Home › Forums › Decaffeinated Coffee › How can I get my sefer into the hands of yeshiva bochurim
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April 8, 2021 3:15 am at 3:15 am #1963158dag1Participant
hi all,
I recently published an English sefer on Lomdus (lomdishe essays), and would like to get it into the hands of yeshiva bochurim. Any ideas on how I can go about doing that? Where/how should I be advertising? (Optimally I want to strategically get one or two bochurim in a yeshiva into it, and then let them take care of selling it in that yeshiva. I would do this with as many yeshivas as I can.)
I’m just not sure how to go about doing this. Any advice or insight much appreciated. (So far it’s been a big hit, everyone I give it to loves it.)
Please only serious replies.
April 8, 2021 6:46 am at 6:46 am #1963259ujmParticipantWhat’s the name of the Sefer and where can it be obtained?
April 8, 2021 8:21 am at 8:21 am #19632901a2b3cParticipantI don’t have any advice but mazal tov for your sefer!
Actually, one way of publicising your sefer could be to upload it to Hebrewbooks and/or to Otzar Hachochma. Anyone who has either of these two will have access to your sefer and you can use them as a reference. Just a suggestion.
Hatzlacha
April 8, 2021 8:23 am at 8:23 am #1963315commonsaychelParticipantserious posts gets serrious replies
April 8, 2021 11:24 am at 11:24 am #1963357Reb EliezerParticipantShow a sample on your ad with the title Lomdus in English.
April 8, 2021 11:26 am at 11:26 am #1963364GadolhadorahParticipantActually, if you could get the sefer into the hands of several well known roshei yeshiva or magidai shiur, it might have a more substantial affect that sending free copies to a few bochurim at yeshivos. Finding an askan or two associated with the releveant mosdos might facilitate getting the sefer visibility.
I suspect there are so many new seforim being produced, that most simply never get the visibility they deserve in Jewish book stores and anonymous mailings also are unlikely to grab attention in the clutter of mailings.April 8, 2021 11:26 am at 11:26 am #1963371GRATEFULBLACParticipantWhich Rabbonim have given a haskamah/approbation to it?
Is the Haskamah/approbation printed in the sefer?
Has a copy been sent to the Hamodia newspaper for review?
Have you thought about advertising it in yeshivish english newspapers?April 8, 2021 1:05 pm at 1:05 pm #1963429meir GParticipantits simple- ads dont get seforim to yeshiva bochurim .
step 1. print a sample pamphlet with a few pieces on the perokim currently being learned in the yeshivos gedolos
2. there are sign distributers that drop pamphlets like toras avigdor, alim letrufa, peninim.. rav biderman..etc..
most yeshiva bochurim barely make it to a seforim store you would do better with the many kollelimApril 8, 2021 2:48 pm at 2:48 pm #1963471smerelParticipantYour best bet would probably be advertising and marketing it as a sefer for bochurim who are struggling understanding lomdos.
The typical bocher and yeshiva who is already into lomdus would not be interested in a English language lomdus sefer . The ones who would be interested are the ones who are trying to understand lomdus in the first place. But once you get those bochurim to look it it it will have a presence in the Yeshivos.
April 8, 2021 6:32 pm at 6:32 pm #1963548HaimyParticipantHave Rabbi Yair Hoffman write a (if deserved) glowing article about it on this & other sites with a link to purchase it at a deeply discounted price. Very few contemporary seforim by unknown authors make it, they usually end up in shaimos or collecting dust. Even great Roshei Yeshivos had little mazel with their seforim.
April 8, 2021 6:32 pm at 6:32 pm #1963549fellow yid 1234567890Participantget bmg to published.
April 8, 2021 8:08 pm at 8:08 pm #1963563commonsaychelParticipant@fellowyid12234567890
Welcome to the CR, hope to see your comments with some deeper thoughtsApril 8, 2021 11:44 pm at 11:44 pm #1963592CHOOSIDParticipantCommen saychel, everything’s good?
April 8, 2021 11:44 pm at 11:44 pm #1963593CHOOSIDParticipantMistama’ you have to cater this Sefer to bochrem who need a little extra help.
April 8, 2021 11:44 pm at 11:44 pm #1963594CHOOSIDParticipantI would love to see this Sefer, how can I get one?
April 9, 2021 5:22 am at 5:22 am #1963619Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantChafetz Chaim used to travel and sell the books himself (after checking that they are printed correctly).
Maybe that’s the secret?April 9, 2021 5:22 am at 5:22 am #1963616dag1ParticipantThe Sefer is NOT intended to be only for weak bochurim. I have shown it to many top yungerliet who are alumni of prestigious yeshivos (e.g. Brisk and the like) and now learn in BMG in Lakewood and they really enjoyed it. So it can be enjoyed by everyone from mesivta bochur and up.
April 9, 2021 9:11 am at 9:11 am #1963615dag1ParticipantIt’s on Amazon do a search for Lomdus or Lomdus on the Parshah. Shmos and Vayikra currently available.
April 9, 2021 11:06 am at 11:06 am #1963713ubiquitinParticipant“can be enjoyed by everyone from mesivta bochur and up.”
Can be enjoyed and will be enjoyed are not the same
I find it hard to imagine, such a sefer becoming popular among “many top yungerliet ”
I think you will find more success marketing it to “non-top” bochurim and yungelit who are struggling a bit
and/or
People out of yeshiva as a reminder to the lomdus they once appreciated back in the day. “Relive the glory days of yeshiva ” or something like that
just my 2 cents
April 9, 2021 11:06 am at 11:06 am #1963710rationalParticipantBest bet is to write it in Hebrew, like all lomdishe seforim for the last thousand years. Seforim written in English or any other non-jewish language are a recipe for mediocre talmudic scholarship. Same for sifrei halachah and shutim.
April 9, 2021 7:01 pm at 7:01 pm #1963800dag1Participant@rational I would urge you to actually take a look at one of the essays/shtiklach in the Sefer and then tell me if you still think it’s mediocre.
April 16, 2021 1:21 am at 1:21 am #1965310dovrosenbaumParticipantThis is a remarkable sefer. I bought both recently. I would encourage you to keep producing more and more of this.
I would say that you need to reach out to Eichlers, Z Berman, and the like. I would also suggest getting copies to people like R’ Yair Hoffman, Ben Rothke, and using facebook to promote it. I’d also consider an ad in the Yated or Hamodia.
Lastly, if you set up a fundraising page, it would help and I would donate.
April 16, 2021 1:57 am at 1:57 am #1965311dovrosenbaumParticipantI agree that a good approach would be to market this as a sefer on each of the yeshiva masechtos, and people will put up pashkevilin, as suggested above.
This would sell like hotcakes, especially among bts, gerim, and people with learning disabilities. There are also lots of working people who don’t have hours to learn who would like a geshmake vort to say over.
April 18, 2021 1:30 pm at 1:30 pm #1965723RR44ParticipantIn the UK you should reach out to J. Lehman’s and co in gateshead.
You might be better to reach out to yeshivos which are involved in lomdus on the parsha
i.e. the various brisks, and R’ chayim feinsteins talmidim.
Hatzlacha
April 18, 2021 7:57 pm at 7:57 pm #1965810a pashute yidParticipantHashem shall help you be mstzliach
April 19, 2021 7:48 am at 7:48 am #1965921RR44ParticipantHere in Eretz Yisroel there is a “הפצה” distribution that sells seforim in yehsivos and shuls, on tables.
thye will tell where and when to market etc…
Blau seforim
0548564033Also “next to the mir seforim store” is frequented by endless english speakers – they double as a seforim storre distributor and library, and they let people read or reference seforim so it would be a very good place to start.
April 19, 2021 11:50 am at 11:50 am #1965982midwesternerParticipantI looked on Amazon, and its very pretty on the outside. But you know you can’t judge a book by its cover!
April 19, 2021 9:14 pm at 9:14 pm #1966166dag1ParticipantMidwesterner if you buy it you will know if it’s also pretty on the inside 😉
April 19, 2021 10:37 pm at 10:37 pm #1966174Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantrational?! Seforim written in English or any other non-jewish language are a recipe for mediocre talmudic scholarship
It is ironic that “rational” does not appreciate works by the most rational Rambam’s Pirush Hamishnayot, Guide, as well as Saadia Gaon, Hovot Halevavot, Kuzari, Rav Shimshon Hirsh.
Oh, and two more books in non-Jewish languages – Bavli and Yerushalmi
April 20, 2021 8:23 am at 8:23 am #1966187dovrosenbaumParticipantThere are many people who never developed the linguistic skills to learn inside on their own. There are people who are megayer and who are chozer b’teshuva. There are also many people who go through the yeshiva system and struggle with learning disabilities, dyslexia, etc. Should these people never get to experience the mesikus and amkus hatorah? Should they just remain spectators on the sidelines of Torah Judaism their whole lives?
It’s far preferable that iyun and lomdus be made accessible to these yidden than for them to not learn and watch tv and movies. There’s only so much Kitzur Shulchan Aruch and Parsha and Daf Yomi people can learn; they need deeper works in order to remain interested in learning.
Lomdus on the Parsha by Rabbi Flohr is the type of sefer that should’ve been produced years ago.
I advocate Artscroll-type seforim which take the most commonly learned yeshiva limudim (Shnayim Ochazin, Hameivi Get, Chezkas haBatim, Ohr Le’arba’a Asar, Lulav haGazul, Eilu Metzios, etc.) and present an English translation and discussion of the commonly learned rishonim and achronim on the daf, with discussions culled from the works of the roshei yeshiva. In other words, imagine a yeshiva shiur explained in English for those without the background, broken down appropriately. This need not even be a huge production; the editors can get shiur notes from yeshiva shiurim, with permission of the magid shiur, and present it in English, interspersed with the appropriate translations of sources. Perhaps even YU roshei yeshiva would be maskim to such a project. It would greatly help yeshiva bochurim, as well as fathers of boys in yeshiva who never got to go themselves.
April 20, 2021 8:24 am at 8:24 am #1966196dovrosenbaumParticipantThe gemara was transmitted in Aramaic, the language of the masses, so that it would be accessible to all. After all, the goal of study is to understand what has been learned so that it can be incorporated into our lives.
Later, during the Islamic conquests, Aramaic was overtaken by Arabic as the common language of the Middle East. That’s why some of the greatest Jewish works, like those of Rabbi Saadiah Gaon and Maimonides, were written in Arabic.
And so, when the sages wrote their works in Aramaic or Arabic, they weren’t just being practical; they were fulfilling the mitzvah of writing Torah. For after all, the mitzvah is to write Torah in a way that people can learn and understand. If most Jews spoke or understood Aramaic or Arabic, then that was the language to be used to fulfill the mitzvah of writing a Torah (see the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Sichot Kodesh, Kedoshim 5741. See also Likkutei Sichot, vol. 23, pp. 24–25.).
April 20, 2021 10:44 am at 10:44 am #1966309Reb EliezerParticipantThere is a Rabbenu Bachaya at the end of Parashas Ki Siso explaining the purpose of Torah Shebaal Peh with a parable. A king wrote a letter to his son commanding him with a process of behavior and the reward him for its performance. For fearing that the letter will fall in the wrong hands and requiring to fulfil the reward, some information he left out and transmitted orally. Originally Rebbi only wrote down what was necessary for the understanding as concise as possible. As the generations became weaker in their understanding, more elaboration was required. With this he explains the expression חסורא מחסרא והכי קתני the mishna left it out on purpose. The Ksav Sofer in Parashas Yisro from his father, the Chasam Sofer, has a different parable. A father had a gold mine and had multiple sons but he wanted that his youngest son should inherit it. In order not to create jealousy, he taught his youngest son the act of goldmining and divided it equally. As the others did not know what to do with it, it fell automatically to the youngest son. The Torah Shebeksav is a goldmine, the act of gold mining is the Torah Shebaal Peh and the youngest son are we the Bnei Yisroel. Hashem chose us by teaching us the Torah Shebaal Peh which is necessary to understand the Torah Shebeksav, the goldmine, letter interpreted orally.
April 20, 2021 11:19 am at 11:19 am #1966324ubiquitinParticipantThe historical tidbits, while very fascinating don’t really help our aspiring author.
The bottom line is today, in 2021/5781 Talmudic literature in languages other than Hebrew are not perceived as being serious.
Similarly comments that it shouldn’t be this way are similarly useless. I don’t think the author plans to singlehandedly change the current perception.
His question is simple how to sell books.
Comments that well once upon a time they would have been more mainstream or people should get over themselves and accept emes in any language, while true , aren’t helpful .bottom line. it is unlikely to become popular* among “many top yungerliet who are alumni of prestigious yeshivos” (their loss)
I think you will find more success marketing it to “non-top” bochurim and yungelit who are struggling a bitand/or
People out of yeshiva as a reminder to the lomdus they once appreciated back in the day. “Relive the glory days of yeshiva ” or something like that
*certainly not openly
April 20, 2021 1:56 pm at 1:56 pm #1966375dovrosenbaumParticipantArtscroll is cetainly sold everywhere. I think the notion that Artscroll is somehow an inferior product or not lucrative has been debunked. It sells like hotcakes.
The target audience for what is being described is not people who are looking to be at the top of Rav Avrohom Yehoshua’s shiur in Brisk. It’s for baal habatim, BT’s, gerim, working yeshivish people, people who want a geshmak, and as described, those bochurim who are struggling.
April 20, 2021 4:05 pm at 4:05 pm #1966432ubiquitinParticipantdovrosenbaum
well put. EXACTLY what I said
April 21, 2021 12:39 am at 12:39 am #1966598dag1ParticipantThe level of lomdus in the Sefer is such that it will be enjoyed by elite lamdunim. If you doubt that (and I can certainly understand why you might) I will guarantee you that if you learn just one shtickel from the Sefer you will change your mind.
That is not to say that it’s only for elite lamdunim, I believe that it is written in a clear enough fashion that even someone who isn’t a top level lamdin will enjoy it as well.
April 21, 2021 10:24 am at 10:24 am #1966697dovrosenbaumParticipantI read your sefer. On a very high level indeed. I believe you should keep writing more and more. If we knew how to contact you, we’d be able to financially support.
April 21, 2021 10:24 am at 10:24 am #1966710Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantdag1, book authors often give tours and talk to the prospective readers about their insights. Maybe, you can post a couple of your samples of your lomdus here, in other papers and blogs, give interviews to Jewish radio stations? Many modern Jewish schools have school newspapers. Maybe print out a sample page corresponding to a weekly Parasha or Shvues and mail multiple copies to shuls and ask to distribute?
April 21, 2021 2:35 pm at 2:35 pm #1966766dag1ParticipantDovrosenbaum you can find that info in the beginning of the Sefer
April 25, 2021 7:45 pm at 7:45 pm #1967748dag1Participantdovrosenbaum did you buy it on Amazon? I don’t see any more sales there…
For financial support you can contact me, info is at beginning of the Sefer. Thank you.
April 26, 2021 10:55 pm at 10:55 pm #1968414Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantdag1, judging from your posts here, you probably do the same elsewhere.
You are discussing what you are looking for – sales, ignoring what potential readers are looking for – insights. You need to change your attitude selling your sefer, maybe find a mentor who can help.You need to let people know your lomdus, bring example, have people use extracts in their classes. Send lechem in front of you…
April 27, 2021 12:36 am at 12:36 am #1968423dovrosenbaumParticipantI bought both on Amazon a few weeks ago..
May 20, 2021 10:25 pm at 10:25 pm #1975813dag1Participant@dovrosenbaum my contact info is at the beginning of the sefer. If you can provide some financial support that would be phenomenal. I can sure use some help with the printing and advertising costs. Looking forward to getting in touch with you.
June 18, 2021 9:25 am at 9:25 am #1984281BenchKvatcherParticipantDaven for Siyata Dishmaya nothing else works
June 18, 2021 10:55 am at 10:55 am #1984342hujuParticipantI think there are some NFL quarterbacks who are Jewish. Maybe they could pass it to bochurim.
July 29, 2021 7:58 am at 7:58 am #1995600ari-freeParticipantDovrosenbaum wrote
“There are many people who never developed the linguistic skills to learn inside on their own. …Should these people never get to experience the mesikus and amkus hatorah? ”Of course, that’s why we need more shiurim so that they will learn these skills and not just daf yomi or “high level” lomdus shiurim that don’t require the listener to work inside the text.
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