Express press service
BENGALURU: Why do people cherish first edition books? It goes back to the origin of the printing press. When books were mass-produced, the press plates were made of metal or wood. Consequently, the first impression was often of the highest quality, which declined with subsequent impressions. While print quality has improved dramatically over the centuries, the first edition continues to be an object of collector’s desire. Since one of the golden rules of collecting is “the sooner the better”, collectors began to seek out the Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC).
The ARC is the intermediate version between the author’s manuscript and the final printed book sold to the public. It is above all a marketing tool. Editors send it to the media for review (a rich source of blurbs!), after which they take the time to review it, make any necessary corrections, and promote it before its public release. In the digital age, however, almost all editing is done online and very little in print.
In editorial jargon, an ARC is also called an uncorrected proof or bound galley. When the book becomes a hit or goes out of print or develops a loyal fanbase or cult following, the proof becomes valuable to a collector because it is one of a limited number and its text differs from the final version (any like stamps or coins with errors are worth more).
The cover of the book is usually stamped “Not for sale” in block letters or displays text indicating that the book is a pre-release. Since ARC is all about text, many of the covers are clearly designed – for example, the simple black and white image for ARC from The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante. Some fanatical collectors rank the ARC above the first edition because chronologically it came out first. Collecting it can even be profitable: imagine if you were to get a critical copy of a classic like The Alchemist or For Whom the Bell Tolls! The review process for your CRA has been democratized.
There are now dedicated websites like Book Sirens that help you get free advanced reading copies to review. However, ARC’s ownership rights remain questionable. If it belonged to the publisher and was not intended for sale, is it morally right to sell it on eBay? But then you could say that ARCs were never intended for the reader but for the collector! For some, the ARC might be a window into the writer’s thought process.
As Ian Ellis points out in Book Finds: How to Find, Buy and Sell Used and Rare Books, “For someone seriously interested in a particular writer, these differences between the ARC and the final version of the book may provide insight into the creative process. .” As the debate drags on, I’ve managed to get the ARCs from The Circle by Dave Eggers, Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Talking it Over by Julian Barnes, and The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni – more by accident than deliberate research . When I received the ARC for my GRIT: Major Story book, I found two typos that had escaped multiple rounds of editing and checking. This GRIT ARC remains one of the most special copies of my book because no one else has this copy!
BENGALURU: Why do people cherish first edition books? It goes back to the origin of the printing press. When books were mass-produced, the press plates were made of metal or wood. Consequently, the first impression was often of the highest quality, which declined with subsequent impressions. While print quality has improved dramatically over the centuries, the first edition continues to be an object of collector’s desire. Since one of the golden rules of collecting is “the sooner the better”, collectors began to seek out the Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC). The ARC is the intermediate version between the author’s manuscript and the final printed book sold to the public. It is above all a marketing tool. Editors send it to the media for review (a rich source of blurbs!), after which they take the time to review it, make any necessary corrections, and promote it before its public release. In the digital age, however, almost all editing is done online and very little in print. In editorial jargon, an ARC is also called an uncorrected proof or bound galley. When the book becomes a hit or goes out of print or develops a loyal fanbase or cult following, the proof becomes valuable to a collector because it is one of a limited number and its text differs from the final version (any like stamps or coins with errors are worth more). The cover of the book is usually stamped “Not for sale” in block letters or displays text indicating that the book is a pre-release. Since ARC is all about text, many of the covers are clearly designed – for example, the simple black and white image for ARC from The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante. Some fanatical collectors rank the ARC above the first edition because chronologically it came out first. Collecting it can even be profitable: imagine if you were to get a critical copy of a classic like The Alchemist or For Whom the Bell Tolls! The review process for your CRA has been democratized. There are now dedicated websites like Book Sirens that help you get free advanced reading copies to review. However, ARC’s ownership rights remain questionable. If it belonged to the publisher and was not intended for sale, is it morally right to sell it on eBay? But then you could say that ARCs were never intended for the reader but for the collector! For some, the ARC might be a window into the writer’s thought process. As Ian Ellis points out in Book Finds: How to Find, Buy and Sell Used and Rare Books, “For someone seriously interested in a particular writer, these differences between the ARC and the final version of the book may provide insight into the creative process. .” As the debate drags on, I’ve managed to get the ARCs from The Circle by Dave Eggers, Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Talking it Over by Julian Barnes, and The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni – more by accident than deliberate research . When I received the ARC for my GRIT: Major Story book, I found two typos that had escaped multiple rounds of editing and checking. This GRIT ARC remains one of the most special copies of my book because no one else has this copy!