This is a further posting of recent interview questions and my answers:How and when did you get involved in this publishing process?
Many of F W Boreham’s books have gone out of print. I became a focus for some Boreham activities and I often received requests for Boreham books. Those books that were available often were selling for exorbitant prices. Two of his books regularly sell on eBay for $500 each. I know of two complete collections that were sold in the USA for $20,000. I was concerned that Boreham books had become collector’s items by people who probably did not even read them but whose trading pushed the prices way beyond the reach of the ordinary person.
How did you meet up with Michael Dalton?
Michael Dalton wrote to me about his passion for the books by F W Boreham. Over the years we have written to each other many times and he sells Boreham books along with many other titles.
In the last two years we began discussing how our dream for Boreham books to be accessible to readers at realistic prices might become a reality and this hope led to the establishment of the John Broadbanks Publishing Company (named after a fictional character in Boreham’s books).
You guys have never met in person, and Michael said there are some funny stories about how people can't believe you haven't met.
We have been separated by hundreds of miles but our enthusiasm for Boreham books and our publishing project has welded us together as a fantastic unit.
Can you tell me about some of those times?
Nothing specific but people marvel at all we have achieved when we have never seen each other nor spoken on the phone. This says something about our commitment to this shared vision and the wonders of email communication.
What is your role in the publishing process?
My role has mainly been in selecting material and writing forewords and introductions. Michael is a good writer but he excels at the publishing end of the process and negotiating with printers and artists. We have complementary gifts and we make decisions together. It has been great that as the publishing project has become known, especially through regular postings on The Official F W Boreham Blogsite, other people have offered to do proof reading, cover designs, oversee the distribution of books in America and Australia/New Zealand and give finance to fund the publishing costs.
What are some of the struggles or triumphs you have had during the process?
For Michael and me this project is a sideline to our other work. We would love to be full time on the writing and publishing projects.
What do you hope to accomplish by publishing these books?
We simply want to get as many of the F W Boreham books back in print. The new book Lover of Life is the first one. We are not only republishing out of print books but repackaging some of the Boreham material. Next to come off the printing press is a new book that contains The Best Stories of F W Boreham. Following that is a book on The Best Essays and Sermons of F W Boreham.
Long-term goals - mass publishing and distribution to bookstores?
The republishing and repackaging of Boreham books will be an important step along the way but interest in the life and writing of F W Boreham is building, especially in Australia where he lived for so long and in the USA.
I get enquiries about Boreham books and Boreham matters every week from people all over the world. I am discovering that some readers of the Boreham Blog site are from China and I am waiting for someone from the Chinese speaking world to put their hands up and work with us on translating and publishing Boreham books into Mandarin or Cantonese.
Geoff Pound
Image: Geoff Pound in Florence, Italy
