A few months ago I wrote a blog post discussing the topic of books becoming collectibles. The rise of multiple editions often coming with signatures, sprayed edges, gold foiling, character artwork and more.. As a reader it’s fascinating to see how the publishing landscape and consumer behaviour has changed and evolved over the years.
With one of my most anticipated reads due to be released this month. It made this topic come right back to mind when I was deciding on which copy to pre-order. I want to position this by saying this is in no way a jab at authors or readers. These are merely my own observations and I’d love to hear your thoughts too.
Katabasis releases on August 26th.
Ever since I read Babel I’ve loved Kuang’s writing. The premise of the Katabasis has completely intrigued me and I can’t wait to read the story. This has been one I feel like I’ve been waiting on for a while so when it came to the question ‘which copy do I order?’ I was spoilt for choice.
With eleven confirmed editions so far..
So far I have seen 11 confirmed versions of this book. Some with slight differences and others taking a more unique route. Each costing between £20-ish up to £40 if you want to order an issue from abroad. But it made me pause for a second. For a book that hasn’t been released yet, why are there so many? Especially when considering the time it would have taken to line up artists and get these books underway, I imagine no one had received any advanced readers copies, so there really was no way to tell how this book would land or be enojyed. Are publishers using the authors previous success as a measure, an assumption that others did so well so this one will too? Or are they using these special editions as a marketing strategy to keep this book current and in peoples minds? Just another way to publicise and drum up anticipation. This isn’t limited to the publishers themselves but the book box subscription companies looking to capitalise on the fans. Or am I being too harsh?
Let’s take a look at the editions confirmed so far..
Which one have you pre-ordered?
I ended up ordering The Broken Binding condition (the black and white version above). As I did that, marking the date, waiting on the pre-sale email invite and joining an online queue.. It felt so easy to get caught up in the rush of announcements. Especially with so many editions out there it’s bound to be difficult to choose one, to make a purchase just for another edition to be announced the following week. You could easily lose sight of what you’ve bought and how much you’ve spent.
This is just one example of the routine we now see with hyped, new releases.
The other element is the fear of missing out, and lets be honest, anyone trying to create a large online presence in the book community (who else wants to quit their job to read and make book content?), it’s the popular books that get the clicks, the likes and views. I post a lot of indie authors and books I’ve read and those posts never get the same attraction that my other posts do. Not because the books are bad but because they are less known, there is less out there and not as much interest when compared to the next hot new release.
I know that people can spend their money however they like. Buy whichever books you want and if that’s multiple copies then do that. I have two copies of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil purely because they are so different, the art is stunning and it’s a book I love. This is just merely my observations in this space. Having so many editions before a book has even released. It feels like overconsumption is hitting books at full force and at times it feels less about the writing and the stories and the hard work of authors and more about the painted edges and gold foiling. Or am I completely wrong and actually these editions are love songs to the hard work of the authors? It is possible to appreciate both but if we challenge ourselves on why we choose to purchase multiple copies, why is that? Is it because it’s what we think we should buy, what we think others want to see? Do we anticipate that we are going to love it and so purchase copies before the scalpers get them and resell them at double or triple the price (which is a whole topic in and of itself!).
I don’t agree with this trend of multiple editions of the same book, and I have certainly never purchased a special edition of a book prior to its release. It seems to me as the quality of the prose and the depth of plots and characters substantially declined, the covers and editions have began more elaborate fuelled by Instagram and booktok trends. That’s not what the literature is all about. It may be an art piece in itself, or a physical object of beauty – but that’s not what I pick my books for – I pick them for stories, prose, and characters. My most valuable books (to me) are tattered copies of my favourite classics that I bought decades ago. For me, the (true) “beauty is within”.
I feel a lot of what you’ve said! The internet and social media is having such an impact on shaping consuming behaviour and marketing new books, I’m not always so sure if it is a positive thing. Saying that, I do love to see much of the talented artwork that goes into these books. I just could not believe there were 11 editions of Katabasis and it’s not even out yet, I was floored by that but its looking like the new normal.