Book Collecting

From early days I have known that the Falco series was eagerly collected. As an author I have mixed feelings about this, because I write to be read. I hope that my readers will want to own the whole series, and at formal events in bookshops and libraries I am happy to sign personal copies. (NB it is tactful to buy these at the venue which is hosting the event!) If there is time then, I will sign back copies too but people may have to wait until the end of the queue and risk me rushing off to catch a train. 

Anyone wearing cotton gloves who asks me to sign a pristine celophane-wrapped investment set could at least have the tact to say they also own reading copies …

What I cannot do is receive books for signing through the post. It is too burdensome arranging delivery and collection. Please don't ask.

At first collectors of first editions were welcome. Later I began to view them with reserve. Dealers especially are trading - lucratively - in a commodity that was produced to give a different kind of pleasure, and some of them exploit my goodwill. Some collectors brazenly tell me they have not read a word. Some even shamelessly ask for free signed copies to expand their collections - something my devoted readers would never do.

Early Falco editions, particularly the first UK hardbacks which were printed in very limited numbers, are worth a great deal of money. Strangers have tried to obtain them through my elderly parents. Remaindered copies have been acquired by booksellers in odd circumstances. Professional dealers have blatantly approached me to sign whole boxes of books at events hosted by other booksellers ... Book collecting sounds a civilised occupation, but dirty deeds abound.

When my publisher accidentally circulated a private draft, I really learned to distrust professional collectors. Several who knew how distressed I was and who knew that I had formally asked for copies to be returned, then openly gloated to me that they were keeping them, and hoping to make a lot of money. They seemed astonished when I pointed out they were receivers of stolen goods!

Because not everyone can attend formal signings, I try to sign extra copies for the bookshops I visit on my tour. I also do limited numbers of signed first editions, some of which are sold abroad (this is subject to legal restrictions). Second hand copies do circulate. So readers may be able to buy such copies.

Important note about signed editions: If you buy by mail order you must expect to pay postal/shipping costs. But if you are asked to pay extra for any copy just because it is signed, please refuse. I sign them for nothing. When my publisher distributes signed copies to shops they don't make an extra charge. Any bookseller who charges customers for the signature itself is being very cheeky. You deserve better treatment - and so do I.