The Woodworker's Journal book

It is disturbing for me to read the thread about the Woodworker's
Journal book. I can assure you that there was no intention of causing
aggravation and for that I apologize.

Most of the people getting the book offer in the mail are on (or have
been on) our subscriber list. The book project was created for a
couple of reasons. First off, we have 29 years of woodworking content,
the majority of which is now out of print. We get hundreds of queries
asking for these plans every year. Our only recourse at this time is
to photocopy the plans, which is not a great solution for our
customers or for us. After thinking about it for a while, we thought a
good way to put those projects back in print would be to put them into
a book series. The problem was that, while we know how to make and
sell magazines … we don't know much about selling books. (And as
pedestrian as it sounds, we are a "for profit" organization. That is
the second reason.) So we hired a marketing company to help us do
that. Their suggestion was a continuity series sent through the mail.
We tested the concept (10,000 books on the first mailing), and got a
favorable response.
The first book in a series like this always contains a "no strings
attached" offer. If you like it, and would like to see more, you can
buy it. If you don't like it, there are two choices. You can return
it, at our expense (return label is included), or simply consider it a
free gift and do with it as you will. That's all clearly stated in the
letter that comes with the book. As a side point, we have recently
added a good-sized "bubble" on the outside of the book packaging
that says "No obligation opportunity. Please read enclosed letter"
just to be very clear. Again, I apologize for the aggravation.

Rob Johnstone,
Editor, Woodworker's Journal