Favorite Old CD Titles

[Dan Hocker]

Dan, are you asking boom design/production-wise or story itself?

Story. I have an idea for a "line of books" that would involve reprints of older titles / fan favorites type of thing. Don't know if it'll come to fruition, or if we can even get rights to anything. I'm just trying to get an idea of what titles people would be interested in inexpensive (essentially trade) editions of.

[c marvel]

Isis is a 2006 release. It is one of my favorite books and I still remember it today.

Cap

[Dan Hocker]

I think we're going to be emailing out a survey about this to try and get responses from a larger audience than are here on the forums. I'm enjoying this discussion though.

[taost33]

I think we're going to be emailing out a survey about this to try and get responses from a larger audience than are here on the forums. I'm enjoying this discussion though.

I really liked "The Machinery of Night" by Douglas Clegg. Came out in 2005. A real doorstop of a book with some really interesting short stories.

[bsaenz24]

I would LOVE to see collected volumes of the Novella Series starting at the beginning. Maybe 2 or 3 per volume.

[Dan Hocker]

I would LOVE to see collected volumes of the Novella Series starting at the beginning. Maybe 2 or 3 per volume.

That would be cool, though probably not ideal for what I am working on. I don't really want to share too many details because I'm still in the brainstorming phase.

[Martin]

Story. I have an idea for a "line of books" that would involve reprints of older titles / fan favorites type of thing. Don't know if it'll come to fruition, or if we can even get rights to anything. I'm just trying to get an idea of what titles people would be interested in inexpensive (essentially trade) editions of.

Well, if that is your line of thinking I will need to look at some of the older titles I missed out on and mention them. Two that come to mind off the top of my head are The Wilds and Night In The Lonesome October, both by Richard Laymon. I love the concept and would really enjoy seeing some of the older titles in an updated series.

[Jeffsta]

Two I really liked were Darkness Demands and Second Chance.

[slayn666]

Another vote for Live Girls.

[Dan Hocker]

We're emailing out that survey now.

[mhatchett]

Done! What do I win LOL!!

[jeffingoff]

We're emailing out that survey now.

Yeah, I saw it and clicked on it and was ready to answer but I really couldn't answer. I don't think there are any old editions I'd like to see new editions of. Mainly because I'd like to see new books more. Apart from a few Lansdales, I haven't been on the lookout for past editions.

[Marmaduke Grigsby]

Yeah, I saw it and clicked on it and was ready to answer but I really couldn't answer.

I did the same thing. I am still relatively new to CD so I'm not familiar enough with the older publications. I saw a couple people had mentioned LIVE GIRLS, a book that I re-read recently and loved as much as the first time I read it back in the 1980s. I didn't even know that CD had published a version of it.

The only other older CD book I have read is THE MOUNTAIN KING by Rick Hautala which I enjoyed a lot also.

[RonClinton]

If I can throw in a quick Devil's Advocate thought...

If the thought is to reprint previous CD titles in tpb, I do have to wonder if it might be economically difficult to make a line of tpbs work for this reason: For whatever reason and *generally speaking*, I don't think it's a secret (though it certainly is puzzling) that CD titles do not hold their collectible value well on the aftermarket. Search "Cemetery Dance signed" on eBay and it's apparent that many titles are readily available and run $15 to $25, one-third to one-half their original cover price, and even at that I tend to see those same auctions stagnate unsold.

That said, I wonder then who the customer is who would buy a new tpb reprint that is presumably priced at $14.95 to $19.95 when that customer could instead pick up that same book in signed/limited hardcover off eBay, et al for basically the same price. I certainly think a $9.95 pb reprint series would work well (though I suspect such pricing is not feasible for smaller reprint runs), but once the price for the tpbs starts inching up to the cost that better, more premium HC copies are being offered at on the aftermarket, I have to imagine it's going to be a tough sell.

That (also) said, I'd then suggest that the titles to be reprinted be those that have comparatively held their value better than others and are thus more scarce and expensive on the aftermarket. To be frank, I don't know that those are as I haven't kept abreast of the values of my CD books...maybe F. Paul Wilson's expanded MIDNIGHT MASS? Maybe the early novel by Norman Partridge, SLIPPIN' INTO DARKNESS? It'd probably take some cross-referencing of titles on eBay with eBay's real-world values (not ABE or Biblio where the sellers are often rather optimistic), but I think that kind of prep research would be invaluable in ensuring the titles selected for tpb reprint are those with a demand that won't be eclipsed by what's already available to the buyer at the same price in S/L HC.

Those're my two-cent thoughts.

[Martin]

I went with older titles that I have not yet read but would like to.