Lo Scarabeo Encyclopaedia on Kickstarter

gregory

£60 got you the book, Tarot 2010 by Lo Scarabeo, 5 Tarot decks., 2 uncut printing sheets and some stretch goals thing - can't hep but wonder how much money they have been making sellin decks since doing the math here it looks like each one cost them a dollar...
You are a cynic aren't you. :) Determined that this is Not OK. As well as Ric, Callanish has made some very good points - I hope you read them.

LoS run on a very tight profit margin. I do actually know that. I've talked to Pietro his own self. They were actually in seriously dodgy straits not so long ago. Tarot is not a way to get rich - but they are all so passionate about it. You really need to visit and see for yourself.

But you don't need to be in this thread if you think it's all some kind of scam. I'm sure it isn't.
 

staticfuzz

£60 got you the book, Tarot 2010 by Lo Scarabeo, 5 Tarot decks., 2 uncut printing sheets and some stretch goals thing - can't hep but wonder how much money they have been making sellin decks since doing the math here it looks like each one cost them a dollar...

That seems a bit unfair. I run a business and sell products and make barely anything on them. Sometimes I still give them away for free or at discounted rates because even though it is unsustainable and I am losing money on those items, it serves a longer term goal, like happy customers, new customers, loyal customers, rewarding people who order a lot, raising awareness for my business or for a new product, etc. If I sold my wares at the reduced rate to everyone all the time I would soon go out of business, but doing it in a targeted way can help bring in more money long term.
 

Callanish

That seems a bit unfair. I run a business and sell products and make barely anything on them. Sometimes I still give them away for free or at discounted rates because even though it is unsustainable and I am losing money on those items, it serves a longer term goal, like happy customers, new customers, loyal customers, rewarding people who order a lot, raising awareness for my business or for a new product, etc. If I sold my wares at the reduced rate to everyone all the time I would soon go out of business, but doing it in a targeted way can help bring in more money long term.

Me too.

As Gregory said:
Tarot is not a way to get rich - but they are all so passionate about it.

I've been running a free to use website for 4 years now in addition to the free Tarot App that compliments it for the last 2.
Yet to make any money from it, it would be nice if someday it could pay me a living wage.
Don't believe me? Feel free to check the UK public business records for "Phuture Me Ltd".

The best reward I get, which keeps me going, is when someone contacts me to say that the software I give away for free changed their life for better or helped them on their path to enlightenment.

It's disappointing, and disheartening, when someone suggests that you are out to con them and just interested in the money.
Don't do that, you just spoil it for everyone else.

Callanish
 

nicky

But you don't need to be in this thread if you think it's all some kind of scam. I'm sure it isn't.

I never said I thought this was a scam. I think it is an innapropriate venue to for a publishing company to sell books. As the topic is " Lo Scarabeo Encyclopaedia on Kickstarter" I felt I could talk about Lo Scarabeo Encyclopaedia on Kickstarter. Just because I have an opinion that differs I dont think I should be exluded from the discussion.
Discussion is the whole point of a forum - and how boring it would be if everyone drank the same kool-aid.
 

tarotbear

I never said I thought this was a scam. I think it is an innapropriate venue to for a publishing company to sell books.

What's 'inappropriate' about it? :confused:

Being a 'publishing company' does not exclude them from having expenses that could easily undermine a project, or make possible distributors think too many times and decide not to carry the book. Using Kickstarter to find out if there is enough interest to 'float' a project is a great idea, gives copies to those that donate which in turn could turn into future sales, or even convince a skeptical distributor to rethink their first decision.

Do you have any understanding how book publishing works ... and doesn't work? How many books have you authored - and published?
 

starlightexp

I think the perception is that LS is an established publisher already and that they are using a source that typically is used by independent artists. What is most likely not known is that even major publishers can run tight margin wise. The book does look to be a great book for those getting into tarot and could become the next big classic if it all is presented as a cohesive work
 

Debra

I hope they hire a professional translator and a professional editor, preferably native English speakers.
 

IreneCroft

Question about content

Hello!

I'm from Russia and here we have a collection "Tarot Encyclopedia" from Hachette and LoScarabeo. As far as I know, there were similar projects in Italy and Spain.

What I would like to know is how this book differs from our encyclopedia? Because from the table of contents I see that historical chapters are almost the same. In our collection we have pages about the Visconty Tarot, Printing Dynasties of the Marseilles, Modern Marsailles... And the sample chapter about the Court Cards has many in common with the pages we got.

So is Tarot Fundamentals a kind of reworked, more complete version of that partwork?
 

RiccardoLS

@IreneCroft
So is Tarot Fundamentals a kind of reworked, more complete version of that partwork?
Yes.

We started writing the material for the Italian edition of the Partworks in 2004-2006. However the Partworks was organized in 2 pages pills, and with a lot of necessary redundancies. Mostly, in the Partworks, the original content had been simplified to the core to address the widest possible not-Tarot audience.

Tarot Fundamentals (and the other two potential books):
- originated from the Partworks
- language and content had been de-simplified for a more focused reader
- content organized and updated (redundancies cleaned)
- additional content written

@Debra

Regarding authors, translation and editing

Actually, when in 2004 we started writing for the Partworks, LS wanted English authors on the project, because it already envisioned this book in the current form.

Core authors were Marck McElroy and Barbara Moore.
Italian authors (to be translated) were me and Giordano Berti.
Additional content came from Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin.
The editing was (and is) entrusted to Sasha Graham. She also wrote a lot of additional content.

@Myself

One thing I would like to point out is the idea Sasha built the volume out.
The whole project is based to be a Journey, with all concepts starting easy and squared (squared = definite rules, yes and no, step by step approach), and evolve to complex and deep.
All the techniques we have in Tarot are seen not as "right of wrong", but as different layers.
(I think the sample chapter on the Court Cards kind of exemplify what I mean. Also, on the Court Cards there is more material on the individual cards in volume I, a lot in the Structure in Volume II, and even more (like the Mayer Briggs) in volume III.
The idea is Fundamental (the building blocks), Experience (the journey and evolution, the Tarot and you), and Compendium (indepth and gestalt approach to the huge sea of Tarot).
 

kalopaidi

Fot the enthusiastic people that wanted to have some special rewards but ended up with 'just a copy' or only a mentioning as a backer in the book because everything was gone; Lo Scarabeo just announced they added an unlimited pledge level on the kickstarter site called Double Standard Plus.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1428582690/tarot-fundamentals/posts

They're hoping to reach at least the first stretch goal this way I think.