The Workshop Compendium

Dear Editor,

Tom Burden is a man, but he’s more than just a man. He’s a man with a mission. His mission is to visit all of the car service shops in Victoria and compare them. Putting his reviews online, Tom hopes to create the strongest database of mechanics the world has ever seen.

I’m Tom Burden, and I’ve been visiting mechanics for years now. I got the idea to write this book when I had a particularly great service at a Bentleigh auto electrical repair shop. Although I have posted 75% of the content on my website, I believe it would make a great coffee table book.

Just think about it. You go to visit your friend and on the way you notice your car is making odd noises everyone once in a while. You’re not too concerned about it, but when you arrive for afternoon tea you sit in your friend’s lounge and see a large compendium titled Best to Worst Car Workshops in Victoria sitting on their coffee table. You’re immediately going to pick that book up and start looking through it. You’ll find the best place to get car servicing close to Bentleigh, Moorabbin, North Melbourne or even Castlemaine. Now, because this book has been so useful to you, you’ll naturally buy a copy for yourself.

That’s why this book is a guaranteed best-seller. Everyone in Victoria will have a copy of this book by the time it finishes its first edition. Children will want their own copies for Christmas and then again on their birthday. Tourists will buy copies in case their car breaks down while they’re on holiday. It will be the most reliable compendium on car repair ever.

Editor’s note: although this pitch is a bit over the top, I do think it’s a good idea for a coffee table book. I’m not sure children would want it for Christmas, but I’d get behind this book if I was buying manuscripts.