Independent publisher Ovolo is celebrating sales of The
Housebuilder’s Bible surging past the 100,000 mark. “We have put
a great deal of work into improving the product with better design and
higher production values over the past four years and this is a great
reward for that effort,” says Mark Neeter, Ovolo’s Managing Director.
Now in its Seventh edition, The Housebuilder’s Bible was originally
self-published by author, Mark Brinkley,. “When Ovolo took over the
title we set about turning the book from a cottage industry into a
professional-looking publication,” says Neeter. “We had great material to
work with as the book is a fantastic read - but then there aren’t many
other housebuilder’s with a Cambridge degree who can write,” he adds.
Sales of The Housebuilder’s Bible are mainly driven by word of
mouth and personal recommendation. “We have regular buyers who
come back edition after edition,” says Neeter. The Housebuilder’s
Bible is unusual in that it appeals to public and professionals alike. Read
avidly by many selfbuilders it is also used by architects, surveyors and
even builders who fi nd the book’s extraordinary range of information
valuable. “It’s almost like a ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ for
housebuilders in that it has an informed opinion on almost every area
of construction,” says Ovolo’s marketing manager, Michelle Thorn. “We
get letters from wives who’ve bought it for husbands and end up
reading it themselves and loving it” she adds.
Initially launched by Mark Brinkley in 1994 the book was turned
down by a number of major publishers as being either too specialised
or likely to date quickly as it contains price information. Neither has
proved to be the case. The 432 page book is usually within Amazon’s
top 200 titles and is stocked as a core item by all of the UK’s major
booksellers.
This year Ovolo is concentrating on marketing the title to
independent bookshops. “This is an absolutely rock solid backlist title
which sells year-in, year-out,” says Neeter. “We recognise that it’s diffi cult
for a company our size to reach independents
but we are determined to crack this sector of the
market,” he adds.
The Housebuilder’s Bible retails at £19.95 and
is available on full trade terms from Gardners and
Bertrams
No comments:
Post a Comment