A Book A Year as a cash flow scheme

by VM44 13 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  VM44

  Why does the Watchtower release at least one new book each year?

  This practice started when Judge Rutherford was running the Watchtower.

  Even back in the 1930's, when the books were being sold for about 25 cents a copy, a tremendous profit was being made just by the sheer numbers of books produced. Each edition of Rutherford's books were printed by the millions! (1,000,000 * 0.25 = $250,000, even if it took 15 cents to make and distribute each copy, that would leave a profit of $100,000)

  It looks to me that a "New Book Every Year" policy was started as another way of generating cash!

  If there were only a fixed number of books printed, such as Russell's six volume Studies in the Scriptures", people who had a set wouldn't have to shell out money to the Society each year. That wouldn't be cost effective. You have to have your customers keep coming back again and again to buy your product.

  It is another example of the Watchtower just using its members as a way to perpetuate itself.

  --VM44
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  Nosferatu

  They used to release a book every year, but they don't seem to be doing that anymore. It seems to be every two years or so. To make up for it, they just get the R+F to buy more books for the book study by studying a book 2 or 3 times.
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  Lady Lee

  It looks to me that a "New Book Every Year" policy was started as another way of generating cash!

  It got worse. They started to re-publish books by slapping on a new title and changing a sentence or paragraph of two. I believe this happened a few times

  Freeminds lists a lot of books that were repeats of earleir books. http://www.freeminds.org/sales/wtpubs.htm#gb The reasons for the changes differ but it sure was interesting to know how many books were repeats

  I remember being at the book study where people had two different versions of the same book. The reader had one version but people like my family thought it was silly to buy the book again when we already had it. Little did we know the real reason for the differences in the book
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  Legolas

  12

  As regards anything besides these, my son, take a warning: To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion [to them] is wearisome to the flesh.
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  fullofdoubtnow

  Well, the light got brighter, so obviously they had to write about it.

  Most of the books seem to be rehashes of older books, and I agree it was a policy designed to keep the cash flowing in.
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  M.J.

  I wonder today how much cash their books bring in. I suppose because of the near-slave labor used to produce them & exemption from all taxes they must still generate plenty of profit.
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  Sunspot

  To make up for it, they just get the R+F to buy more books for the book study by studying a book 2 or 3 times.
  

  I can't honestly recall anyone who was "happified" to be studying a book again that we had already studied as a congregation. I remember that "Unified in Worship" book was SOOOO tough (and BORING) to sit through, and yet they decided we "needed" this every few years! The same for the "Revelation" book. The only one that I didn't cringe at was the "Greatest Man" book because I always thought it pertained more to ME as a "Christian" that those books with all that deep doctrinal issues.

  With a houseful of kiddies.....I balked at being expected to go back and buy more of the same books (did we EVER throw anything out anyways?) when we all had copies to begin with.....so I never got the new ones. Secretly, we were GLAD to not have to spend as much time "underlining" the already-studied" paragraphs. I remember being told that we were "not supposed to" do that, so I continued to DO it, but then felt guilty about it.

  Two books I had WANTED to study-----we didn't! Go figure! The "Commentary of James" and the "Mankind's Search" books were ones I waited to hear when they were to be covered but never were! I never DID understand that! I guess these "provisions of Jehovah" weren't considered to be as "valuable" as the books that we HAD to study time and time and time again. I wonder why that was?

  AFA Ecclesiates 12:12 goes.....WHEN did the WTS ever apply THAT ONE to themselves? Although it is absolutely head on.....but you KNOW the WTS has a way to twist this to NOT make it sound as though it was about THEM, hahaha!

  Annie
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  Zico

  I think it's partly a tradition thing now as well. Can you imagine what the Dubs would think if they didn't release a book at the Convention?
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  Jim_TX

  What about the books that were released... with no questions at the bottom of each page?

  I believe there were a couple that were released ike that - and then later, a booklet was released that had the questions in them.

  Was it the huge Revelation (or was it called 'Babylon the Great'?) book that was like that? (Large dark red book - about an inch thick)

  Regards,

  Jim TX
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  jwfacts

  I think a great indicator that it was predominantly for money is that they recently dropped the Awake back to only one issue a month. It made sense to make as many publications as possible when people were paying, but now it is on a contributions basis and they are not making as much money anymore there is less point having the Awake.

  In addition to that the Awake is not an effective brainwashing tool. However, they still need to produce new books as constant reading of propoganda is a prerequisite to effective mind control.