Treasure in the Mail
The postal service has been good to me this week.
One of the things about being an author that I’m still coming to terms with is all the awesome books I get for free, often in advance of their on-sale dates. Some of these are my own work, and that’s to be expected, but my publishers will also send me pretty much any book of theirs I ask for. Sometimes, like when Naomi Novik or Terry Brooks has a new book coming out, I’ll put in a request for an advance copy, but I don’t like to take advantage in general, and still buy a lot of books. But more and more, I don’t need to. One time I told my UK editor I liked the new Robin Hobb covers for her Farseer Trilogy, but that I hadn’t read them. A week later a box brimming with Hobb books showed up at my door. The same thing when I expressed an interest in Fiona McIntosh to Voyager Australia.
But it’s not just my own publishers anymore. I mentioned to the guys at Dynamite Comics how I loved Red Sonja as a kid, and received a huge box of Sonja comics in the mail the very next day. I sent a jealous tweet to a blogger I know who was reading an advance copy of The Mystery Knight, the George RR Martin novella in the upcoming Warriors anthology, and minutes later Dot Lin at Tor offers to send me one, too. A few days ago, I write a review about how much I liked Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself and am planning to buy the next book pronto, and the next thing I know I hear from Mr. Abercrombie himself, telling me Named Men don’t pay for books. Two days later, this arrives from his US publisher:
I swear, I am in Nerd Heaven.
Also arriving this week, 2,000 Warded Bookplates from the printers!
Last but certainly not least, yesterday came the long-awaited US Mass Market Paperback (MMPB) editions of The Warded Man, which will be on sale March 23! I can’t tell you how great it is to finally hold one of these babies, with its UK classic cover:
It’s interesting how the differences between US and UK paperbacks seem to stand out all the more when they have the same cover. The UK cover has embossed text and a mostly non-reflective matte finish, while the US cover is flat and coated in a shiner satin. At 544 pages, the UK edition is much longer than the sleek 459 page US edition, which includes a short excerpt from The Desert Spear. The font sizes seem about the same, but the US edition minimizes the space between section breaks and halves the side margins, a thrifty but efficient technique to reduce page count. I think the UK edition has more presence in some ways, but it is impossible to put in the back pocket of my jeans. I’ve tried. The US MMPB slips in like it was meant to be there. Bravo.
You’ll also notice that on the UK edition, my name is more prominent than the title, whereas in the US, the reverse is true:
Just a pic to show the difference in thickness between the editions:
Those name plates are great! Must be a wild feeling to see something like that with your name on it.
I definitely like the layout and typography of the Del Rey (US) edition of the book. Can’t wait to pick up another copy when I see it at the store (I left my HC at my parents house, and I’m just dying to flip through it at re-read some of the chapters that are retold in The Desert Spear!)
“Named men don’t pay for books”
That’s ace!! Love it.
Very nice of Joe Abercrombie to send you copies of the other 2 books, they are great.
If I had known how many books authors get through the post I would have had a better go at writing myself lol. Maybe after I finish studying I will find the time 🙂
ps. The bookplates look fantastic
Man, the envy I have for you awesome-authors [like a normal author, but you write awesome….s] just grew another head. On the plus side, this one isn’t glaring at me, but still….
Out of interest Peat, which of the Fiona McIntosh did you express interest in? I read “The Quickening” series when I was searching for something to fill the hole left when I completed “The Black Magician Trillogy” and loved it. Which was it that caught your eye?
Oooh, those book-plates look so wicked! One of these days I hope to bring something that cool into the world [sadly, it’ll probably just be a watch….and still not reach that coolness level =(].
/Your/ name is ALWAYS the most important thing on a book. Fact.
[/essay]
Can you retake that last picture with a quarter in front to show scale? And I worry that if you accidentally put a PVB book plate in one of those Joe Abercrombie books that the cosmic balance will be upset and the world will come to an end — so please be careful.
Elicius, Voyager sent me Royal Exile, Odalisque, and Myrren’s Gift, a nice Fiona McIntosh sampler. Sadly, I have yet to make time to read them. One of these days. I expressed interest after one of their publicity people described Odalisque to me and it reminded me of some things I was doing in The Desert Spear.
Waaah! You are so lucky to have all this book for free! I LOVE the covers of Abercrombie’s books, it’s always a wonder everytime I see them.
I don’t know if you’ll like Fiona McIntosh’s work. I read all her books, and loved them, but it’s sometimes repetitive in the plot. My favorite is the Quickening for now.
The bookplates are MAGNIFICENT!!! I definitely would like to have one of these!
Love the US version of the paperback. I have the UK version, and it’s interesting to see the difference between the two books.
Wow, this bookplates are absolutely awesome. Don’t know why, but they look even greater than the picture in your blog before 😉
I so much wanna have one 🙂
For me the UK cover is still the best, I even ordered one from the UK to germany to get it (and to read the “original” one instead of somebodys translation of course).
Heh, it looks like all the “good energy” you sent out into the Universe is finally coming back with rewards, hm? You’re living the life I dream of!
So … how is it possible to get one of those superb bookplates? With your signature, preferably! 😉
Books…
for…
free…!
Must be nice to be an author 😀 The bookplates look really awesome!! And I definetly need an english version of the warded man! 😉
“Named Men don’t pay for books”, I hope that counts also for “named women”
The bookplates look amazing, and free books…..Wow…now thats also amazing. Damn us un-named Men/Women who have to pay for them 😛
Anyway, the bookplates look fantastic!
So, so, so jealous of the free books. I think this means I need to change my calling from “photographer” to “author”, just for all the free swag! 😀
I’m definitely picking up a softcover copy of “The Warded Man”; I’ve read my hardcover twice, and I’m terrified I’ll break the binding if I read it again. I don’t feel so bad if that happens to softcovers. 😛
The bookplates look awesome. I may have to email you for a few, just to put in the hardcover copies of your books. 🙂