Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: The Deluxe Signed & Slipcased Special Limited Edition!

[Martin]

When this one arrived I took a quick glance at it and set it aside. I decided to take a closer look, specifically at the points Ron had made and see if I concurred with his assessment.

Here is what I find on mine:
1. Slipcase - I had seen prior mentions of the slipcase being too tight. I find that mine is not too tight but I still am nervous sliding the book in and out. The reason is the binding of the book has two distinct pieces and I am concerned I may damage the book as it may grab as I slide it out. Both the fabric on the slipcase and the fabric on the book have a clear edge.
2. Foil Stamping - The foil stamping on mine look as good as the samples shown here with one exception. The stamping on the front of the book itself looks washed out. Not a lot but it is a bit washed out. Ron's issue with the stamping on the spine is not an issue with my copy.
3. Paper Stock - I see Ron's point about seeing the text on the next page so I compared it with a few other CD books. What I found is that the paper stock does seem to be the same but the other CD releases I looked it was much less noticeable. I believe this was due to the design of Gone Girl there are sections with more white space at the chapter breaks than I could find with the other books. In my view it still much better paper stock than you would find in a trade edition and the fact I see the next text in the white space does not bother me.

One issue Ron did not mention that I have is the numbering. The person who numbered the books appears to have been in a hurry when mine was numbered. I may have #284 and I may have #884. Ok, there is a slight chance it is #784 but I think it is one of the first two choices. Since I have already ordered the next book and will want to match numbers I hope our friends at CD can confirm which number I have as I am not sure.

Overall I am very pleased with the book. I will say that since this will be my reading copy I am probably going to leave it out of the slipcase while reading it just to be careful.

[RonClinton]

Yes, I appreciate your prompt and gracious reply, Brian (F.), and am glad you took my post in the spirit in which it was intended -- not critical, per se, but just a brief commentary on issues that, as a very longtime customer of your fine books, I found so atypical, especially in the higher price-point books, that I thought they deserved mention so that they can be addressed for subsequent volumes (assuming a similar format for future Flynn books). Two things I've always appreciated about CD is, one, their quality control, and, two, their focus on customer service and satisfaction, and I'm pleased to see that in this instance the latter may help inform the former in the future.

[Brian James Freeman]

One issue Ron did not mention that I have is the numbering. The person who numbered the books appears to have been in a hurry when mine was numbered. I may have #284 and I may have #884. Ok, there is a slight chance it is #784 but I think it is one of the first two choices. Since I have already ordered the next book and will want to match numbers I hope our friends at CD can confirm which number I have as I am not sure.

We have a new employee in the warehouse and I think he might have been hurrying a bit too much because he knows folks have been waiting. We'll go talk to him about it right now since we're all here. Going slow is always the key with numbering!

If anyone has a problem reading their number, please email [email protected] or [email protected] a photo if you can and we'll figure out the best way to help. We do have extras blank copies of the book (that's where the PCs come into play!) and we should be able to re-number a fresh book with your correct number, using a neater hand, and then swap copies with you. (Your current messy sig sheet number will then be crossed out and PCed, so it doesn't end up back on the market somehow.)

So please definitely drop one (or both) of us a line and we'll get it fixed!

Brian

[Brian James Freeman]

1. Slipcase - I had seen prior mentions of the slipcase being too tight. I find that mine is not too tight but I still am nervous sliding the book in and out. The reason is the binding of the book has two distinct pieces and I am concerned I may damage the book as it may grab as I slide it out. Both the fabric on the slipcase and the fabric on the book have a clear edge.

There seems to be "degrees" of tightness here, and I'm disappointed that it's an issue AT ALL because we specifically waited until we had the finished books to start the slipcases to get the sizing right. That meant an additional 12 week delay, but the payoff is supposed to be a perfect fit. We took the extra time because cloth on cloth cases DO have more potential for issues in terms of fit because of friction. I'm dropping our slipcase guy a line, but I suspect this will be a situation where we hedged on the side of being "a little big" and that should have been fine, but for some reason some or many of the books are just a bit thicker. I think -- and this is just my theory -- the cloth material might be from two different rolls. For example, the printer may have started with the end of a roll and then switched to a new roll somewhere along the way. They don't tell us this because, in theory, it should be the same. But depending on the age difference between the rolls (how long was that first roll in storage at the printer?), there could have be minute changes at the cloth manufacturer between the two rolls and even a tiny thickness change would make the first copy of the book and the last copy of the book be slightly different in thickness.

I'm making an educated guess based on managing 200+ special editions through production and the various things I've learned and heard and see in that time, but I'm still learning stuff all of the time, so we'll see what I hear!

2. Foil Stamping - The foil stamping on mine look as good as the samples shown here with one exception. The stamping on the front of the book itself looks washed out. Not a lot but it is a bit washed out. Ron's issue with the stamping on the spine is not an issue with my copy.

I went back this morning and looked at the next few dozen books to be numbered. The spine stamping looked pretty solid, but I did see some lightness to the fronts, as if the hot foil stamping plate wasn't pressed through the stamping process 100%.

3. Paper Stock - I see Ron's point about seeing the text on the next page so I compared it with a few other CD books. What I found is that the paper stock does seem to be the same but the other CD releases I looked it was much less noticeable. I believe this was due to the design of Gone Girl there are sections with more white space at the chapter breaks than I could find with the other books. In my view it still much better paper stock than you would find in a trade edition and the fact I see the next text in the white space does not bother me.

I've looked over the pages again, side by side with a few other books that should have been from the same batch of paper from the mill, along with an older title that happened to be on the warehouse table (which would have been a different run from the mill for sure given the age), and I think you are correct. I never noticed it before Ron's post, but because of the amount of white space used in the design of GONE GIRL, the text is much more obvious from the back of the page than normal. If you compare this book and THE TWELVE, for example, they used the same #60 paper stock but THE TWELVE has a much denser design, so it's not really noticeable there.

I did email our printer, just to see if they recall whether the cloth changed rolls during production (our rep wouldn't even have been told so long as the stock numbers of the cloth didn't change because the assumption is that the rolls are exactly the same, so she'll need to ask someone on the production floor if they recall) and also just to confirm this is our usual stock and not a substitute stock. We always specify the stock, and should be notified if it needs to be substituted, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

Brian

P.S. Forgive any typos, I need a lot more caffeine today!

[Brian James Freeman]

Yes, I appreciate your prompt and gracious reply, Brian (F.), and am glad you took my post in the spirit in which it was intended -- not critical, per se, but just a brief commentary on issues that, as a very longtime customer of your fine books, I found so atypical, especially in the higher price-point books, that I thought they deserved mention so that they can be addressed for subsequent volumes (assuming a similar format for future Flynn books). Two things I've always appreciated about CD is, one, their quality control, and, two, their focus on customer service and satisfaction, and I'm pleased to see that in this instance the latter may help inform the former in the future.

Absolutely. The other Flynn books will be using this same look and feel (we're locked into a pretty specific set of specs from the agreement), so, for example, we'll hedge even "bigger" on the slipcases for future books for sure based on what we've seen with GONE GIRL. Of course, by "bigger" I don't mean inches, I mean fractions, but they can make all of the difference, as we've seen here!

Brian

[Martin]

We have a new employee in the warehouse and I think he might have been hurrying a bit too much because he knows folks have been waiting. We'll go talk to him about it right now since we're all here. Going slow is always the key with numbering!

If anyone has a problem reading their number, please email [email protected] or [email protected] a photo if you can and we'll figure out the best way to help. We do have extras blank copies of the book (that's where the PCs come into play!) and we should be able to re-number a fresh book with your correct number, using a neater hand, and then swap copies with you. (Your current messy sig sheet number will then be crossed out and PCed, so it doesn't end up back on the market somehow.)

So please definitely drop one (or both) of us a line and we'll get it fixed!

Brian

Brian, I will send you a photo of my limitation page so you can hopefully let me know what the number is. I do not feel it needs to be replaced though. Thanks.

[Dan Hocker]

Brian, I will send you a photo of my limitation page so you can hopefully let me know what the number is. I do not feel it needs to be replaced though. Thanks.

For what it's worth that numbering thing is probably a limited occurrence as well. I checked out a bunch of already numbered books and they all seemed fine to me. Honestly our new employee's handwriting is better than mine and I've numbered more books than I can count.

[Brian James Freeman]

For what it's worth that numbering thing is probably a limited occurrence as well. I checked out a bunch of already numbered books and they all seemed fine to me. Honestly our new employee's handwriting is better than mine and I've numbered more books than I can count.

Yep, it happens sometimes, so it is (hopefully) just a few books here or there. The ones I saw today looks really nice and neat!

Brian

[RonClinton]

Brian, I'll certainly go with the design cause that you and Martin suggest, though I admit I'm still puzzled how design could account for transparency / text-bleed-through to the degree I'm seeing.

R.e. the poor stamping...here is mine. As you can see, the difference between the earlier example and mine is fairly substantive. If you believe this is representative/comparable to the copies you have on hand, then so be it...if, however, mine is worse than the others, perhaps we can, as you mention above, discuss an exchange and have one of those blank copies you have on hand numbered with my edition's #. Who knows, maybe then even my slipcase fit will be improved!

flynn2.jpg

flynn1.jpg

[Dan Hocker]

Brian, I'll certainly go with the design cause that you and Martin suggest, though I admit I'm still puzzled how design could account for transparency / text-bleed-through to the degree I'm seeing.

R.e. the poor stamping...here is mine. As you can see, the difference between the earlier example and mine is fairly substantive. If you believe this is representative/comparable to the copies you have on hand, then so be it...if, however, mine is worse than the others, perhaps we can, as you mention above, discuss an exchange and have one of those blank copies you have on hand numbered with my edition's #. Who knows, maybe then even my slipcase fit will be improved!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17963[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17964[/ATTACH]

Yea that one definitely should have been put in the "damaged" pile. I'm guess Justin just missed one when going through them. It's pretty easy to do when going through 900+ books.

Definitely email Mindy about getting a replacement copy for the damaged book.

[Martin]

Brian, I'll certainly go with the design cause that you and Martin suggest, though I admit I'm still puzzled how design could account for transparency / text-bleed-through to the degree I'm seeing.

R.e. the poor stamping...here is mine. As you can see, the difference between the earlier example and mine is fairly substantive. If you believe this is representative/comparable to the copies you have on hand, then so be it...if, however, mine is worse than the others, perhaps we can, as you mention above, discuss an exchange and have one of those blank copies you have on hand numbered with my edition's #. Who knows, maybe then even my slipcase fit will be improved!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17963[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17964[/ATTACH]

Ron, mine looks nothing like that. Evan the fading on the front stamp on mine is much better than that.

[Brian James Freeman]

Yea that one definitely should have been put in the "damaged" pile. I'm guess Justin just missed one when going through them. It's pretty easy to do when going through 900+ books.

Definitely email Mindy about getting a replacement copy for the damaged book.

Apparently, that's the Ron Clinton Special Edition: Now With 40% Less Foil Stamping!

[RonClinton]

Apparently, that's the Ron Clinton Special Edition: Now With 40% Less Foil Stamping!

Okay, thanks, Brian -- I'll get in touch with Mindy r.e. a replacement. I figured that kind of stamping just couldn't be right. On a positive note, in over twenty-five years I've never had to get a replacement from you folks for anything, so your batting average is awfully darn good.

[Brian861]

A one off, Ron. Might want to hang on to it! .

[Brian James Freeman]

Some of the GONE GIRL books and cases aren't fitting together quite right. Some are "tight" but okay and some are "crazy tight holy cow my slipcase ate my book and won't give it back!"

We're working with our slipcase maker to tweak the remaining cases we have and it will hopefully do the trick for those with case tightness issues.

If your Gone Girl slipcase is too tight, but your book is fine, please email Mindy at [email protected] with a message along these lines:

"My Gone Girl slipcase is too tight, please send me a replacement per Brian's message." Including your mailing address would be helpful.

Mindy will get you entered into our system for a replacement copy, which Dan will send to you with a return label for the bad case.

If your Gone Girl slipcase is too tight and your book is showing any issues or damage, please email Mindy at [email protected] with a message along these lines:

"My Gone Girl slipcase is too tight AND my book has problems, please send me a replacement book and case per Brian's message. My book number is ____."

Including your mailing address would be helpful. And PLEASE make sure you include your number. Mindy will get you entered into our system for a replacement BOOK AND CASE of the same number, which Dan will send to you with a return label for the bad book and case.

Thanks!

Brian