Just a question, and I'm not sure about copyright issues and all that, but I am wondering if it would be possible for Faith Alive to make ebook/kindle book versions of material previously published available? Good resources quickly go out of print and it seems a shame to not be able to access them in any way. I am thinking of previous series of Bible studies like Word Alive and the like. I think also of an excellent 40 page booklet for new members (recently published but no longer available).
Has there ever been interest in something like this?
Comments
Good question, Jeff, and it's great to hear there's interest in some of the out-of-print products from Faith Alive. I'm involved with the ongoing printing and distribution of Faith Alive products, so I'll share some of the thinking we've had about this exact issue.
First, it's important to understand that getting those electronic files created does cost money. In some cases, quite a bit depending on how old it is, what format the electronic file is in, etc. In some cases it means pulling it off of old media or converting from an old file format. Even if it's in a modern format, proper ebook conversion (ePub) can be a couple of hundred dollars per title. Bottom line...you need a lot of requests for a title to justify the staff time it takes to retrieve and convert it.
Having said that...we are working on a solution that will result in far fewer titles going out of print. It's called 'print-on-demand' and it enables us to keep titles in print even if the sales volume goes down to just a handful of copies a year. Once that is in place, we can not only keep more titles in print, but consider bringing back into print some older titles. We still have the costs mentioned above, but by 'restocking' it we make it available to more people and therefore the conversion costs can be recouped.
If there's a particular title you're interested in, please mention it when you call Faith Alive, or send a note to [email protected]. Our customer service reps are logging those requests, so we can track demand and make stewardly decisions about what titles to bring back.
Or we can start a list here, and open it up to other people reading this thread: What Faith Alive titles would you like to see back in stock?
Let's Discuss
We love your comments! Thank you for helping us uphold the Community Guidelines to make this an encouraging and respectful community for everyone.