DOLSON@USC-ECLB.ARPA (09/24/85)
From: Douglas M. Olson <dolson@USC-ECLB.ARPA> Can't believe I haven't seen this here yet...if I missed it sorry.. BUT, for those who have been waiting as long as I have, Gordy Dickson's THE FINAL ENCYCLOPEDIA has hit the mass market paperback stands. NO, I won't spoil it (how can I? I just found it hours ago and its nearly 700 pages of very small print) yet we have one small complaint already... Silly thing cost 4.95. Thanks, Ace. But how could I pass it up! Doug (dolson @ eclb.arpa) -------
brust@hyper.UUCP (Steven Brust) (09/30/85)
> From: Douglas M. Olson <dolson@USC-ECLB.ARPA> > > > Silly thing cost 4.95. Thanks, Ace. But how could I pass it up! > > Doug (dolson @ eclb.arpa) > ------- I haven't yet said anything about the recent comments on paperback prices, but as this one refers to ACE, and I do have information on this. It is known (at least by Susan Allison, who is in charge of the Science Fiction for Berkley and Ace) that there is a relationship between cost of a book and number of sales. As I have said before, Science Fiction fandom means approximately nothing in terms of sales of SF books. Ace wants to make as much money as possible. They are aware that there is a point where raising the price (and thus diminishing sales) is a big loose, but don't know where this point comes. There is policy is, approximatly, to charge as little as possible to insure that they make money. If the book makes money, the author becomes popular among the sales people and they print more of his next book, etc. It seems I have made this more confusing and less informative than I intended to. Sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't go into how it can be to an author's advantage to have a small print run. Okay, never mind. What I do want to say is that Ace likes to keep the price low for their own advantage. There are four exceptions. That is, there are exactly four authors whose books can be priced at just about anything within reason without having a noticeable effect on sales. Is there anyone who can name all four? I got three, but not the fourth. -- SKZB
joel@peora.UUCP (Joel Upchurch) (10/02/85)
>From: Douglas M. Olson <dolson@USC-ECLB.ARPA> > >BUT, for those who have been waiting as long as I have, Gordy Dickson's >THE FINAL ENCYCLOPEDIA has hit the mass market paperback stands. NO, >I won't spoil it (how can I? I just found it hours ago and its nearly >700 pages of very small print) yet we have one small complaint already... > >Silly thing cost 4.95. Thanks, Ace. But how could I pass it up! I don't think the price is out of line. It's is big as 3 or four ordinary science fiction novels. By the way I did read it. It's not a bad novel, but in some places it moves very slowly. -- Joel Upchurch Perkin-Elmer Southern Development Center 2486 Sand Lake Road/ Orlando, Florida 32809/ (305)850-1031 {decvax!ucf-cs, ihnp4!pesnta, vax135!petsd}!peora!joel
dca@edison.UUCP (David C. Albrecht) (10/04/85)
> > From: Douglas M. Olson <dolson@USC-ECLB.ARPA> > > > > > > Silly thing cost 4.95. Thanks, Ace. But how could I pass it up! > > > > Doug (dolson @ eclb.arpa) > > ------- > And it was a bargain! The thing is ~500 pgs long and in leetle teeny print. It would probably take 4 normal books to hold it. David Albrecht