Inform 6 books back in print!
Dan Sanderson
I am pleased to announce that _The Inform Designer's Manual, 4th
edition_ by Graham Nelson and _The Inform Beginner's Guide, 3rd
edition_ by Roger Firth and Sonja Kesserich are once again available as
professionally printed books.
_The Inform Designer's Manual, 4th edition_ by Graham Nelson is now
orderable as a paperback from Amazon.com for $29.95, plus shipping. It
can also be ordered by many other retail bookstores using the
International Standard Book Number (ISBN) of 0-9713119-0-0.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0971311900
DM4 will be available from Amazon.co.uk and orderable by other
bookstores world-wide in the next few weeks, under the same ISBN
(0-9713119-0-0). The UK cover price will be 18.50 GBP. It will be
printed and shipped from the UK. Amazon.co.uk will show it as a new
book (with an "Add to Shopping Basket" button) once it is available.
DM4 will also be available in a hardcover edition in the next couple of
months. Details to come.
_The Inform Beginner's Guide, 3rd edition_ by Roger Firth and Sonja
Kesserich is now orderable from Lulu.com for $10.22, plus shipping.
http://www.lulu.com/content/168554
Lulu.com orders for IBG are printed and shipped from New Jersey, in the
United States. International shipping rates will apply for non-US
orders.
My thanks to the authors for their permission and generous assistance
getting these titles back in print. Thanks also to David Cornelson,
shepherd of previous printings of these titles, for his help and
encouragement bringing this together. Special thanks to David for
sponsoring the forthcoming hardcover edition.
Answers to anticipated questions:
Q: Is this a limited print run? Will these books go out of print again?
A: Both DM4 and IBG have been made available using print-on-demand
services. These services retain electronic copies of the books, and
print individual copies as orders are placed. Because copies are
printed as needed, there are no large print runs. Printed copies
should be available indefinitely, or until the authors decide to cease
publication.
Q: Are these printed editions of similar quality to other published books?
A: Yes! Both DM4 and IBG are printed on professional grade creme
colored paper with full-color paperback covers, with a trim size of 6"
x 9", bound with a "perfect"-style glue binding used for many
professionally published books.
Q: Can I order IBG from Amazon.com or other bookstores, like I can with
DM4? Does IBG have an ISBN?
A: IBG is available exclusively from Lulu.com, and is not orderable
from retail booksellers. This new printing of IBG does not have an
ISBN.
Q: Why is IBG only available from Lulu.com, while DM4 is available from
Amazon.com and other bookstores?
A: The authors and I decided to set up IBG exclusively with Lulu.com to
minimize costs. The only disadvantage we saw with Lulu.com is that
they only have one printing location, and it's in the U.S. Orders sent
outside the U.S. have relatively high shipping charges, and take a long
time to arrive. For IBG, we considered the trade-off worth it,
especially given the low per-copy price.
For DM4, Graham and I decided to investigate print-on-demand services
that can print and ship locally in both the U.S. and the U.K., as well
as set up ISBN catalog listing for more convenient ordering. The
result is that DM4 can be purchased and delivered world-wide for a
lower price per copy than had we gone with other publishing options.
Q: Will I ever see DM4 on the shelf of my local bookstore?
A: Probably not. If you would like to purchase DM4 from your local
bookstore, you can ask them to order it directly from the publisher
(actually, the print-on-demand service that fulfills the orders). The
bookstore will need the ISBN: 0-9713119-0-0.
Q: Will these books still be useful when Inform 7 is released?
A: Inform 7 will introduce a radically different approach to designing
and writing interactive fiction, and will soon be available as a public
beta. Inform 7 will not replace Inform 6, and in fact will coexist
with it. Moreover, a working knowledge of Inform 6 will be valuable to
developers interested in writing extensions to Inform 7.
The documentation for Inform 7 will also be different in character,
and while there will eventually be a printed book, it will not be a
revision to DM4. Our aim is to keep the DM4, with its many chapters on
the history and criticism of interactive fiction, in print alongside
the documentation for Inform 7.
Q: Who are you?
A: Hi! My name is Dan Sanderson. I'm a long time lurker on
rec.arts.int-fiction, going on about 8 years now. I'm an avid follower
of the community, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to give
something back. I almost never post, so, hi.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!
-- Dan
ChicagoDave
Were you planning to make it a hardened version of the current cover or
would it be a felt cover that would expect a dust jacket?
I had wondered about this...
David C.
Al
(SNIP)
>
> Q: Will these books still be useful when Inform 7 is released?
> A: Inform 7 will introduce a radically different approach to designing
> and writing interactive fiction, and will soon be available as a public
> beta. Inform 7 will not replace Inform 6, and in fact will coexist
> with it. Moreover, a working knowledge of Inform 6 will be valuable to
> developers interested in writing extensions to Inform 7.
> The documentation for Inform 7 will also be different in character,
> and while there will eventually be a printed book, it will not be a
> revision to DM4. Our aim is to keep the DM4, with its many chapters on
> the history and criticism of interactive fiction, in print alongside
> the documentation for Inform 7.
Finally someone who knows what the hell is going on with Inform 7.
Thanks Dan you've been very helpful where other members of this
so-called "community " have been nothing but critical and denigrating
IMHO.
I expect to be flamed on this comment as well. And as far as I'm
concerned your opinions only count with your worthless selves.
Dan Sanderson
current cover). Case laminate (hardened version of the current cover)
is also an option, though I don't know if full color is supported in
that case with this printer. (I'm not a fan of case laminate anyway.
I think cloth w/ jacket is nicer.)
It will be 6"x9", similar to the paperback.
-- Dan
Dan Sanderson
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971311900/
Amazon.co.uk is even offering a small discount on the cover price:
17.57 GBP, You Save 0.93 GBP (5%).
Also: The hardcover edition will be a case laminate binding, not cloth
with jacket as I previously implied. Thanks to Graham, David and my
wife for helping me see the error of my ways.
-- Dan
ChicagoDave
I figure you have to reset the cover art and then get a proof from LSI.
David C.
Dan Sanderson
> What sort of time-frame are we looking at for the HC?
>
> I figure you have to reset the cover art and then get a proof from LSI.
I'd guess 2-4 weeks. *knock on wood*
I submitted the new cover this morning, and I expect the proof to
arrive next week. The paperback took several revisions to get right,
but I'm using the latest successful paperback version as a basis for
the hardcover, so I think the chances are good that the first proof
will turn out OK.
The time from proof acceptance to availability on Amazon.com was
surprisingly fast for the paperback edition (less than a week!), but I
don't know if we can expect the same for a previously unlisted ISBN.
The printer says to expect 3-6 weeks for the availability data to
propagate.
-- Dan
Gary Leighton
> DM4 is now available from Amazon.co.uk and international booksellers:
>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971311900/
>
> Amazon.co.uk is even offering a small discount on the cover price:
> 17.57 GBP, You Save 0.93 GBP (5%).
I notice that in amazon.co.uk there is a seller who claims to have new
copies at on £11.89 (browns-books).
How can this seller offer such a good price?
ChicagoDave
channels, they are getting a wholesale price set by Dan. They can
choose to charge anything really and if they choose to only make a
dollar, that's up to them.
And just everyone doesn't get into a tizzy about the wholesale price,
the point of this endeavor is not to make money. It is to get the book
into distribution. Amazon and BN wouldn't even list it and sell it if
there were no markup capability. So when you pay the extra (if you buy
through Amazon or BN) you're paying for the convenience.
David C.
Dan Sanderson
you find a seller that is actually selling this title close to
wholesale price, you're welcome to try buying from them. It doesn't
make any difference to us on our end: All sellers buy it from the
printer at the same price. From their product description, it sounds
like they are in the business of finding print-on-demand titles and
undercutting Amazon's price with a steep discount. (POD means nobody
keeps stock, so fulfillment is cheap and the industry standard
wholesale discount is mostly profit.)
I believe there are still a few copies from the previous printing
floating around as "used" or "new" copies from third-party sellers. Be
aware that third-party sellers may not actually be selling this most
recent printing. Though the previous printings weren't too shabby. :)
-- Dan