Can we ask for feedback on the Mumsnet Books please?

[JustineMumsnet]

Just had a meeting with the publisher and they are not, shall we say, flying off the shelves despite the fact that everyone who reads them says how brilliant/funny they are. Sales via MN particularly are pretty poor.

So - can you give us some pointers as to why you aren't buying/recommending these utterly marvellous books, packed full of MN wisdom please?

Have you heard about them - do we need to shout more? Or do you feel you don't need them, because you've got MN at your fingertips, or, perish the thought perhaps you just don't like the look of them?

er... are people not buying them because you can get all the info off MN for free? And it's interactive and you can ask/talk about your specific situation? Just a thought...it's why I wouldn't buy one.

The price isn't shown until you click through and see there's a fiver off - maybe you could put this on the first page?

Just a thought .

I have glanced at the mumsnet guides and they are amusing. However... I now find all parenting "guides" somewhat pernicious. It seems as if everyone has an agenda and it usually doesn't tally with how I, in my heart of hearts, feel about raising my baby (... i.e. my agenda!). Having bought a variety of books to read when preparing for baby I ended up throwing them all away and feeling much happier for it. A year in and I've discovered I'm basically an attachment parent so if in need of advice I seek it on the web from those with a similar ethos.

I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant with my first baby, but haven't bought any pregnancy books - I found so much useful info on the internet that it doesn't seem worth buying hard copies of books. Having said that we have a had a few books bought for us as gifts. They tend to be the funny/amusing anecdote ones that have some factual/informative stuff mixed in, and I have found them quite entertaining. I think maybe you could increase sales by targeting the helpful friend/relative market, who would buy them as gifts - not sure where you're selling/promoting them at the moment but mainstream bookshops and amazon would be the obvious first choices. I also think that you'd have more success with this market if your front cover reflected the humorous content of the book more - at the moment these look like serious pregnancy/toddler books that you'd be referred to by a health professional, rather than the humorous guides that they are. Take a look at the covers of books like 'From here to maternity' 'from lad to dad' and the 'blokes guide to pregnancy' (the 3 that we were given) - I think friends/family are more likely to be attracted by the light-hearted covers of these books than the more serious mumsnet covers.

I am 6 weeks pg and was definitely interested in the Pregnancy one so got it from the library so I can see if I like it and therefore buy by own copy.

I like the witty style and the comments from other 'real' people in the same situation as me, but my biggest irritation with it is that I want to know what is happening with the baby as it develops and the guide doesn't really go into this. Also, I want to know what I should be doing and when (like a checklist) . I have just ordered the Pregnancy Bible from the library after seeing lots of MN'ers recommending it as apparently it gives a week by week run-down of what's going on. As a first timer, the practical anatomical things are really important and interesting.

Also, practically, the book is quite dense and text heavy - I like the odd picture, flow-chart, diagram (even cartoon).

Because of this I won't be buying the book even though I was sure I would before I got it from the library.

The other thing is that I have engaged the services of an independent midwife who is pointing me in the direction of lots of research about scans and I am weighing up whether to have them or not. You don't mention at all that there is quite a lot of evidence about how the long term effects of scans are not proven and I think all sides of the argument should be presented.

I also agree with other MN'ers that posting is free compared to buying the book.

Hope the feedback is useful.

I bought the guide for toddlers and thought it was great. In fact, we bought two because my husband burnt the first copy (long story, it wasn't intentional). But it was pretty pricey - I think I paid over £12-15 for it. Had I shopped around I am sure that I could have found it cheaper but I was pretty desperate at the time! But it might have put me off if I hadn't been so desperate. And I think many mothers might be browsing bookshops for something that might help them, and the price might be a problem?