As I mentioned on Sunday, several people have asked about the availabilty of this year’s Newbery winner, WHEN YOU REACH ME, in first edition.
Unlike some titles which are published to little fanfare and grow in popularity due to good reviews and word-of-mouth enthusiasm, Rebecca Stead's novel had a lot of buzz right from the start. In fact, the publisher, Wendy Lamb Books, actually issued two versions of the ARC (advance reading copy) before publication. There are several cosmetic differences between these two versions; the first has a coated cover, the second does not. There are also variations in color, the size of the editor's signature at the beginning of the volume, etc. The first ARC contains a quote from Einstein on page 9, while the second ARC has the book’s dedication on that page. The second version also has the Library of Congress CIP (cataloging-in-publication) info on the copyright page, and the Acknowledgements and “About the Author” at the end of the volume.
I have learned that the initial printing for WHEN YOU REACH ME was about 8500 copies. However, there was so much buzz about the book that additional printings were ordered before the actual publication date of July 14. This is why some copies delivered to bookstores on publication day were already second printings. If your copy does not have the complete line of printing numbers on the copyright page (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) it is not a first printing. If the first number on that page is a "2," you have a second printing. If the first number is a "3," it's a third printing, etc.
As of last week, the book was in its 15th printing -- and there's no doubt that WHEN YOU REACH ME will be going back for many more BIG printings now it's won the Newbery!
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10 comments:
I love this blog. I always learn something new when I read it. LOL.
I've been playing the "pick up a book in the second-hand shop and see if it's a first edition" game lately, and I always get confused over the "1st Printing" stuff. So that means that basically, for the First Printing they put all the numbers in reverse order from 10 to 1, then remove the preceding numbers for the next printing? But what if they get to the 11th printing and so on... do they just put the number 15?
Thanks! :)
I've never cared much about this whole first edition thing, but you got me curious and so I looked at my copy of When You Reach Me and unless I'm horribly mistaken (and your explanation is incorrect) it's a first edition. How that is possible, I do not know, since I just bought it last week AFTER the announcement was made but all signs point to lucky me. I would love it regardless, but it does feel a bit more special. Thanks for that, Peter. :)
i just found this blog and i just wanted to say THANKS! i will be visiting often~
Quick question. I have a first printing with the dust jacket image embossed on the cover. When I checked out a library book one of my students was reading the number line ran down to 1 but the book has the traditional cloth covering.
You mentioned that there were two ARC copies issued. Were they hardcover?
My middle school library had that whole Lang series. I loved seeing it all lined up together on the shelf. My favorite was the blue one.
First edition of book has its own charm and fun reading it before its popularity.
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