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From: ddb@mrvax.DEC (DAVID DYER-BENNET MRO1-2/L14 DTN 231-4076)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Collector's editions
Message-ID: <156@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Dec-84 10:05:43 EST
Article-I.D.: decwrl.156
Posted: Thu Dec  6 10:05:43 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Dec-84 03:33:42 EST
Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP
Organization: DEC Engineering Network
Lines: 33

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!ddb