Random thoughts...

[jeffingoff]

In other news, I've located another Paul in small run publishing. I think these are all the Pauls:
Paul Suntup
Paul Miller at Earthling
Paul at Thunderstorm
and Paul at SST

Any others?

[jeffingoff]

Oh and also, the folks at NRB just had a baby. So I can see how they might have had a lot on their plate at the time of the King Box sale.

[mhatchett]

No sleep, explains and forgives a lot LOL!!

[RonClinton]

After their earlier annoucement that Martin explorer earlier very well, their add'l apology/explanation reads a bit like something from the Hillary Clinton School of Excuses, albeit calling some of their customers "disgusting" rather than deplorables. Like Clinton, I think NRB would do well to go silent for a while and let this blow over, as their continued attempts at salving this self-inflicted wound displays an unprofessional, thin-skinned attitude that rub many the wrong way.

https://mailchi.mp/ea9bcdb71399/updatecover-sneak-peek

I also have to say that I have to question the assertion that King was ever going to sign copies for them. Whether it was naive expectation, gross misunderstanding, or outright mistruth, I have no idea and I don't wish to guess, but one only has to look at King's history and the economics of it all and it seems clear to me that the liklihood of them getting King to sign copies for them was less than zero. King has stated in the past his disdain for expensive collectible editions, though, that said, it's true he has never really followed that belief through to practice, as demonstrated by the wealth of King's S/Ls out there. But especially in recent years, it seems more like he has limited them generally to high-profit publishing ventures (PS Pub.'s VERY expensive 26-copy lettereds (only PS edition signed by King)) or with those with whom he has close relationships (Rich Chizmar here at CD), a pick-and-choose strategy that makes sense given his advancing age and immense wealth. To believe that he would sign a couple hundred books for a wet-behind-the-ears trinket company (not even a publisher) for a few hundred bucks in royalties strains credulity, to say the least.

Though as I mentioned earlier I don't have a dog in this fight, I do find myself saddened by this incident, coming so quickly on the heels of the Dark Regions fiasco and a couple other things that may or may not be of public knowledge and I don't wish to spread rumors that I have no way of personally substantiating. Add to that all the small presses that have gone under and left people with useless "lifetime memberships" (or changed imprints to get out of them), etc. etc...for someone like me who loves dark fiction and has been part of its community now for 30 years, it's just disheartening to see the cumulation of all this type of stuff over time.

[jeffingoff]

After their earlier annoucement that Martin explorer earlier very well, their add'l apology/explanation reads a bit like something from the Hillary Clinton School of Excuses, albeit calling some of their customers "disgusting" rather than deplorables. Like Clinton, I think NRB would do well to go silent for a while and let this blow over, as their continued attempts at salving this self-inflicted wound displays an unprofessional, thin-skinned attitude that rub many the wrong way.

https://mailchi.mp/ea9bcdb71399/updatecover-sneak-peek

I also have to say that I have to question the assertion that King was ever going to sign copies for them. Whether it was naive expectation, gross misunderstanding, or outright mistruth, I have no idea and I don't wish to guess, but one only has to look at King's history and the economics of it all and it seems clear to me that the liklihood of them getting King to sign copies for them was less than zero. King has stated in the past his disdain for expensive collectible editions, though, that said, it's true he has never really followed that belief through to practice, as demonstrated by the wealth of King's S/Ls out there. But especially in recent years, it seems more like he has limited them generally to high-profit publishing ventures (PS Pub.'s VERY expensive 26-copy lettereds (only PS edition signed by King)) or with those with whom he has close relationships (Rich Chizmar here at CD), a pick-and-choose strategy that makes sense given his advancing age and immense wealth. To believe that he would sign a couple hundred books for a wet-behind-the-ears trinket company (not even a publisher) for a few hundred bucks in royalties strains credulity, to say the least.

Though as I mentioned earlier I don't have a dog in this fight, I do find myself saddened by this incident, coming so quickly on the heels of the Dark Regions fiasco and a couple other things that may or may not be of public knowledge and I don't wish to spread rumors that I have no way of personally substantiating. Add to that all the small presses that have gone under and left people with useless "lifetime memberships" (or changed imprints to get out of them), etc. etc...for someone like me who loves dark fiction and has been part of its community now for 30 years, it's just disheartening to see the cumulation of all this type of stuff over time.

I think it's a very dangerous game to claim King has said things he hasn't said. If he was never in talks to do a signed quantity, NRB is opening themselves up to legal action. At the very least, King could be quoted as saying he never negotiated a signed amount and that one quote would ruin NRB's credibility. It's a really easy thing to clear up. Though unless King weighs in, we only have NRB's communication to go by. The fact is, they got King t agree to a special/limited edition for Salem's Lot. And they definitely made it seem that an agreement for a signature was likely--but they cleared that up before the sale went live and the people who purchased knew what they were getting.

[RonClinton]

I think it's a very dangerous game to claim King has said things he hasn't said. If he was never in talks to do a signed quantity, NRB is opening themselves up to legal action. At the very least, King could be quoted as saying he never negotiated a signed amount and that one quote would ruin NRB's credibility. It's a really easy thing to clear up. Though unless King weighs in, we only have NRB's communication to go by. The fact is, they got King t agree to a special/limited edition for Salem's Lot. And they definitely made it seem that an agreement for a signature was likely--but they cleared that up before the sale went live and the people who purchased knew what they were getting.

I would tend to agree it's probably either naivety or gross misunderstanding rather than mistruth for precisely the reason you mention. But I think the onus was on NRB to appreciate the reality of their standing and the slim-to-none liklihood of it happening and thus having a contract in hand before uttering a syllable of the arrangement, let alone the "guarantee" they mentioned.

But it what it is.

By the way, has it been confirmed whether this is a true limited edition, i.e. a newly-published book, or just a new dustjacket on the existing trade copies (ala what Overlook Connection has done in the past with Glenn Chadbourne)? I ask because I truly don't know...haven't been able to determine it from what I've read about the project thus far.

[jeffingoff]

I’d be curious to hear what you think of the production values. SST has been on my radar put I’ve yet to pull the trigger. Paradise Sky would seem like a good place to start.

Any Lansdale fans out there? TacomaDiver? SST is doing a cool series of Lansdale collections:

https://sstpublications.co.uk/Cosmic-Interruptions.html

[jeffingoff]

By the way, has it been confirmed whether this is a true limited edition, i.e. a newly-published book, or just a new dustjacket on the existing trade copies (ala what Overlook Connection has done in the past with Glenn Chadbourne)? I ask because I truly don't know...haven't been able to determine it from what I've read about the project thus far.

I believe it's a newly-published book. Limited run of 2,000 with only 1,950 offered for sale. There is also an opportunity for remarques.

[TacomaDiver]

Any Lansdale fans out there? TacomaDiver? SST is doing a cool series of Lansdale collections:

https://sstpublications.co.uk/Cosmic-Interruptions.html

Already preordered this one from Camelot (SST’s shipping seemed to have been higher than what I’ve paid in the past.)

Thanks for thinking of me on this one!

[jeffingoff]

Already preordered this one from Camelot (SST’s shipping seemed to have been higher than what I’ve paid in the past.)

Thanks for thinking of me on this one!

Shipping was high. But I wanted automatic matching numbers and I just thought it would be best to go direct. Not that I think you're in any danger with Kim and Tony!

[RonClinton]

I'm toying with the idea of the SST four-volume set, but thus far I've convinced myself I don't need it since I already have all of his other collections, from the earliest to the latest, so almost certainly have nearly all his short fiction to date, save for a few that may remain uncollected. But given Lansdale's proclivity to periodically overlap his collections to a degree, I frankly don't think there's much uncollected stuff out there...not enough, anyhow, to buy a $200 set.

But we'll see...I like the look of that first dj art, and a matching set (especially one that sections the fiction by type/genre rather than date) is always kinda cool. Probably need to decide soon before it sells out.

[Dan Hocker]

Shipping was high. But I wanted automatic matching numbers and I just thought it would be best to go direct. Not that I think you're in any danger with Kim and Tony!

Knowing Camelot they are almost certainly getting matching number sets.

[Sock Monkey]

I’m in through Camelot. I need more Lansdale in my collection and this four-volume set seems like a good start. I also like the separations of the volumes by genre. It would be cool if they’d do a slipcase to hold the entire set.

[TacomaDiver]

Knowing Camelot they are almost certainly getting matching number sets.

I asked Kim if they were and she said that they’ve never had problems before.

I don’t know why I’m too worried about matching numbers since I’ve gotten had two publishers not honor my requests (one said they didn’t see the request even though it was on order confirmation; and the second one had a really reason for not honoring the request (I’m still bitter over this one.)

[Dan Hocker]

I asked Kim if they were and she said that they’ve never had problems before.

I don’t know why I’m too worried about matching numbers since I’ve gotten had two publishers not honor my requests (one said they didn’t see the request even though it was on order confirmation; and the second one had a really reason for not honoring the request (I’m still bitter over this one.)

Where any of them us? If so I can probably explain a little more to your satisfaction.