My work in this field is finished; order publications while you still can

It’s time to move on

I have been at this task for more than 28 years, and all the books in the railway genre I have intended to write I have completed. There is nothing left for me to do, or that I wish to do, so I’m moving on to deploy my writing talents in other fields. All existing stocks of books and calendars will be sold or liquidated by December 31, 2024.

I want to make sure that every reader who wants one or more copies of any of the publications still in print receives them. There are two months left for that purpose. Depending on your gambling instincts and timing, you may get any number of publications at a very low price! You may be among the readers to snatch the last few. Or the stock may evaporate before you act.

The price and quantity reduction plan

For the next two months, I will publish a new blog post (similar to this one) each Sunday indicating new prices (reduced weekly) for remaining titles and the quantities in stock for each. Every week, prices will be further reduced on most or all remaining titles. Those prices will be in place for the week to follow. Subsequent price and quantity reductions will be reflected on the following Sunday's blog post. Standard shipping rates will remain.

As for the logistics of price reductions, I will look at the remaining stock of each publication Saturday evening. That will determine price reductions for each, and the quantity of stock to be recycled that week, per title.

Monday is the recycling pickup day in my neighbourhood, and each Monday a quantity of remaining stock will be liquidated. That number, combined with sales of any titles to readers over the previous week, will be incorporated into the following Sunday’s tally. The reduced prices and quantities remaining of each title will be updated each Sunday and shared in the blog post published that day.

This phasing out of overstock is not a recent decision; I have been recycling surplus copies from print runs for three years now. This is a recent picture of 30 copies of Speed Graphics and Steam 1957! at the curb awaiting pickup:

In terms of the remaining stocks of books and calendars still available for order by clickable PayPal buttons, I will present them in sequence from most scarce to least scarce, and by new reduced price, each week. As the stock of each publication is reduced to zero, all clickable buttons for that title will disappear from the website.

Whatever stocks remain (if at all) of any title by late December 2024, you can assume will be priced well under $10 per unit. Your final chance to order will be immediately following my Sunday, December 29, 2024 blog post (the last one dealing with railway book content on this website). By then, though, it will be the last few days of December, after Christmas. Whether you want to take your chances and wait that long or not, I cannot say or advise you. This is uncharted territory for all of us!

Queries and questions

If there are any questions or impressions posed from readers over the course of the week of a general nature (kindly email me at ian@ianwilsonauthor.com), I will address them in the weekly Sunday blog post to follow. If there are logistical issues with placing orders and things of that nature, I will respond directly to each reader by email.

From time to time, readers have contacted me with questions relating to the Canadian historical railway field. I usually direct them to the body of work I have published. I will continue to do so.

Consider all my work in this field (including new blog content) to be finished as of now, and my record to stand in the publications I have released. After December 31, 2024, I will only direct inquiries concerning historic Canadian railway operations to those print publications that exist in readers’ hands (for I will have no more copies to supply), with no other input on my behalf. It goes without saying (I hope) that I will not be available for any speaking engagements (online or in-person) as to historic railway subjects because I will no longer be an active writer or publisher in this field.

Ordering alternatives aside from PayPal

As usual, for any Canadian readers wishing to remit funds by Interact e-transfer, kindly use the weekly posted prices as a worksheet and contact me (by email) for a shipping quote. Then we’ll generate a total for monies owed (with GST) and you can remit the funds while I package your publications for shipment.

For those readers wishing to remit funds by cheque/check, kindly contact me by email, indicating the titles you wish to receive, and I will set them aside pending arrival of your payment in the mail.

Note: You may not order "on spec" now to secure a lower price later. No copies of any publication will be set aside for any reader until such time as the prices reduce. You may only order and pay for copies of the publications at the currently posted prices.

There are a few dozen readers of mine who only order by mail, and I will send a one-time letter to them in the next few days outlining the upcoming price reductions and deadline for placing orders. Any orders received after December 31 (online or by mail) will not be filled because there will be no stock remaining.

Railway content on IanWilsonAuthor.com and future email broadcasts

Shortly after the start of the New Year, I will take down the railway content from this website IanWilsonAuthor.com in favour of new content which I will generate (outside the historical railway field). So, read, digest, screenshot, any blog posts of interest to you. Keep in mind that my books and calendars have incorporated everything I have presented on my website. So, if you have the pertinent publications, you need not concern yourself with blog posts.

My railway videos on the Vimeo platform will be in place there until June 2025 (when my subscription expires), after which time they will be taken down.

The AWeber email list which has generated my broadcasts for many years will be closed down at the end of this year. All the readers on that list (and I advise you to join this list, to more conveniently keep abreast of updates for the next two months) will receive one or more invitations to follow my new writing on a platform to be announced.

What’s ahead for me as an author, and how may you find me?

My future writing may peripherally touch on railway topics or my various series of books, because of course I have devoted the last 28 years of my life to this field almost exclusively. For those readers who appreciate my writing regardless of subject matter, you will likely be interested, perhaps even more-so, in the new material I will be creating. Stay tuned for announcements in that regard.

What should I—the reader—do, and soon?

In terms of action on your part, I suggest consulting your library to see if there are any of my titles you are missing, of those still available, so you can fill in your collection. Or you may consider buying extra copies of those you already have, on spec, as future gifts for fellow railway enthusiasts, or certainly as Christmas presents this time around, because it will be your last chance.

At the very least, plan your buying strategy and watch the weekly blog posts with updates on quantities and prices so you can gauge when best to make your move.

This week’s prices and stocks remaining

In assessing the remaining stock of books and calendars, I came across four new copies of the 2023 Diesel calendar and two new copies of the 2023 Steam calendar. Each of these collector’s items are available on a first-come, first-served basis for $24.95 CAD/$19.95 USD apiece. Please advise me of your wishes in that regard by email, and I will generate a custom PayPal invoice for you or you may remit funds by Interac e-transfer. As of today, those two publications are in the most limited stock.

Otherwise, these are the starting prices for all remaining publications, which are reduced from regular prices of the recent past. There will be nine more price reductions, on a weekly basis, until Sunday, December 29, 2024. Below follows this week’s roster of prices and quantities remaining. Each of the publication titles is a clickable link, so for your convenience click on that link to go immediately to the page where you may place your order with a PayPal button.

Prices shown in CAD/USD (shipping and GST, where applicable, will be added)

Steam Encounters in the USA vol. 1 $39.95 4 copies
Steam Through Port Credit $79.95 $69.95 23 copies
Steam Encounters in Ontario vol. 1 $39.95/$34.95 $29.95/$26.95 25 copies
Speed Graphics and Steam 1958! vol. 2 $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 28 copies
The Secret of the Old Swing Bridge $19.95/$16.95 $14.95/$12.95 33 copies
Speed Graphics and Steam 1959! $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 43 copies
Steam in Northern Ontario $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 48 copies
Steam at Allandale $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 51 copies
Steam Scenes of Allandale $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 55 copies
Steam Memories of Lindsay $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 56 copies
Steam Scenes of Stratford $24.95/$21.95 $19.95/$16.95 57 copies
Steam Encounters in Ontario vol. 2 $39.95/$34.95 $29.95/$26.95 57 copies
Steam Echoes of Hamilton $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 60 copies
Speed Graphics and Steam 1958! vol. 1 $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 69 copies
Steam at Washago $19.95/$16.95 $14.95/$12.95 107 copies
King's Highways & Steam Trains vol. 1 $24.95/$21.95 $19.95/$16.95 111 copies
Steam Scenes of Northern Ontario $24.95/$21.95 $19.95/$16.95 111 copies
Steam Encounters at Montreal vol. 2 $39.95/$34.95 $29.95/$26.95 117 copies
2025 Canadian Branchline calendar $34.95/$29.95 and $29.95/$24.95 all-inclusive 121 copies
Steam Encounters at Montreal $39.95/$34.95 $29.95/$26.95 132 copies
Speed Graphics and Steam 1957! $69.95/$59.95 $49.95/$44.95 179 copies

Final thoughts for this week

Anything I haven’t already covered in this week’s blog post I will cover in the next one. And that will include any pertinent questions from the readership of a general nature and applicable to the readership at large.

Thank you for your attention to the sombre nature of this blog post! Be assured, I am not “getting my affairs in order.” I am in good health with burning ambition on writing topics which will keep me engaged for many years! But I know when it’s time to take my leave from this stage, and now is that time.

Please share a link to this blog post to any railway enthusiast friend or relative who you believe will be interested in this news. Also feel free to share the news on any social media platform or online groups to which you belong. If you have any questions or queries, though, be advised I do not check in with any social media platforms such as Facebook, so any queries there you may assume I will not see.

For your convenience...

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