Misery from Suntup editions:

[Martin]

SOOOOOOOOOON!!!

You called that one. Just got a shipping notice!

[jeffingoff]

You called that one. Just got a shipping notice!

You guys are so lucky! I'll have to wait for Paul to get around to the gift editions at the end of the month. I will say, the gift edition also looks stunning. I'm not sure if you all have seen the video posted on TDT. But he showed the finished copies of each edition and even the gift edition is drool-inducing. So I'm not as sad as I was when I missed out on the numbered.

Seeing those books made me so happy that I jumped on Hill House. I will (try like hell to) own every Suntup book. I'm safe on the non-King track. I'll fight like hell to get on the numbered King track. But I'm also hoping that I have right of first refusal on the King gift editions. Seems like those who are current customers should get a small preorder window even on the gift editions. Though, which King book would Suntup do that hasn't been done? Which one deserves a limited treatment that hasn't gotten one? My guess--Lisey's Story.

Anyway, happy to be here at the dawn of this era. Since I missed the beginning of Centipede and Cemetery Dance. Though I heard whispers, I didn't do a damn thing until IT. Then I started paying attention and money.

[TacomaDiver]

You called that one. Just got a shipping notice!

Excellent!

[TacomaDiver]

I haven’t seen the video - and now that I know about it, I’m kind of leaning towards not watching it just so when my editions (I also ordered a gift edition) arrive, they’ll both be surprises.

This book still doesn’t feel real to me because it still surprises/shocks me that I managed to get a copy. The only reason I did was because I owned a copy of The Eyes of the Dragon portfolio because it sounded cool. (And sadly after I got it, I was left with the feelings of now what what do I do with this, and why did I buy this?)

I too discovered CD through IT and managed to snag a gift edition from Amazon of all places.

You guys are so lucky! I'll have to wait for Paul to get around to the gift editions at the end of the month. I will say, the gift edition also looks stunning. I'm not sure if you all have seen the video posted on TDT. But he showed the finished copies of each edition and even the gift edition is drool-inducing. So I'm not as sad as I was when I missed out on the numbered.

Seeing those books made me so happy that I jumped on Hill House. I will (try like hell to) own every Suntup book. I'm safe on the non-King track. I'll fight like hell to get on the numbered King track. But I'm also hoping that I have right of first refusal on the King gift editions. Seems like those who are current customers should get a small preorder window even on the gift editions. Though, which King book would Suntup do that hasn't been done? Which one deserves a limited treatment that hasn't gotten one? My guess--Lisey's Story.

Anyway, happy to be here at the dawn of this era. Since I missed the beginning of Centipede and Cemetery Dance. Though I heard whispers, I didn't do a damn thing until IT. Then I started paying attention and money.

[jeffingoff]

This book still doesn’t feel real to me because it still surprises/shocks me that I managed to get a copy. The only reason I did was because I owned a copy of The Eyes of the Dragon portfolio because it sounded cool. (And sadly after I got it, I was left with the feelings of now what what do I do with this, and why did I buy this?)

I too discovered CD through IT and managed to snag a gift edition from Amazon of all places.

Hahaha--well now you know why you bought your TEOTD portfolio! Fate was calling you from somewhere in time.

I bought my IT gift edition direct from CD and I think it was my first CD purchase. I think I really committed after The Dark Man. That's when it became an addiction.

[TacomaDiver]

It was my destiny!

Hahaha--well now you know why you bought your TEOTD portfolio! Fate was calling you from somewhere in time.

I bought my IT gift edition direct from CD and I think it was my first CD purchase. I think I really committed after The Dark Man. That's when it became an addiction.

[Martin]

You guys are so lucky! I'll have to wait for Paul to get around to the gift editions at the end of the month. I will say, the gift edition also looks stunning. I'm not sure if you all have seen the video posted on TDT. But he showed the finished copies of each edition and even the gift edition is drool-inducing. So I'm not as sad as I was when I missed out on the numbered.

Seeing those books made me so happy that I jumped on Hill House. I will (try like hell to) own every Suntup book. I'm safe on the non-King track. I'll fight like hell to get on the numbered King track. But I'm also hoping that I have right of first refusal on the King gift editions. Seems like those who are current customers should get a small preorder window even on the gift editions. Though, which King book would Suntup do that hasn't been done? Which one deserves a limited treatment that hasn't gotten one? My guess--Lisey's Story.

Anyway, happy to be here at the dawn of this era. Since I missed the beginning of Centipede and Cemetery Dance. Though I heard whispers, I didn't do a damn thing until IT. Then I started paying attention and money.

I did not see this video. The only one I have seen from him was when he opened the package of signature sheets. Where on TDT is the video?

[jeffingoff]

I did not see this video. The only one I have seen from him was when he opened the package of signature sheets. Where on TDT is the video?

It was in the Suntup thread. He must have taken it down! I clicked on the Vimeo links that used to go to the video of all the finished editions and now it directs to the signature sheet video. Maybe he felt like he was ruining the surprise. In the video he mentions that he doesn't want to give too much of look at the dust jacket of the gift edition. But it's video. It can be stopped and enlarged. Which I did.

Could be there was something else in the vid that showed more than he wanted to share.

I guess you'll just have to save your amazement and savor your score in a few days.

[Martin]

It was in the Suntup thread. He must have taken it down! I clicked on the Vimeo links that used to go to the video of all the finished editions and now it directs to the signature sheet video. Maybe he felt like he was ruining the surprise. In the video he mentions that he doesn't want to give too much of look at the dust jacket of the gift edition. But it's video. It can be stopped and enlarged. Which I did.

Could be there was something else in the vid that showed more than he wanted to share.

I guess you'll just have to save your amazement and savor your score in a few days.

I enjoy watching Paul's enthusiasm so hopefully he will post it again once everything has been shipped. Wish you were getting a signed so watch your unboxing video!

[TacomaDiver]

I enjoy watching Paul's enthusiasm so hopefully he will post it again once everything has been shipped. Wish you were getting a signed so watch your unboxing video!

He’s welcome to open my Misery but he’ll need to come out to Tacoma.

[JJ123]

I am not a buyer of limited editions, so don't really know about this particular corner of publishing. Obviously I am very familiar with the big-picture aspects since I am on this forum and have purchased more mass-market-type stuff from CD, but the details elude me.


This thread, though, has fascinated me. I visited the Suntup site and watched the Misery video. I saw that the most-limited set -- the alphabet-quantity one -- was almost four grand. I can see that. But I was wondering, just to be clear -- is the typewriter included? I'm assuming not, but the image of that mechanical device is so close to the book product, and given the price, it made me think. That would be cool if it were included, but I am going to assume it is not unless someone clarifies it the other way.


When you purchase something like this, do you get a reading copy as well? I think this has been discussed here before, but that's the real odd thing about all this -- are people buying this product as an investment, and if not, do people actually engage with the product? It's hard to do so, I would imagine. The only analogy I can give from my perspective is my hobby of buying older video games. I have purchased two copies of sealed games, sometimes for a lot of money if they are old enough, so one can remain sealed...although my psychology for that is I want one new copy available in case the other one is destroyed (including instruction booklets, etc.). I would assume for the amount of money being charged here that two copies of the Misery package would be helpful. However, if that would be cost-prohibitive (and thinking about this as I write, it probably would be), then maybe a price tag of $5,000 - $6,000 would be appropriate. At twenty-six copies, I think there would be a lot of price inelasticity here (hope I got the correct term from economics!).


Digger deeper into the actual business model, what does King get out of this? That's puzzling...what do all these limited editions do for his bottom line at this point? Is it essentially a way to support small press companies like CD? I have to imagine that the scale of his income makes these types of releases not that significant...or am I wrong? Does he do this so often that a valuable long tail develops? Then again, maybe this helps to market his mass market catalog and promote his new releases, as well as his licensed films/television shows on streaming, networks, etc. I just don't know. But what is his specific royalty on something that costs four grand? It's odd, too, because someone like him would almost seem to be against this model since it prices a lot of people out of participation. I don't think there is anything wrong with making money this way, I'm just pointing out that it is difficult to fully understand the motivation in his case, especially given that I remember reading once that he thought one limited edition was overpriced (wish I could recall the subject, might have been My Pretty Pony, but to be honest, I also don't remember the exact context of his comment...perhaps he said it but meant nothing negative about the model).


Also, how does one get into this business? Is it a simple thing of contacting his agent? Can anyone do it? Could someone who has no money simply crowd-fund the project before signing a contract?


Just find this all fascinating. So many angles to it, including those who are mid-list authors who participate in the model...can they survive off such releases exclusively? What guaranteed level of readership do you need to make it work...5,000 readers....2,000...10,000? I just don't know.

[Dan Hocker]

I can't really speak to King's motivations as I don't know myself, though I've always thought it was mostly to support the small press. Again though I have no clue.

As far as the big high end editions, I think most of those are bought as show pieces / collectors items. Mostly to sit on a shelf and look pretty. I don't think I've ever heard of someone actually reading one of these super high end lettered editions. Gift and limited editions are a different story though. Lettered editions I think are rarely bought for investment, most of those customers tend to be the "completionist" type or someone who really has a passion for that specific title or author. Gift and Limited editions have a lot more room for aftermarket growth, just look at our edition of IT. I think gift editions of that are going for what the limited was originally priced at.

[Martin]

I am not a buyer of limited editions, so don't really know about this particular corner of publishing. Obviously I am very familiar with the big-picture aspects since I am on this forum and have purchased more mass-market-type stuff from CD, but the details elude me.


This thread, though, has fascinated me. I visited the Suntup site and watched the Misery video. I saw that the most-limited set -- the alphabet-quantity one -- was almost four grand. I can see that. But I was wondering, just to be clear -- is the typewriter included? I'm assuming not, but the image of that mechanical device is so close to the book product, and given the price, it made me think. That would be cool if it were included, but I am going to assume it is not unless someone clarifies it the other way.


When you purchase something like this, do you get a reading copy as well? I think this has been discussed here before, but that's the real odd thing about all this -- are people buying this product as an investment, and if not, do people actually engage with the product? It's hard to do so, I would imagine. The only analogy I can give from my perspective is my hobby of buying older video games. I have purchased two copies of sealed games, sometimes for a lot of money if they are old enough, so one can remain sealed...although my psychology for that is I want one new copy available in case the other one is destroyed (including instruction booklets, etc.). I would assume for the amount of money being charged here that two copies of the Misery package would be helpful. However, if that would be cost-prohibitive (and thinking about this as I write, it probably would be), then maybe a price tag of $5,000 - $6,000 would be appropriate. At twenty-six copies, I think there would be a lot of price inelasticity here (hope I got the correct term from economics!).


Digger deeper into the actual business model, what does King get out of this? That's puzzling...what do all these limited editions do for his bottom line at this point? Is it essentially a way to support small press companies like CD? I have to imagine that the scale of his income makes these types of releases not that significant...or am I wrong? Does he do this so often that a valuable long tail develops? Then again, maybe this helps to market his mass market catalog and promote his new releases, as well as his licensed films/television shows on streaming, networks, etc. I just don't know. But what is his specific royalty on something that costs four grand? It's odd, too, because someone like him would almost seem to be against this model since it prices a lot of people out of participation. I don't think there is anything wrong with making money this way, I'm just pointing out that it is difficult to fully understand the motivation in his case, especially given that I remember reading once that he thought one limited edition was overpriced (wish I could recall the subject, might have been My Pretty Pony, but to be honest, I also don't remember the exact context of his comment...perhaps he said it but meant nothing negative about the model).


Also, how does one get into this business? Is it a simple thing of contacting his agent? Can anyone do it? Could someone who has no money simply crowd-fund the project before signing a contract?


Just find this all fascinating. So many angles to it, including those who are mid-list authors who participate in the model...can they survive off such releases exclusively? What guaranteed level of readership do you need to make it work...5,000 readers....2,000...10,000? I just don't know.

Some very good questions there.

People who collect books all have there own reasons so you could get a different answer from each person.
I am a person who collects books. This began in my teens with Stephen King new releases. I would go to the store on release day and select the best of the lot and take buy it. I have always appreciated hardbound books over paperback. I like the feel of the binding, paper and it is a better read for me in general. I discovered the world of limited edition books in 1998. I bought a copy of 999 (containing a King story) on release day. When reading the copyright page (yes, I am weird and read the copyright page of a book) I noticed it stated that the book had been previously published by Hill House/Cemetery Dance as a limited edition. This got my attention because I was picking this up on day of release, there was a previous release? So the internet was new to me and I went to learn of this. I found Cemetery Dance's website. 999 was indeed available and had not been released. I did have the first published edition. The price was $125 and was signed by all but two authors (King was one who did not sign). So $125 for a book I had just bought for $24.95, I was not sold. Then I saw Legacies, A signed limited edition that would not have a trade version available in stores. This one was $150 and signed by all contributors including King, if I remember correctly it was scheduled for a release a few months after I discovered its existence. I bought one, took a while for me to accept that I had just paid $150 for a book. Well multiple delays later Cemetery Dance offered those who had pre-ordered a $40 signed limited of the buyers choice for free. I chose Ed Gorman's The Poker Club. He was an author I had never heard of and a story I found interesting. I expected a hardbound book, like those I was used to, with an added signature sheet. What I got was a book that far exceeded any book I had bought before. Better paper, better binding. I was used to paying $24.95 for a book that even with great care look used after one reading. This book looked just as good when I had read it as it did when I got it. It was also a great story, I could not believe I had not heard of this author. From that point I was hooked.


Now back to your questions. The typewriter is not included. Paul did buy one of the typewriters to type out the section of the book that is the manuscript. A great point of detail to me. Also the lettered edition will be cased in a wood box meant to replicate a box the typewriter may have been in when purchased.


When you purchase this book you do not get a reading copy. This is one area you will get great differences in opinion. First, I am not a purchaser of lettered editions and my actions are based in that. I buy books to read to collect and for the artistry of the item. Prior to this last year the most expensive books I had purchased was the two volumes of Secretary of Dreams at $300 each. I have read both of those cover to cover. If it is a book I have a reading copy of I do not read the limited, an example would be the Cemetery Dance edition of It. I have the Gift edition of that one and I have not read the story from it but have spent a lot of time looking at the art and the general artistry of the edition. So for Misery I will not read the story, but I will spend a lot of time admiring the book. I also do not buy books for investment. I buy them to enjoy. I rarely sell books unless I end up with duplicates through grab bags. Although I enjoy watching books I have selling on the secondary market the value does not concern me as I have no interest in selling them. When buying a book I do not consider what future value may exist.

I am unable to state what King gets out of it but I can give some thoughts. I think the book you are speaking of was Salems' Lot from Centipede Press. King made comments years ago about how the company was pestering him for additional rights and it rubbed him wrong. In the process he had some harsh words about buying a book and not reading it. He also made comments regarding the early days of the Gunslinger series stating something along the lines that his stories did not need to be available to everyone, limited printings are fine.

I doubt any author is able to survive exclusively off small press publications. I expect it gets the books out into avid reader's hands. I have discovered many authors from Cemetery Dance who I have then gone looking for more to read.

[Martin]

So my signed edition of Misery was shipped today. Estimated delivery is Tuesday. Too bad it’s not Monday since I’ll be working from home that day. Maybe FedEx will get a tailwind and Misery arrives a day early ...

Beyond excited to have this in my collection.

It would appear delivery to Vancouver is quicker than Tacoma as mine is scheduled to be delivered Monday. And I will be home Monday while a crew sets upa new shed in my backyard! Great timing.

[mhatchett]

I collect books because it's cool LOL!! The first rule of book collecting, buy the best book, in the best condition you can afford. The hunt is always fun! I have found some treasures and I own some ex-library books that I would never part with. My kids will have to move those on. My Bradbury collection is my pride and joy. I can't believe I own a first edition of Dark Carnival, Arkham House 1947. Another favorite Manly Wade Wellman Who Fears the Devil, Arkham House.