Book: Kane Trading on: Advanced Fibonacci Trading Concepts
Well, the time has come for me (July 7, 2006) to make a change in the structure of the book sales, as I have alluded to for some time. This page will give some of my thoughts and reasoning for the changes. From this point forward I will only be selling the entire book series as a set. I will be dropping individual sales. During the 'transition' from individual sales and a full set package I will offer one book individually, for those that simply can't make the commitment without seeing some of the work first. More on that below.
Let's get to my reasoning behind this decision. First off, when I started this project I had no idea where it would go. As I have explained here and there in various commentary and in the books, the more I wrote, the more I realized I had to write, to get it all out there, and have the methodology be as fully explained as I wanted it to be.
As I wrote the last three books, A Totally New 5-Point Pattern, Four 'New' ABCD Pattern Variations, and Median Line and Fibonacci Synergy, I realized I wasn't willing to sell those as stand-alones. This was material I was uncomfortable at best releasing, and as I have explained elsewhere, as a compromise I would only sell those as part of a full set. I felt if people were vested in a full set purchase they would likely not want to reveal the techniques in those books, to help retain the value for their own trading that I feel it has for mine. I ask in the books, and in personal communications, not to post the techniques to boards or forums, and to keep the material to themselves. So far, I feel everyone has honored this.
This brings us closer to my point. Most of my sales are for full sets. I just get a notification the entire set has been bought . No e-mails, no questions. They read the almost two hundred free commentary and the free articles that I have posted, written mostly for the purpose of evaluating my work (albeit a simplified, or should I say a 'screened' version). They make a decision and they buy. Then I have two other basic groups. One is those who buy one book, almost always Advanced Fibonacci Trading Concepts, to see what Fibonacci is like.
This buyer is not very likely to follow up with additional purchases, as the reason for the purchase was mostly just to see what Fibonacci is like. Although I am hard pressed to recommend another book for 'Fibonacci trading explained', this role was never my intention with this project, and with this book. I am very uncomfortable with someone buying just one book, especially this book.
As the presentation of my methodology has evolved I have focused in more and more on trying to offer a comprehensive explanation of how I devised my own 'Trading Plan'. It's comprehensive from top to bottom, but more than that, it all fits together to form what I feel is 'synergy'. All the pieces are needed, and without all of them, the grander sense and logic of what I have come up with can't be seen. Each piece surely has value on its own, but presenting stand-alone pieces is not what this project is about for me.
I want to show the synergy, the entire picture. I want to 'target' those that want to see a comprehensive approach to trading that covers everything I have come up with. When one buys one book they see one small piece, out of 'context'. I don't want to do that. Not only that, Advanced Fib was my first book, and as I have said elsewhere, the only book I had with an 'editor'. After that I went fully to my own style, and let my writing style as we know it now blossom. Many have told me they love my writing style, and I feel I have improved tremendously as time has went on.
I feel Advanced Fib would almost be my last choice if I were to have someone read one of my books. Yet it is essentially the only book people pick if they are to buy just one. I even send out two 'flyers' with this book when it is bought singly, explaining why I feel it isn't a very good tool to evaluate the body of my work, and the aspects we are now discussing. Although I am uncomfortable having my work 'evaluated' with any single book, I feel Trade Management is the best choice for a single book to read, given that the last three aren't potential choices for me, since I won't sell them singly.
The last group of buyers are those that 'one-sie' and 'two-sie' me to death. They buy one book, and the day the get it they read it cover to cover, and buy another, or maybe two more. The day after they get those, they buy another one or two. This goes on until they buy all but the last three, then we make arrangements for purchase of the last three, because they are now a 'full set buyer', in essence. This requires me to set up a special page for them. I make multiple trips to the post office and wait in a long line each time (not to mention I live like forty miles each way from the post office), and do multiple e-mails, delivery confirmations and insurance slips, packing, bookkeeping entries, and on and on.
Now, one might say 'Hey, you're in business to sell books, quit complaining, you're having sales.' While this is true, and I'm glad I have sales, I am also not in this to maximize the gross proceeds I can get. I am in this as a project, to try to help out aspiring professional traders. That's my focus with this. I am trying to get the methodology out, in its entirety, and to have the time and energy to do what I really enjoy most with the project, and that is work with my select few mentor students.
My focus in life is on my own personal trading, and not 100% this project. I am not a 'vendor'. I've covered this extensively in the commentary, especially in one particular commentary, so I don't need to go into that here. The point is, I am only going to devote so much time to this, and it becomes a matter of where is the time best used. I feel it is on the serious full set buyers and the mentor students. If someone needs to buy all the books one or two at a time before they can 'be sure' I just can't help them out.
Some have told me these changes are not a very good idea. Most, if not all of these people, are not business owners. Perhaps the most trusted advice I have gotten is from a student of mine who has now done the mentorship three times. He is a self-made millionaire through business, and is transitioning to full-time trading. He has said from day one I am crazy to sell this information for so little. His advice was to sell the books only with a mentorship package, only with a non-disclosure agreement (as others do), and for a lot more money. I think he has been right all along. Instead, I've been trying to transition.
It's now too late for non-disclosure agreements, but perhaps some day I may transition to only mentorships. That would be a ways off. For now, I want to try out full set sales only. I will offer Trade Management as a stand-alone, at least for now, for those that must read one book first. I will also still offer the two eArticles separately, for those that need even more to look at before making a decision. Keep in mind that hard copy versions of those two eArticles are part of the full set. I will create a separate page for everyone who buys Trade Management and wants to complete the set in one shot.
All in all this is not so much a 'business' decision as one that helps line up what I am trying to do for traders with what I am actually offering. I want to present my entire methodology, more like what it is, a comprehensive 'course', as opposed to a bunch of books. I want to spend my time working with traders, since that is where I get the most personal satisfaction. One look at the testimonials page and you'll understand what I mean. I don't want to spend my time driving to the post office and waiting in line, and doing bookkeeping entries. I felt this was a great time to make this transition, as I make some other big-time lifestyle changes. Those will be (or are) explained, in brief, elsewhere. It was just getting to be 'that time'.
I hope this all works out for the best for all of us. I am greatly enjoying the work I am doing with traders via this website, and I am constantly trying to improve the experience for all concerned. Although this transition may be a bit difficult for some, I think in the long run it is going to be the right move. And if it's not, I can always reconsider and 'change it back'. With the lifestyle changes I am making, and the change to the background environment for the mentorships, I think my life is going to be a lot better, and that makes me a lot more 'efficient' for everyone.
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