Little Book Series 3

[Dan Hocker]

And collectors probably take that to the next level.

Sometimes, a lot of our customers aren't even really collectors. Most of them really just buy a lot of our stuff to read or just because they like books. It comes with the type of stuff we publish, since a lot of stuff we publish our edition is often the only edition or the only hardcover edition.

[Brian861]

I doubt Borderlands sent an email out to everyone. They may have made a post on their website or something, or just told people that asked. From experience you don't want to go pointing problems out to everyone. Most people won't actually care or even see the thing as a problem until it's pointed out to them. But once you draw attention to it they'll care, even if had they found that problem on their own they may not have cared. It's kinda a weird psychological thing human beings do.

And collectors probably take that to the next level.

[Dan Hocker]

They might have. From the last several posts I just figured that wasn't the case.

I doubt Borderlands sent an email out to everyone. They may have made a post on their website or something, or just told people that asked. From experience you don't want to go pointing problems out to everyone. Most people won't actually care or even see the thing as a problem until it's pointed out to them. But once you draw attention to it they'll care, even if had they found that problem on their own they may not have cared. It's kinda a weird psychological thing human beings do.

[bookworm 1]

I thought this was public knowledge. I remember it being talked about here when it happened.

They might have. From the last several posts I just figured that wasn't the case.

[Dan Hocker]

It seems that that message should have been relayed to everyone by Boarderlands. Stuff happens and this would have answered a lot of questions for the collectors of this series

I thought this was public knowledge. I remember it being talked about here when it happened.

[bookworm 1]

From Camelot's website:

"A Little Aqua Book of Marine Stories by Tim Waggoner (All of our copies of the Little Aqua Book were indented in several places down the spine, some as many as 7 indentations and we asked the publisher if this was a problem with this particular title and were advised that "Yes, the printer switched to a new! improved! binding machine and it was a mess. This batch is actually the second time through machine because the first run was totally unusable and the author had to re-sign all the sheets. Please tell your folks we had no control over this and we may be switching printers going forward. But we cannot risk going back to press again with the Aqua title. This one is below our usual standards but it is going to have to do—we cannot go through this again. And they shorted us on the second run besides. . . so I have no replacements."

It seems that that message should have been relayed to everyone by Boarderlands. Stuff happens and this would have answered a lot of questions for the collectors of this series

[Marmaduke Grigsby]

They switched printers a couple books back. I can't remember after which book they switched though. The previous printer they were using basically ate an entire run of books and had to do them all over again.

From Camelot's website:

"A Little Aqua Book of Marine Stories by Tim Waggoner (All of our copies of the Little Aqua Book were indented in several places down the spine, some as many as 7 indentations and we asked the publisher if this was a problem with this particular title and were advised that "Yes, the printer switched to a new! improved! binding machine and it was a mess. This batch is actually the second time through machine because the first run was totally unusable and the author had to re-sign all the sheets. Please tell your folks we had no control over this and we may be switching printers going forward. But we cannot risk going back to press again with the Aqua title. This one is below our usual standards but it is going to have to do—we cannot go through this again. And they shorted us on the second run besides. . . so I have no replacements."

[Dan Hocker]

Entirely possible. They're on a schedule and they need to keep the books rolling and material is not available so they switch it up. They're done black books with the leatherette material before in series 2.

Also curious is that their logo is smaller on this book than it was on previous editions in the series. It was also smaller on the Malerman book. So I think they might be trying other printers?

They switched printers a couple books back. I can't remember after which book they switched though. The previous printer they were using basically ate an entire run of books and had to do them all over again.

[jeffingoff]

I don't know, as I haven't asked about it Tom about it, but my assumption (working in the business) is that something happened and they couldn't get the previous material in black for some reason. I don't know the reason, but stuff like that happens all the time. Usually it doesn't matter you just pick a different color, but given the nature of this series that's not really an option. This book needed to be black, so the only option would be to switch materials.

This is all just speculation based on my experiences in the industry.

Entirely possible. They're on a schedule and they need to keep the books rolling and material is not available so they switch it up. They're done black books with the leatherette material before in series 2.

Also curious is that their logo is smaller on this book than it was on previous editions in the series. It was also smaller on the Malerman book. So I think they might be trying other printers?

[Dan Hocker]

I don't know, as I haven't asked about it Tom about it, but my assumption (working in the business) is that something happened and they couldn't get the previous material in black for some reason. I don't know the reason, but stuff like that happens all the time. Usually it doesn't matter you just pick a different color, but given the nature of this series that's not really an option. This book needed to be black, so the only option would be to switch materials.

This is all just speculation based on my experiences in the industry.

[jeffingoff]

but my real issue is that they did it mid-series. At least wait until the next series to make such an obvious change in design.

AGREE.

[RonClinton]

Here's a photo of my copy. Like Jeff mentioned, cloth cover instead of faux leather. I'm not sure if this is a permanent change to the series or if it's just for this one edition. I actually think I prefer the leather covers.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]21927[/ATTACH]

Ah, okay — yeah, I see the change. Thanks for the pic. I’m not wild about the new material — I prefer the leatherette with the little drawings since it made them a bit more distinct — but my real issue is that they did it mid-series. At least wait until the next series to make such an obvious change in design.

[jeffingoff]

I’ll probably complete Series III and decide at that point.

I'll definitely complete series 3. If King doesn't show up and there's a series 4, I won't bother with it. If King appears in series 3 I'll probably keep going. I like these books, production problems aside. And when I emailed Borderlands about the issue with my book, they immediately responded with "we're sending a replacement." Very much appreciated and scored a lot of points with me.

[jeffingoff]

Yikes, Jeff! Was the book damaged?

I order my copies through Camelot so I don’t run into this issue, but it is rather disappointing to see books shipped in bags. I know it’s probably a cost saver and one of the appeals, at least to me, is the price point of these books. I’d just have a hard time buying one if I knew they were going to be shipped that way.

As to the new binding, I’ll have to see it before I decided. I’ve been thinking about jumping off this train, but haven’t decided yet. I’ll probably complete Series III and decide at that point.

The cover was wet. Thankfully I was home and brought it in immediately and wiped the drops off the cover. The pages were not touched. But something felt off on the spine. The back board didn't have the same deep indentation along the spine as the front board. Like it wasn't properly bound. And when I opened the book I saw the pages were completely tearing away from the boards:

IMG_5455.jpg

[Sock Monkey]

Yikes, Jeff! Was the book damaged?

I order my copies through Camelot so I don’t run into this issue, but it is rather disappointing to see books shipped in bags. I know it’s probably a cost saver and one of the appeals, at least to me, is the price point of these books. I’d just have a hard time buying one if I knew they were going to be shipped that way.

As to the new binding, I’ll have to see it before I decided. I’ve been thinking about jumping off this train, but haven’t decided yet. I’ll probably complete Series III and decide at that point.