SST Publications

[Splync]

Are we allowed to talk about the ultra-quick sellout that just happened? I waited and missed out on a copy.

Same here. Was away for the weekend and I missed it.

[joejets]

I wonder why there has been no further word on this for a week. I managed to snag a copy from DRP before they were gone there too.

[joejets]

So SGJ's "Mt Heart is a Chainsaw" sold out pre-announcement and thus never got announced. Since it had not been announced, I would have expanded the print run by a few hundred to help meet unexpected demand. Looks like Camelot and Bad Moon never got allotted copies, or they also sold out pre-announcement. DRP had 7 copies when I got there, was sold out soon after.

[Martin]

So SGJ's "Mt Heart is a Chainsaw" sold out pre-announcement and thus never got announced. Since it had not been announced, I would have expanded the print run by a few hundred to help meet unexpected demand. Looks like Camelot and Bad Moon never got allotted copies, or they also sold out pre-announcement. DRP had 7 copies when I got there, was sold out soon after.

Changing the print run after taking sales is not a good business practice. There are Borderlands books out there that indicate different sized print runs based on the copy you have. I passed on this offering as the author has not clicked with me but I am glad SST did not mess with the offering after it had been made.

[sholloman81]

Changing the print run after taking sales is not a good business practice. There are Borderlands books out there that indicate different sized print runs based on the copy you have. I passed on this offering as the author has not clicked with me but I am glad SST did not mess with the offering after it had been made.

I agree that changing the print run after the fact would have been a terrible idea. I ordered my copy of "My Heart is a Chainsaw" during the pre-announcement window as I was pretty sure that this one was going to sell out fast due to the lower print run (only 400 copies) as well as the fact that Stephen Graham Jones has been getting a lot of mainstream love lately due to his last few novels, especially The Only Good Indians. Am glad that SST was able to sell all of their copies so quickly and that, for once, FOMO worked in my favor.

[swintek]

Eh', I don't know. I think he should make more books to meet demand. I, too, bought "Chainsaw", quickly, on the preorder, honestly with a little bit of FOMO in my decision, based on the quick sell out of his previous books from SST. I don't know that I will be a Stephen Graham Jones Collector going forward- I really *want* to like him. I've read a novella and some of "Indians" (my wife read it and loved it, and filled me in to the point where I don't know that I'll actually finish it- chalk that up to entirely my laziness, and far too many books to get to on my TBR pile, rather than the novel itself). The guy seems like my kind of writer, and a very interesting one at that. His style is very unique, and I'm hoping that I'm going to find something that will really click in there somewhere. All to say that's my toe-dipping into SGJ, which is a work in progress.

As to making enough books to meet demand: with some exceptions, I usually fall into the camp of making enough "special" books as folks' want. Even if that means increasing the amount of copies after I have already purchased a book with a stated print run. I guess it comes down to: do you want enough nice books produced for our entire small community, or do you want books that only you and not many others who want them can have. I know this is a divisive criteria when it comes to Book Collecting, but, I think there is a sweet spot vis-a-vis supply and demand. I sort of detest manufactured exclusivity when it enters book collecting. Aren't we all here, on these very message boards because we are a very small enlightened group of folks who absolutely love nice books? Why should there be ANY of us here who are not allowed to purchase these books because we were tending to our families or at work when they went on sale, or needed a few more weeks to scrape up the extra bread from our blue collar jobs (god bless you all) only to find that these books sold out in 10 minutes? Believe me, I understand that rarity and exclusivity are part of the juice of collecting, I really do. I guess my feeling is that the "Limited Edition" model used to be more palatable when these small press editions went on sale- the passionate folks within the small community were all able to obtain them (in some cases, had years before the books would fully sell out), and then they would mildly increase in "value". Now, it's just.. ugly, quite frankly. The Hype and FOMO absolutely rule the once gentle, and fun hobby of Small Press Book Collecting. I know that sounds very "Get Off My Lawn", but, surely (don't call me Shirley) some of the collectors here who've been around awhile have to have seen this distressing shift in Collecting values..?

Print as many nice books as whoever wants them NOW. Everyone will buy them and be happy, and they will eventually sell out and become rare and more valuable as new collectors find the beauty of nice books. Why would we want it any other way? Unless you're out to make a quick buck. In which case- please, use the stock market.

[Martin]

Eh', I don't know. I think he should make more books to meet demand. I, too, bought "Chainsaw", quickly, on the preorder, honestly with a little bit of FOMO in my decision, based on the quick sell out of his previous books from SST. I don't know that I will be a Stephen Graham Jones Collector going forward- I really *want* to like him. I've read a novella and some of "Indians" (my wife read it and loved it, and filled me in to the point where I don't know that I'll actually finish it- chalk that up to entirely my laziness, and far too many books to get to on my TBR pile, rather than the novel itself). The guy seems like my kind of writer, and a very interesting one at that. His style is very unique, and I'm hoping that I'm going to find something that will really click in there somewhere. All to say that's my toe-dipping into SGJ, which is a work in progress.

As to making enough books to meet demand: with some exceptions, I usually fall into the camp of making enough "special" books as folks' want. Even if that means increasing the amount of copies after I have already purchased a book with a stated print run. I guess it comes down to: do you want enough nice books produced for our entire small community, or do you want books that only you and not many others who want them can have. I know this is a divisive criteria when it comes to Book Collecting, but, I think there is a sweet spot vis-a-vis supply and demand. I sort of detest manufactured exclusivity when it enters book collecting. Aren't we all here, on these very message boards because we are a very small enlightened group of folks who absolutely love nice books? Why should there be ANY of us here who are not allowed to purchase these books because we were tending to our families or at work when they went on sale, or needed a few more weeks to scrape up the extra bread from our blue collar jobs (god bless you all) only to find that these books sold out in 10 minutes? Believe me, I understand that rarity and exclusivity are part of the juice of collecting, I really do. I guess my feeling is that the "Limited Edition" model used to be more palatable when these small press editions went on sale- the passionate folks within the small community were all able to obtain them (in some cases, had years before the books would fully sell out), and then they would mildly increase in "value". Now, it's just.. ugly, quite frankly. The Hype and FOMO absolutely rule the once gentle, and fun hobby of Small Press Book Collecting. I know that sounds very "Get Off My Lawn", but, surely (don't call me Shirley) some of the collectors here who've been around awhile have to have seen this distressing shift in Collecting values..?

Print as many nice books as whoever wants them NOW. Everyone will buy them and be happy, and they will eventually sell out and become rare and more valuable as new collectors find the beauty of nice books. Why would we want it any other way? Unless you're out to make a quick buck. In which case- please, use the stock market.

I have no issue with increasing print runs on books. I have issue with increasing print runs after the book has already been sold based on a certain print run. That will erode the trust the buyer has in what the seller says and will ultimately hurt the seller.

[RonClinton]

I have no issue with increasing print runs on books. I have issue with increasing print runs after the book has already been sold based on a certain print run. That will erode the trust the buyer has in what the seller says and will ultimately hurt the seller.

That's exactly my take on it as well. The publisher is free to choose however large a printrun he would like prior to the official offering, but once the product is offered for sale / pre-order, the details that accompany that offering needs to stay unchanged and should not be subject to a bait-and-switch move. A consumer's purchase must be an informed one, and changing the equation after the fact leads to a sense of being had, of essentially being defrauded, and significantly erodes trust and faith in the publisher. I applaud SST for not going down that road; I'm confident, in fact, based on SST's stellar customer service over the years, that that would never even come to Paul's mind.

Wow, look at this, Ron S., we finally found something to disagree about.

[swintek]

Wow, look at this, Ron S., we finally found something to disagree about.

Yeah, I did that on purpose. I wouldn't want any... nefarious, cash-grabbing book increases, but, I stand by having no problem if someone just honestly hasn't read the demand correctly. Let's take SST's MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW as a forinstance, since we're here (and, full disclosure- I did secure a copy at the private preorder): It sounds like there are more than a few folks who were blindsided by missing out before they even heard about it. It sounds like the 400 copy limitation was too few to meet demand. To me, that's not an ideal situation for an honest publisher (like Paul), nor for the author, who receives royalties on all sold copies. Would it really bother anyone here for Paul to say 'Sorry, folks, my bad. I've got a lot of angry customers and it would be best suited to add another 100 copies to the print run' ? Well, I guess you have already stated that it would bother you, but I would welcome it. The extra hundred copies is going to do far more good for the publisher, author, and fans who missed out than it's going to do me harm.

[RonClinton]

Yeah, I did that on purpose. I wouldn't want any... nefarious, cash-grabbing book increases, but, I stand by having no problem if someone just honestly hasn't read the demand correctly. Let's take SST's MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW as a forinstance, since we're here (and, full disclosure- I did secure a copy at the private preorder): It sounds like there are more than a few folks who were blindsided by missing out before they even heard about it. It sounds like the 400 copy limitation was too few to meet demand. To me, that's not an ideal situation for an honest publisher (like Paul), nor for the author, who receives royalties on all sold copies. Would it really bother anyone here for Paul to say 'Sorry, folks, my bad. I've got a lot of angry customers and it would be best suited to add another 100 copies to the print run' ? Well, I guess you have already stated that it would bother you, but I would welcome it. The extra hundred copies is going to do far more good for the publisher, author, and fans who missed out than it's going to do me harm.

Ah, but see, there is a solution that would satisfy both of us, and it’s been occasionally done before.

The publisher answers that demand by subsequently releasing a 2nd Edition — numbered/signed or not, deluxe or trade — with the proper designation of SECOND EDITION specified on the copyright page. To make it different so as to qualify as a second edition (and not just a Second Edition) and not rile the First Edition/Printing buyers, do B&W art instead of color, remove that extra bonus story or print in a smaller trim size or etc.

The answer to unforeseen demand isn’t to change the initial First Edition offering but to add to it in the form of a Second Edition.

[Martin]

Ah, but see, there is a solution that would satisfy both of us, and it’s been occasionally done before.

The publisher answers that demand by subsequently releasing a 2nd Edition — numbered/signed or not, deluxe or trade — with the proper designation of SECOND EDITION specified on the copyright page. To make it different so as to qualify as a second edition (and not just a Second Edition) and not rile the First Edition/Printing buyers, do B&W art instead of color, remove that extra bonus story or print in a smaller trim size or etc.

The answer to unforeseen demand isn’t to change the initial First Edition offering but to add to it in the form of a Second Edition.

I think Centipede Press does a good job of following up with unsigned and second runs if a book exceeds initial demand. I also would not be surprised if the trade publisher had something do do with the print run. Although I do not believe there is evidence of this many publishers consider limited editions of recent releases as competition.

[RonClinton]

Agreed, Centipede does a good job of it. I believe Sub Press did something along the lines of what I suggest above, the 2nd Edition thing, with one of Joe Hill’s early releases…was it 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS…?

[Martin]

Agreed, Centipede does a good job of it. I believe Sub Press did something along the lines of what I suggest above, the 2nd Edition thing, with one of Joe Hill’s early releases…was it 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS…?

Sub Press did that with Heart Shaped Box.

[swintek]

The answer to unforeseen demand isn’t to change the initial First Edition offering but to add to it in the form of a Second Edition.

The dreaded "Second Edition" pleases NO collector, so- I respectfully disagree. If we dig down on it, it really comes down to exclusivity- the "juice" for- increasingly- many collectors, and the Problem, as I see it, being so exploited in modern publishing. This conceit was never at the forefront of the small press. As I said earlier- I absolutely get that exclusivity was part of the rush of book collecting: Having That Which Others Do Not (secondary to having beautifully-crafted alternative editions of books we love, unfortunately). I wish that we'd get back to the model that was the spirit of small press Horror Book Collecting in the 70's and 80's, though; which seems to me used to be: We're going to make enough copies to distribute throughout our awesome small community, to all of our like-minded passionate book-lovers who want them. We're going to make enough to satisfy the current demand (which, think about it: has always been roughly 500-1000 interested parties- not counting Stephen King). Then, gradually, those limited copies would sell out, and become increasingly harder to find, and more pricey to obtain. But, not this immediate, manufactured, FOMO Driven exclusivity and insane speculation, primarily driven from the Facebook guys. Ron- surely (ahem), you, of all people, remember how this was? Perhaps, your abstinence from that toxic platform has shielded you from the horror of the The Modern Small Press Collector. Good on you. But, I will say, when I hear: 'I don't want other collectors in this small, intimate, passionate group of book lovers to have the same thing that I want- even though they want it just as much as I do- and they were just not in the right place at the right time - I have to scratch my head.

[TacomaDiver]

I believe you have one I read as it came from NRB. What I have read has been highly praised and I so wanted to like.

Depending on what the book is, I'd be interested in taking it off your hands.