doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Parker 12 ga question

I don't think Murphy was merely on a "fishing trip". He seemed truly interested in buying his first Parker and came here to learn what he could about the value. Although this is the Internet, he got good and valuable advice. He saved at least $1700.00, maybe more if this "restoration" was really just lipstick on a pig. Parkergun.org is also on the much maligned Internet. We all come to this very site, doublegunshop.com, on the very same Internet because we get so much useful information and entertainment.

One does need to be aware that there is a lot of crap online. The same can be said of books and magazines, but it's more difficult (though certainly not impossible) to get published in those mediums if the information is bad. It's a good thing to access multiple sources of information and learn to seperate the wheat from the chaff.

I learned something from the Internet today. If Ed has made enough from selling gun books and magazine articles to own and sail multiple yachts and vacation in Europe and the Carribean, I must be contributing to a nice life for him and the authors of the many books in my gun library.

Had I spent my time not writing books and articles these past 16 years, but simply worked entry-level at the counter at McDonalds, I would have made more coin of the realm and would have got free french fries. The profit in having written and being published is that, by being well-known, I have an expanded group of friends and acquaintances who share my passion for the fine old double guns.

As a point of interest, Parker Guns: The "Old Reliable" (Safari Press 1997-2004) was written during Winter 1995-96 while at anchor aboard SOLENT for 4 1/2 months in Clark's Court Bay, Grenada BWI. Hard work, but somebody's gotta do it.

My last book, Parker Guns: Shooting Flying and the American Experience (Collector Books 2008) came about as an elaboration of my controversial DGJ article--"Why Parker?"--"Why Parker?" is chapter 1 of PG:SF and the rest of the book answers the questions about how Parker Bro's survived for so many years and built so many good guns; not so much that The Parker Gun was better, but how PB was different in business plan, financial and dealer strength, distribution, marketing, all in the context of the American Experience with Shooting Flying circa 1866-1942.

My advice to anyone contemplating writing a gun book at this late date--DON'T. Newspapers and magazines are assuming the financial supine position (belly up!) and book publishers are suffering also. All the time spent on the Internet or Twittering or Texting or playing video games and watching TV subtracts from the time available to read books.

My first book--PG:The "Old Reliable"--has sold over 8,000 copies, went to second printing, and is approaching the "go-or-no-go" for a third printing. My last book--PG:Shooting Flying...--is ten times better, yet I doubt it will go to second printing. The dead-tree print media is dying a slow death. Alas! Parting shot: Parker Guns: The "Old Reliable," and When Ducks Were Plenty, and Parker Guns: Shooting Flying all were conventional publishing contracts with an advance royalty paid up front and royalties paid on sales (quarterly).

My wrangling three "publisher pays and does the deal" publishing contracts with two major publishers is quite unusual in the gun book genre, where subsidy publishing is the most often, all but universal, way a gun writer gets in print. But given the sorry situation in the book publishing business, I doubt that I could ever get another advance royalty deal unless Tom Cruise options the book for movie rights. C'est la vie! So, I'm going fishing. EDM

Keith, Thank you, I was trying to learn and admit that I don't know a lot about doubles and know nothing about Parkers. I find it amazing that many people on the internet can be so snooty and arrogant with posters.

I thought one of the requirements of owning a Parker was to be snooty and arrogant...that's why I only own lowly English guns.

EDM,

I certainly was not begrudging you for making a nice living, and I most certainly will continue to purchase gun books by you and many other authors. I wish the value of many of my guns had increased as much as some of my gun books. I don't regret buying a single one.

I will take issue with your assertion that you'd have made more as a counter person at McDonalds. I don't think we'll find many burger jockeys who can spend 4 1/2 months at anchor in Grenada on SOLENT, or row-boat for that matter. And there's more to life than free french fries.

Finally, I hope that some budding authors ignore your advice to avoid writing and publishing gun books, because I do enjoy them and get a lot of good information that I sometimes can't find on the Internet. Keep 'em coming.

Ed didn't make his money writing books. That's his message. It's relatively rare to make a living from writing.

KB: You got it right, as usual. My first article for the DGJ cost me more to get it typed by my secretarial service than it paid. Writing about one's passion is a labor of love. Getting paid for writing about one's passion is some validation of the merit of the content and the presentation; a form of financial peer review, after making it over the editorial hurdle. Getting paid disconnects the process from the emotion and, thus, is good.

I have an extensive library of shot-gunning books: virtually everything that was written and published in America from the first book in 1783 until WWI. Books were hard to get published in America because most all authors who wrote about the American experience with guns were not wealthy and were not in a position to self publish.

The reverse was true in the UK where every Lord of the Manor dribbled on in print about every little inconsequential thing. Thus American-published shotgun-related books of merit predominate in the relatively small available library, while a collector of British shot-gunning books has his work cut out to separate the wheat from the redundant chaff.

Don't get me wrong: The Brits have tremendous library of seminal titles--conventionally published, subsidy published, and vanity press--and that's good. But a collector of British titles can wind up owning a lot of bling that never suffered any editorial or economic scrutiny like their contemporaries on our side of the Big Pond.

And another "don't get me wrong": When I advised newbie writers not to write books, what I meant was DON"T be blinded by emotion. Ask around. Find out what it really costs in time and money. Photography is expensive. I bought paper by the box of reams and went through untold numbers of printer cartridges in our industrial-size printer.

My wife Nancy did the typing and typing-over, sometimes 20 times per chapter, from my tapes, which involved full-blown secretarial dictation equipment. If I had to pay Nancy secretarial wages and benefits it would have exceeded $150,000 at today's rates. Parker Guns: Shooting Flying involved 5 years work, and I had no day job. I'm glad I did it, but thank God a publisher handed me a contract with check attached and converted the completed manuscript into finished product at no cost to me. I don't even sell the Trade Edition. My work is done! But contra...

Before anyone decides he is going to do a gun book, ask around. Ask the hard questions, like, for example, Charlie and Louis and Bill and Roy: "You guys had solid gold, the long sought Parker factory records back in 1991 or so, and thought your book would be available for Xmas 1993...then 1994...then 1995...and the first volume was released in 1998 or 1999 and the second in 2000; Would you have undertaken the project knowing, as you now do, what a time and money drain it involved?" I suspect The Parker Story guys would say "Yes, or at least "Maybe," but recast the question to ask if they plan anymore books. Ah! That's a different Parker story, I'm sure.

But let's assume a newbie writer wants to go ahead with a gun-related book, he should be sure that his material is new and different. I recall back in 1995, after Safari Press pitched me for my first Parker book, I was at OpryLand at Wally Bienfeld's NRA show, the first annual get-together of the PGCA. I mentioned the Safari overture to Ron Kirby, and when he introduced me to Wally, he blurted out: "Ed's writing a Parker book!" (It should be noted that Bienfeld Productions was Larry Baer's publisher.) Wally looked me up and down with his evil eye and said: "How is it any different..." and then was paged away to deal with something. I never got to answer him, but his telling question stuck in my brain, and has been there constantly since.

Lesson Numero Uno (That's # 1 for those who are not illegal aliens): If you are going to write what people want to read (and actually pay for), you gotta be different, fresh, new, imaginative, special. This is the hard part. EDM

Murphy, you are not getting a better built douuble by buying a Parker!
Price doesn't mean anything in American doubles, dollar for dollar there are better deals out there but a Parker holds its value like no other and that is where the quality of a Parker is head and shoulders above all others.
Mechanically they are not better then most other American built double, as good, but not better.

EDM,

A 12 Ga VHE Parker bought as an offer I could not refuse put me on research mode some months ago. I borowed your book "The Old Reliable" from a friend. Since I stained it with coffee I had to buy a new one for him, keeping the damaged one. I found you were too sharp and opinionated, until I bought the Parker Story from the DGJ quartet; long, full of data but looks more a historic treatise. Then I realised the contemporary relevance of your book. Before finishing these lines I have ordered your "Parker Guns: Shooting Flying" from Amazon.

Regards

King, I understood that, and certainly comprehended that he was able to retire or semi-retire from the legal profession at age 40. I can also believe that some of his books or articles may have not generated any income. I just find it to be a stretch that every one of his books and articles has had a negative effect on his net worth. Again, I would not ever begrudge him or any author for being succesful. My sole submission to the world of publishing was a journal article entitled "The Stratigraphic Age Determination of an Alleghany Oil Shale; An Improved Masceration Technique". That sure wasn't going to get me a guest spot on the Oprah Show.

While there may be many more unsuccesful authors than those who prosper, there are still plenty who make it big time. I am sure there are many more wealthy romance novel authors than gun book authors, but it strains credibility to suggest that all gun books are philantropic labors of love that are money losing propositions. Well written and researched Parker books or articles may not have quite the audience of those about Colts or Winchesters, but they will arguably have more appeal than many others.

It is also relatively rare to make a living as a professional athlete, but it stll happens often enough that many people try. Thanks for taking the time to try to correct me. Better luck next time.