ddb@mrvax.DEC (DAVID DYER-BENNET MRO1-2/L14 DTN 231-4076) (12/06/84)
Having a housemate who collects seriously, and knowing the perpetrators of
two different small presses, I have some opinions about collectors editions
to contribute in response to Laurence Roberts' query.
First, they aren't generally published "by" the author, as your message seems
to imply. Generally, the small press approaches the author; the author simply
accepts the offer (perhaps after negotiation).
More important, I think, is that a collector's edition rarely delays the
appearance of a mass-market edition. Often the appear after a regular
hardback is out. I do know of one case where a collectors' edition delayed
publication of the paperback by (I think it's) 9 months; but that edition
cost only $17, not out of range for a normal hardcover. Some of the things
appearing in special editions probably won't ever appear in mass-market
paper; no demand. Few authors (and I note that Gene Wolfe, in particular,
went to supporting himself entirely from his writing relatively recently)
will agree to a limited-profit edition if it interferes with a mass edition.
On other points in that message, my memory of Fifth Head is a bit old; but
I think that drawing the parallel of "transformation" between that and
Lord Valentine is a bit thin. Transformation could be argued to be the
theme of essentially any "literary" work (any work which features character
development prominently), with about as good a case. You could make the
case even more strongly, perhaps, for most of Jack Chalker's books. As
someone pointed out here long ago, he puts his characters through far
more than most authors.
(Fire preventative: I am not commenting on character development in Chalker's
works!! I am not pushing his books into the "literary" genre; more the
reverse, actually.)
-- David Dyer-Bennet
-- {ihnp4|purdue|decvax}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-mrvax!ddbboyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (12/17/84)
From: stolaf!robertsl (Laurence Roberts) > ... What's your opinion of Wolfe and Disch (among others) > publishing unaffordable collectors editions that you'd be > afraid to read for fear of damaging them, even if you could > afford them... I'm not even talking about $18 hardbacks > (although those are bad enough). I'm complaining about $100 > books, and somewhat about Disch's booklets like _Ringtime_ for > Toothpaste Press... Opinions? Well, given that I'm one of those people that collects specialty press and limited edition books, it behooves me to put in my two cents worth. First off, there aren't many of these limited editions that don't also come out in trade editions, either hardcover or paperback. They are collectable for basicly two reasons: (1) they are a limited run item, which makes them rarer than the trade edition, and are usually much better made; and (2) they are usually, though unfortunately not always, the first editions of the books. Secondly, I don't understand why you're complaining --- you don't have to buy them. With a few exceptions, the trade editions are issued within a few months after the limited edition. And as I mentioned above, some small presses, though they intend otherwise, don't manage to get their limited editions out before the trade edition. In at least one case, Gene Wolfe's THE CASTLE OF THE OTTER, the book had an SF Book Club edition. There are likely as many different reasons why the authors have these editions published as there are authors. When Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER was published by Don Grant, it was announced that there would be no trade edition of the book ever. Why? Well, for one, King didn't think that it was commercial. It's a rather convoluted fantasy, and he didn't think that his regular audience of horror fans would go for it. Secondly, King's roots were in fandom (his first published story appeared in a comics fanzine published by DC Comics writer Marv Wolfman), and he wanted to "do something that the fans could have that the mainstream audience could not". Oddly enough, when the list of books by King that appeared in PET SEMATARY included THE DARK TOWER, King, his agent, and his regular publishers were deluged with letters asking how they could get ahold of a copy. This prompted King and Don Grant to do a second edition. Like almost anything else, these collector's editions are like anything else --- they exist because there is a market for them, there is an audience that enjoys buying and owning them, and, yes, even reading them. You may find that there are some books published only in these expensive limited editions that you want to have but can't afford, but you can't always get what you want. That's just the way life is. If you want it bad enough, you'll pay for it. > From: ames!barry (Kenn Barry) > I *have* seen cases where there has been an unconscionably long > delay between the publishing of the collector's edition, and later > publishing of the trade edition. This seems to be an effort to > boost sales of the expensive version by withholding the affordable > copies, and I consider it a low practice. Ah, but is it really done in order to *boost* sales of the expensive edition, or to prevent *loss* of sales for the expensive edition. I know, this sounds like another "half-empty or half-full?" argument, but it really isn't. It's been demonstrated by at least one publisher (Phantasia Press) that if their edition gets delayed past the release date of the trade edition, or the trade edition gets shipped earlier than it's supposed to (which has happened on a few occassions), that it affects sales of the limited edition. The loss is mostly from that sector of the market that buys the limited editions solely because they are first editions --- if the limited edition isn't a first, then it is of no interest to these collectors. It also depends on what you may consider an "unconscionable" delay. Three months? Six months? A year? The latest Stephen King limited edition, THE EYES OF THE DRAGON was just issued (I got mine the other day), and it won't be available in a trade edition for 3 years. Why so long a delay, I don't know. It can't be to boost sales of the limited --- there were only a thousand copies done, and no one could seriously believe that they wouldn't sell out the print run even if a trade edition was issued simultaneously. Maybe like THE DARK TOWER, he wanted to give the dedicated fans a treat that would be unavailable to the general public for a good while. Or it could be that he's writing things so far ahead of his publishing schedule, that a trade edition just can't be done for three years. Of course, the *really* frustrating thing is when there appears the really obscure item such as Stephen King's THE PLANT, an excerpt from a novel in progress that was published as a small chapbook and sent to friends of King as a Christmas present. It's things like this that give the collectors so many headaches. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
kalash@ucbcad.UUCP (12/17/84)
> > I'm complaining about $100 > books, and somewhat about Disch's booklets like _Ringtime_ for > Toothpaste Press... Opinions? There have been (to my knowledge) two limited books that costmore hten $100, and both are Stephen King books. Most limiteds are in the range of 40 -> 50. > > This seems to be an effort to > boost sales of the expensive version by withholding the affordable > copies, and I consider it a low practice. This is rarely (if at all) done. The people who make the limiteds and the people who make the trades usally are different publishers. The trade press usally just schedules the book, and the limited press scurries about trying to get to press and out the door in time. > The latest Stephen King > limited edition, THE EYES OF THE DRAGON was just issued (I got mine > the other day), and it won't be available in a trade edition for 3 > years. Why so long a delay, I don't know. King's normal publisher (Viking) doesn't want more than one King book out any any year, they like his books to be "events", and they don't want the books conflicting with one another. Joe Kalash kalash@berkeley ucbvax!kalash
david@bragvax.UUCP (12/19/84)
In article <5@decwrl.UUCP> boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) writes: > When Stephen >King's THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER was published by Don Grant, >it was announced that there would be no trade edition of the book >ever. Why? Well, for one, King didn't think that it was commercial. >It's a rather convoluted fantasy, and he didn't think that his It's funny that you would use this for an example-- it was serialized in one of the SF magazines (perhaps someone could provide the references). No doubt the book version was altered, but some form of the story was available in a non-limited edition. For what it's worth, I'm much more offended by large-format "trade" paperbacks than collector-oriented editions. I wish publishers would just print rack-size paperbacks on non-rotting paper and charge a dollar more, instead of doubling the size and price. -- David DiGiacomo, BRAG Systems Inc., San Mateo CA (415) 342-3963 (...decvax!ucbvax!hplabs!bragvax!david)
kalash@ucbcad.UUCP (12/19/84)
> In article <5@decwrl.UUCP> boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) writes: > > When Stephen > >King's THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER was published by Don Grant, . . . > > It's funny that you would use this for an example-- it was serialized in > one of the SF magazines (perhaps someone could provide the references). Sure, "The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy" over a couple of different years, although these are very hard issues to find. Joe Kalash kalash@berkeley ucbvax!kalash