I love books.
I love signed books.
I love signed books that make people money.
For almost a decade now I have run The Signed Page, a small online signed books business that suddenly is not so small. It has been great fun watching it grow; it has been more fun meeting people from all over the world who share my love for signed genre books. I have even met a few of them in person and all have been true enthusiasts.
For cover price, I feel I’ve helped build some pretty nice libraries out there!
Last week I received an email from one of my customers. She has been there from almost the beginning and has ordered dozens if not hundreds of the signed books that have graced the website. She is a voracious reader but she genuinely loves collecting. In the email she reminded me of a book she had purchased and how it has been a great book but also a great investment financially. It was a first printing book that took the fantasy genre by storm, had a low print run, and now is quite rare to find.
If you do find it, it is going for more than $200 on the low end and $500 plus on the high.
That signed book is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
My customer asked me if I had any forthcoming events that could yield a similar outcome—the combination of great read and financial investment.
So it got me thinking: What books are coming out this fall that might be read, sit still on one’s shelf for a few years and yet make them money?
Here is what I came up with!
In His Majesty's Service signed by Naomi Novik
In 2002 Del Rey Books released The Sword of Shannara Trilogy hardcover omnibus. It had a relatively small first print run and, if signed by Terry, is now worth a couple hundred dollars. I have Terry's fans ask me all of the time about it and yet I cannot help them.
In His Majesty's Service signed by Naomi Novik is going to have a similar curve, if not more so. The first three books in Novik's Temeraire series were not released in United States hardcover yet her fan base has grown exponentially ever since her first book was published in mass market in 2006. In His Majesty's Service collects those first three novels into one beautiful hardcover. And if that was not incentive enough, it is looking more and more like the next movie project director Peter Jackson tackles will be adapting His Majesty's Dragon into a major motion picture. That will produce more fans than first printing of In His Majesty's Service can cover, leaving the book rare, signed and in demand.
Star Wars: Death Troopers signed by Joe Schreiber
I know, I know. How can a Star Wars book be collectible? There are simply too many Star Wars fans out there. Well, I will tell you. Star Wars: Death Troopers is the first horror novel set in the Star Wars universe. The first. Ever. Firsts in the Star Wars universe do not happen very often anymore, but this is one of them.
That little bit coupled with the fact that the Star Wars base grows annually will out pace the amount of first print books signed. And it is set directly after the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, probably the most beloved movie of the six. But even beyond that, Joe Schreiber is, quite simply, one of the best up and coming horror writers. A signed copy of Star Wars: Death Troopers has a lot of potential to be a worthwhile purchase.
The Talisman signed by Tony Shasteen
I am a huge Stephen King fan. I have been from the moment I read The Gunslinger as a teen. When I ran out of Dark Tower novels to read—at that time there were only three—I read The Talisman, which kind of ties into King's opus. I love The Talisman and I am ecstatic to see it being adapted into a comic book series.
For all of those Stephen King fans out there who, like myself, do a great deal of King collecting, watch out for this one—especially if Steven Spielberg ever gets around to adapting it to the silver screen. Super talented artist Tony Shasteen is signing all comic book issues in the first story arc The Talisman: The Road of Trials. As with all King signed merchandise—regardless if it signed by him or those who help bring his visions to life—this signed offer will find a home in many a collection world round.
The Ghost King signed by R.A. Salvatore & Todd Lockwood
I try really hard to offer unique items whenever I can on The Signed Page. One of the ways to do that is to not only get a signed book up for sale for cover price but to get a book that is double signed up for cover price. I have done that with The Ghost King. R.A. Salvatore is one of the best known writers in the genre; Todd Lockwood, who did the gorgeous cover art for The Ghost King, is one of the best known fantasy cover artists in the genre.
Put them together on a double-signed book and it is one rare book indeed.
The Gathering Storm signed by Brandon Sanderson
Again, I know, I know. Another large print run book. This has some interesting possibilities though. One, it is the trilogy beginning to the end of the mega-popular Wheel of Time series. Two, Brandon Sanderson has been an up and coming star in the fantasy field and this will help cement him as a major writer. Three, Brandon is a young writer who has a long career in front of him, making The Gathering Storm one of those signed books sought by people in the future.
Well, there you have it. My thoughts on great books that also masquerade as good investments. As the owner of The Signed Page I am quite lucky to have the opportunity to build my own signed book library, but it makes me happier to pass along that opportunity to others out there who enjoy all of this as much as I do.
By the way, my customer I mentioned earlier? She went with In His Majesty's Service signed by Naomi Novik.
I think she made a great choice.
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