DP23011 Vanity Publishing (Autobiographies)

So reader before you start reading about me I need to clarify some of my personal views on this subject of writing about yourself in an autobiographical book or blog and how my personal circumstances have recently changed my views on this subject.

I had always thought those that write about themselves were being somewhat vain so I always avoided doing so. Running DMB Publishing I got some interest from those wanting to publish their own autobiographies. But it never interested me since I could never envisage it having much in the way of potential sales unless they were famous or infamous. At the time I was not particularly interested in reading about normal people’s lives. This area of publishing is known as Vanity Publishing so I avoided becoming involved in respect of my own life and in publishing these type of autobiographies for other people. They can be a real money spinner for publishers, particularly in America, although when you add up the costs involved in getting it right for the customer with revisions and so forth as a publisher you can struggle to make it pay unless you charge £1000’s. In the UK, unlike America, customers are unlikely to be prepared to spend that amount on a published autobiography.

Then at a family gathering I did agree to publish an autobiography for a new family member, John Moverly OBE, because he had a higher media profile and I thought it might have some sales potential. It was called “From Parish Pump to Royal Appointment” and John had paid to have it Vanity Published but had now run out of printed copies. It proved a very interesting book to read and I learnt more about a new relative than could ever have been communicated at a family party. Although an enlightening book it never sold many copies no doubt due to a lack of marketing. It is available to purchase on Amazon using this link

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09FH1K236

So what else has changed my view on autobiographical writing. I have lost two very dear friends. George Szubinski, my business partner in Zig Zag Digital Associates Limited, who suddenly died of Covid in April 2020 and Steven Wallsgrove, a Warwick Historian, whose books I was publishing who died just as suddenly in October 2021. In both cases I had asked them to write autobiographies that I would have freely published for them. Neither did so but George did make a start on one which you can read if you follow this link.

https://social.shorthand.com/zubo01/jC41NksYYu/dedicated-to-james-jerzy-szubinski. 

This is George’s dedication site for his son James who he lost in a terrible accident in the home in 2007. Click on “@zubo01”, then click on “Who do I think I am” and then scroll down to read the start of his autobiography. It’s a unique beginning to an autobiography that would have been well worth reading had he completed it.

In both cases I wrote “In Memory Blogs” for them on this blog site. 

George Szubinski 

(https://dmbpublishing.blogspot.com/2020/12/leaving-digital-legacy.html ) 

Steven Wallsgrove 

(https://dmbpublishing.blogspot.com/2023/01/23-02-steven-wallsgrove-xxxx-2021.html ) 

But in both their cases there was so much of their lives missing that I would have been interested to read about. But is that just me? Two lives ended with the detail of all their life experiences lost forever. Autobiographies could have easily been written by them and remained available for future generations.

In my own case a heart attack on the 30^thJanuary 2023 and open heart surgery on the 20^th February 2023 set me thinking it was time to both downsize my possessions and record some of my working life experiences. My attempts at an autobiography will only be work, project and employment focussed with me not being interested in sharing anything more personal about my life. Sorry I am not going into those areas.

My garage is full of paperwork relating to my previous employments and my own business activities. So I first tackled the records from my employment at JBA Software Limited (1990 – 2000) and this linked into my previous Halfords Limited employment (1975 – 1990) both IT based jobs. Whilst previously Avery Limited (1966 – 1973) and Triplex Safety Glass Limited (1973 – 1975) had been employment that was based upon my CEng in Mechanical Engineering graduate skills.

These engineering skills and experience related to design, manufacturing processes and factory management. At Avery it covered Dynamic Balancing Machines for jet engines, missiles and dentist drills in their Testing Machine Division in Smethwick, Birmingham and their Research Centre in Tamebridge, Walsall north of Birmingham.

Whilst at Triplex I managed a factory producing toughened glass for cars and then in their Aircraft Division I was technically responsible for Concorde, Boeing 747 and Spitfire windscreen manufacture. I remember having to have responsibility for a handgun !!!!. Civil airliner windscreens not only have to withstand a frozen chicken impact outside but they have to contain a bullet fired from inside of the cockpit. From the days of high jackers getting into the cockpit. After firing the gun you could see the bullet lodged within the acrylic layer. From memory a 747 windscreen has seven layers of toughened glass alternating with acrylic layers with the inner and outer layers obviously made of glass. The finished product had to be optically perfect. In the repair area returned hail damaged 747 windscreens from tropical storms over the Pacific could have up to five of these layers damaged by hitting 6-inch hail stones. The windscreens frames were re-glazed and then sent back for reinstallation on the 747.

So the area I am going to start with in respect of being autobiographical relates to my Halfords to JBA career move in 1990. This was a significant career move which coincided with me selling my “Cake and Bake” bakery business which we had owned for 10 years along with shutting down my garage based printing business. This used both letterpress and lithographic printing technologies which I had taught myself. The development of my book printing package continued using PC based DataEase. Busy times. It had always been a Bannister trait of my Grand Father and Father to have multiple home and business projects on the go at any one time. This applies to me these days in retirement with my DMB Publishing business. What applied to me, my Grand Father and Father, was if we didn’t keep creative and active depression could soon take hold. The essence of life and to avoid depression is to always keep busy preferably with something of a creative nature. Both my Grandfather and Father were water colour artists whilst my Grandfather made things in metal and my Father made things in wood.