a blogroll: recommending someone/thing based on relational authority. I’ll respect an endorsement/link if I respect the person doing it.
Mark,
My first gut feeling is no endorsements. But then my second gut feeling is - if there are endorsements it should be from those in the community who are using the breviary right now oppose to the practice to gather names of “guru’s” and “big names” to pump up the selling.
I’m looking fwrd to it.
Paace.
E.
Its great to see that others are thining about the creative common licenses and its place in the church. So go on with that.
As for endorsements, I think it could be a good thing. Not to boost the selling, but to give some assurence about the quality of the book. Is ALOT of bad and strange christian litterature out there, if some “guru” or “big name” can support it and say its a sound and good prayer book it would be a good thing for all the people that doesnt know your community..
here in sweden Im thinking about the next printing of our similiar project, we lost alot of money on the last one, it was a gift and I paid the printing cost from my own pocket. The thing is people did not give so much so I dont know if it will be another printing even though people want it. How do you think about this money (mammon?) issue?
I’m kinda torn. I could, for example, ask my friend Tony Jones to write an endorsement. After all, he is the National Coordinator for Emergent Village. But then, suppose, I don’t ask my friend Josh to write an endorsement. After all, he is only an early 20 something intern with Missio Dei and works 3/4 time at a coffee shop. To ask Tony but not ask Josh might be seen as reinforcing the notion that celebrity opinions mean more than the opinions of “regular folk.” Are the thoughts of famous people really more important than the thoughts of the hoi polloi?
On the flip side, however, it does serve a useful purpose. If people know and trust the writings of someone like Tony, then they’ll be reassured when a book bears his stamp of approval. But is such approval worth the cost of reinforcing the cult of celebrity?
Right now, I can imagine Tony rolling his eyes at me.
Elof,
Regarding the “Mammon” issue. I think we definitely need to make choices that take away the power Money has over our lives. But, at the same time “a worker is worthy of his wages.”
My hope is that by making the breviary free online…and by allowing people to copy and print it (whether from the web or by photocopying the book), I’m allowing the book to be a true gift to others.
At the same time, the regular book sales won’t be at cost–but at a profit. I will allow people to contact me to buy the book at cost for themselves or as a group if they don’t want to buy it at full value. In this way, I hope to have all my bases covered, but still allow for some sort of income for my community. We certainly won’t make much of a profit, but hopefully it will be something.
let both kind of endorsment on the book then. One from the ordinary guy/girl, and one of some more “famous” leader. But I youll know whats best. A guess we dont have the same trouble with celebrity christians in sweden.