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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Author

new funding model for guidebooks

Superstu

11/09/2012
3:22:55 PM

The North Shore guide is nearing completion, and I'd like to take the
time to publicly announce the new funding model for guidebook
development, which I hope will eventually be embraced around the
country.

For some time I have pondered the problem of funding guidebooks in the
brave new digital world, where eBook PDF's can be downloaded
willy-nilly and city gear stores require massive profits to even carry
titles these days. And then we had the Boganville saga, where new
route developers wanted a poor guidebook editor to pay for new route
info! Incredulous!

In this new era its getting harder and harder for editors to sustain
their lavish jet-set lifestyles that come with being publishing
moguls. OMG I may have to go back to getting chaffeured to the crags,
now that I can't afford the helicopter rides from my Woolloomooloo
penthouse. Times are tough.

But I have some new ideas after reading the recent thread on subjective route quality
assessment (as if guidebook editors ever assigned stars on actual characteristics or
popularity of the climb, haha!). My conclusion is the Boganville bogans got it all wrong.
I reckon its the new routers who need to start paying. So starting with the
North Shore guide, all new routers will need to cough up according to
the following schedule:

one star - $10
two stars - $20
three stars - $50
"awesome" - $5
"great climbing" - $15
"best line in Sydney" - $75
"masterpiece" $150

The full schedule will be posted shortly.

For poor new routers or wannabes just starting out, the following
encouraging route description phrases will be provided free of charge:

"will clean up with traffic" - $FREE
"not bad if you are into that sort of thing" - $FREE
"not bad, but not exactly -FA-'s finest hour" - $FREE

Failure to contribute to the guidebook financially will however attain
a penalty, and you risk your new routes getting the dreaded skull and
crossbones symbol for harmless hold breaking or questionable bolting
practices.

In the spirit of fairness, grades will now be assigned by public
lottery. This will replace the old system of counting M&M's after
taking a handful from the jar.

Superstu

11/09/2012
3:23:17 PM

Yes Andrew I will go and do some real work now..

rodw

11/09/2012
3:31:49 PM

Awsome all my routes are in for free \o/

kieranl

11/09/2012
3:33:27 PM

On 11/09/2012 rodw wrote:
>Awsome all my routes are in for free \o/
Mine too!
Unless of course Stu brings out a new edition of "Established Classics on Scrub and Loose Blocks"

rodw

11/09/2012
3:36:51 PM

I think you also need to charge for..

Grampianesque type rock - $150

or any description comparing the 8m choss fest to the grampians or Araps

benjenga

11/09/2012
6:40:21 PM

Gold star stu :)

shortman

11/09/2012
7:07:51 PM

Classic!

mikllaw

12/09/2012
8:51:21 AM

We all know that a bolt is worth a star on any route, how much will bolting cost us now? Are there discounts for routes with 10 or more bolts/stars? Is there a pensioner's discount?

phillipivan

12/09/2012
10:44:01 AM

How much does "A 'Confirmed Kill' ratio approaching 1:1" cost?

technogeekery

12/09/2012
11:22:26 AM

I think this has legs. And you could beat up those people who prove they have cash in paying for your stars by extorting them further - say a $10/month retainer not to use words like "choss", "thrutch", "contrived" etc. All new routers will claim poverty, but if you actively target them with phrases like "a hideous waste of good hardware", "deserves chopping if only to save the FA's reputation" etc you should shake loose some small change.

kieranl

12/09/2012
11:48:46 AM

Add stiff penalties for hard to clip bolts, to counteract the tendency to reduce bolt count and cost. So a bolts that's hard/dangerous to clip costs 4 times the standard charge.

james

12/09/2012
11:59:48 AM

I thought funding guidebooks was an oxymoron?

IdratherbeclimbingM9

12/09/2012
12:38:43 PM

On 12/09/2012 mikllaw wrote:
>We all know that a bolt is worth a star on any route, how much will bolting
>cost us now? Are there discounts for routes with 10 or more bolts/stars?
>Is there a pensioner's discount?
&
On 12/09/2012 kieranl wrote:
>Add stiff penalties for hard to clip bolts, to counteract the tendency
>to reduce bolt count and cost. So a bolts that's hard/dangerous to clip
>costs 4 times the standard charge.

... and thereby promote overbolting by default ~> leading to either a cheap guidebook or a cheap climbing experience! ~> a lose / lose situation for guidebook authors to aspire to?
Heh, heh, heh.

ajfclark

12/09/2012
1:16:58 PM

On 12/09/2012 james wrote:
>I thought funding guidebooks was an oxymoron?

Come on James, one more post. M9 is hanging out for it!

There are 14 messages in this topic.