Suntup Editions - All Books

[Martin]

BJF, thanks for the insight. Reading the descriptions of the 2 Suntup Rosemary's Baby editions, it would be tough to see how they could be priced much lower.

I'm curious about the decision not to do 3rd tier/"Artist Gift Editions" for The Haunting Of Hill House and Rosemary's Baby; I wonder if the need to sell a higher quantity (which was 1,000 for Horns and 1,250 for Misery) tested confidence in the ability of THOHH and RB (although historically relevant and respected enough to easily move limited quantities of lettered and numbered editions, especially with Suntup's production values) to find a market for that higher quantity.

Certainly, none of which is to criticize Suntup; I'm merely curious (and mostly curious about AGEs because my budget is on the low side ).

Paul commented at one point that he was contractually not permitted to release an artist gift edition of Hill House. I assume, but do not know, that the same holds true with Rosemary's Baby.

[Dan Hocker]

The decision to not do Artist's Editions is probably all contractual. Even if Suntup wanted to, they might not have been allowed to.

Maybe, my guess is probably more that he just didn't think there'd be enough interest to move 1,000 copies. It really takes a perfect storm of author, price, and title to move that many copies quickly, for instance he still has copies of Horns available.

[St. Troy]

I like what Suntup is doing. I like that there is a publisher out there producing these kind of high-end books with unique designs that make them more a centerpiece for display than just a book on a shelf. I hope that they continue to be very successful, because anything that gets people excited about books is a good thing.

+1

...to the "normal" book buyer, us here on this forum that regularly spend $40 to $100+ on a single book is seen as ridiculous.

Normal people are funny, no? The number of times my wife has said "but you already own that book, don't you?" and I've had to respond along the lines of, "yes, but not with these extra features, kickass paper, binding, illustrations..."

She once referred to my Alan Lee-illustrated editions of Lord Of The Rings as..."picture books," like they were the freakin' Berenstain Bears or something.

I'm just glad that we have company's like Suntup, Centipede, Thunderstorm, Earthling, Subterranean, Charnel House, SST, PS, and, of course, Cemetery Dance that are putting out these books, because the Lord knows that they aren't doing it for the money. And, in my humble opinion, without them, the world--or at least MY world--would be a little less bright.

Hell yeah.

[jeffingoff]

Looks like I missed the bulk of this conversation, but I figured I'd throw my two cents in.

I like what Suntup is doing. I like that there is a publisher out there producing these kind of high-end books with unique designs that make them more a centerpiece for display than just a book on a shelf. I hope that they continue to be very successful, because anything that gets people excited about books is a good thing. Unfortunately, these books just aren't for me or meant for someone in my budget range.

As for the price point, this is all relative. The price point is seen as a "too much" from my perspective because:

1. My income dictates that this is beyond what is reasonable to spend on a book. If I made more money, then this might not be the case. This is a matter of perspective though, because to the "normal" book buyer, us here on this forum that regularly spend $40 to $100+ on a single book is seen as ridiculous. When I discuss my book collecting and share that a particular book cost $200, most people's heads explode at the thought.

2. My desire for this particular book is not high enough to warrant that amount of money. I have no personal connection or history to the book, so the rationalization to spend that much is diminished. If this was Straub's Ghost Story, I wouldn't think twice about snatching up a limited for $695 (I'd have to do some VERY serious thinking about dropping $4k on a lettered, though). But I'm willing to spend that due to the personal significance that the book has to me. Other collectors might look at me crossed-eyed.

Due I wish that Suntup could do Artist Editions for all books? Yeah, I'd love to support them. Do I want them to change their business model to make their product price more palatable to me? Nah, this is passion at work here, they should do as they see fit.


I'm just glad that we have company's like Suntup, Centipede, Thunderstorm, Earthling, Subterranean, Charnel House, SST, PS, and, of course, Cemetery Dance that are putting out these books, because the Lord knows that they aren't doing it for the money. And, in my humble opinion, without them, the world--or at least MY world--would be a little less bright.

All of this. Perfectly stated.

[Brian861]

+1



Normal people are funny, no? The number of times my wife has said "but you already own that book, don't you?" and I've had to respond along the lines of, "yes, but not with these extra features, kickass paper, binding, illustrations..."

She once referred to my Alan Lee-illustrated editions of Lord Of The Rings as..."picture books," like they were the freakin' Berenstain Bears or something.




Hell yeah.

That Berenstain Bears comment got me rolling. LMFAO!

[Brian861]

This isn't directed at anyone, but just a reminder to keep things respectful, please.
Best,
Brian

After giving it some thought, I felt this was directed at me. Seeing how it appeared directly after my comment. Oh well, blanket statements are the SOP for most companies. Including my current employer.

[Brian861]

You're not the boss of me Brian!

So you haven't been told yet.

I'm sure the notice is in the mail.

What he said

[bookworm 1]

I would have gone for a reasonably priced gift edition of one was available. I wonder if with a book like this if Paul could do a gift edition if he just figured out the cost and had a preorder window for a gift edition and that was the number of gift edition books he published. Then he doesn't have to do 500 or more copies of only 200 people want one.

[Dan Hocker]

I would have gone for a reasonably priced gift edition of one was available. I wonder if with a book like this if Paul could do a gift edition if he just figured out the cost and had a preorder window for a gift edition and that was the number of gift edition books he published. Then he doesn't have to do 500 or more copies of only 200 people want one.

I think contractually that's a bit harder to work out, as contracts tend to specify the print runs on these things (unless it's for a trade version).

[bookworm 1]

I think contractually that's a bit harder to work out, as contracts tend to specify the print runs on these things (unless it's for a trade version).

I can see that but couldn't it be worked out to an agreed upon percentage of total sales of a gift edition that's limited to the number of books ordered. Cemetery Dance has done that with some of their books like the 4 Halloween books ,Crane House, Kin 4 Zombies and others.

[Brian James Freeman]

After giving it some thought, I felt this was directed at me. Seeing how it appeared directly after my comment. Oh well, blanket statements are the SOP for most companies. Including my current employer.

Naw, it wouldn't have been directly after your comment if I had allowed something through the moderation queue first. But instead, that moderated comment was deleted because it was taking things in an unfortunate and non-productive direction... and I wrote my post instead.

Brian

[TacomaDiver]

What he said

I'm sure I can easily justify the purchase of pretty much any edition as I want with the "it's not the $700 version!"

[Brian861]

I'm sure I can easily justify the purchase of pretty much any edition as I want with the "it's not the $700 version!"

There ya go!

[bookworm 1]

And the almost $10,000 lettered edition sold out. At that price I though it might not well out for a couple of days.

[jeffingoff]

And the almost $10,000 lettered edition sold out. At that price I though it might not well out for a couple of days.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic. But that could be my fault for having nary a brain cell left. The lettered was almost $4000.