Ch-Ch-Ch-Change

"Still don't know what I was waiting for

Ch-Ch-Ch-Change every time I thought I’d got it made,

it seemed the taste was not so sweet Ch-Ch-Ch-Change",

It's true, change is the only constant. At Wolfgang we've gone from publishing 2 or 3 of my books each year, to publishing as many as ten with a staff of six or seven including part-timers. I've had weeks when I didn't know how I'd make the payroll, and months where the money truly came in faster than I could spend it - and I was trying.

More recently we've changed distributors. CarTech is the firm that now gets our books onto the shelves at Barnes&Noble, and the web page at Amazon. We are still knocking out 7 and 8 books per year, (with a staff of 3-1/2 including the dog) and we have something like 50 titles in our catalog. All this is good, but at times it seems like I spend most of my time just trying to keep a lot of balls in the air. It's like the old joke: it's hard to remember your goal was to drain the swamp when you're knee deep in alligators. Thus, the need for ch-ch-ch-change.

Starting November 1, most of Wolfgang's administration will be handled by CarTech. In addition to doing our distribution, they will collect money and pay bills, and tell me at the end of each month if the money coming in exceeded the money that went out. With just a few exceptions, all orders, even the small orders we typically fulfill from the office, will be handled by the able crew at CarTech.

What it means to me - I hope - is that I can get back to publishing and writing books and spend less time standing in knee-deep water wrestling alligators. What it doesn't mean is that I've sold Wolfgang. Or that Wolfgang will no longer publish and print quality motor-head books. A sample from next year's schedule includes a Power Hammer book, and an Airbrush How-To book from one of the artists who invented free-hand airbrush use, Mickey Harris. Also, Custom Bike Building Advanced from Chris Callen, and Triumph MC Enthusiast's Guide from some guy named Remus.

There are some new phone numbers, but the old one still works. The Wolfgang web site will be part of the larger CarTech web site - but again, the old web address will still take you there. Once there, you will find all the old books, and an order page. And if you have a problem, there will be somebody on the other end of the phone to answer your questions. The book biz is tough but we're not going anywhere. Watch for new book announcements on Tim's Blog, or either of the FaceBook pages, Timothy Remus or Wolfgang Publications. All these crazy changes, and no doubt a few mis-steps along the way, start on Monday, November 3rd. Hang in there with us....

The Numbers: The old stand-by Wolfgang phone number is still in use: 651 275 0194. The new CarTech numbers: (800-551-4754 and 651-277-1200; 651-277-1203 fax). Web page: www.wolfpub.com.