City of Dredd (paperback) May!

[SmallBlueThing]

Since it will only need transporting from the shelf to the sofa, and i have at times carried a complete woman the same distance*, i think i vote one volume.

SBT

*No, i dont keep her on the shelf, or in bits. And she wasnt on the shelf when i met her.

[Richmond Clements]

I will be sending copies to popular sci-fi magazines and websites with large audiences (io9?) for review purposes, but initially I can't stretch too far because I have to pay for every single copy. Does this board have ideas which publications I should aim for who are most likely to be receptive to 2000AD?

A pdf to reviewers would be a lot cheaper for you.

[TordelBack]

A pdf to reviewers would be a lot cheaper for you.

I was thinking this too, but assumed there was some publisher-world reason for sending hardcopies that I didn't know about.  As to one volume or two, definitely one for me, if the binding will work.

[James Stacey]

make sure you send the version with correct grammar to the reviewers though we know what happens otherwise

[John Caliber]

Reviewers are more likely to look at hard-copies than spend hours spending even more time squinting over their keyboards so they might not thank me for giving them extra. If the size of the book is to be a selling point, a PDF would not successfully convey it - may as well only be fifty pages long.

Yes, there's always the very real risk of reviewers happening upon the one page my edits may have missed. I've always tied myself in knots over typos, etc, but there's only so much you can do to make the book 'perfect'. Spellcheckers are next to useless when proofing books with thousands of words alien to its dictionary, and with something this large, it's next to impossible finding proofers who know the material and won't commit suicide before the job's done... 

[Richmond Clements]

Reviewers are more likely to look at hard-copies than spend hours spending even more time squinting over their keyboards so they might not thank me for giving them extra. If the size of the book is to be a selling point, a PDF would not successfully convey it - may as well only be fifty pages long.

That depends, John. I'm a reviewer, and in recent months most of the stuff I get is on pdf. It is true that some don't read pdfs or favour hard copies though, but not all of them.
I've got a pdf reader and a kindle on my iphone, and it's very handy for reading books anywhere and anytime.

I take your popint about the size of the book though.

[John Caliber]

I suppose if I send PDFs and notify the reviewer of the hardcopy book's dimensions ('it's a handsome, weighty tome'), that might do the trick.

Looking at an unrelated paperback I have here, printed on some nice matt stock, CITY OF DREDD's spine would be in the ballpark of 30-35 mm thick. I've not felt the paper that Amazon is going to use.

[James Stacey]

Yes, there's always the very real risk of reviewers happening upon the one page my edits may have missed. I've always tied myself in knots over typos, etc, but there's only so much you can do to make the book 'perfect'. Spellcheckers are next to useless when proofing books with thousands of words alien to its dictionary, and with something this large, it's next to impossible finding proofers who know the material and won't commit suicide before the job's done... 

That wasn't a criticism of your work btw, which I'm sure is fine, it was just a reference to another thread on here Either way it can't be worse than what Mongoose produced, in fact we already know its a gajillion times better.

[John Caliber]

If CITY OF DREDD had been designed for print from the outset, it would have been in substance similar to Mongoose's MEGA-CITY ARCHIVES, but probably a single, hefty volume, in paperback and with chocks more illustrations from the comics and with a punchier, livelier design - like an extended feature from one of the early 1980's Judge Dredd annuals (one had a nicely-laid out Block Mania double-spread). It's not essential to try to cram every little detail into a guidebook, more important to make it a fun read.

As it exists now, CITY OF DREDD is rather esoteric, but it entertains me and I don't stand to loose by printing it, so what the hell 

[Richmond Clements]

chocks more illustrations

I'm sure there are folks on here who could help you with that.

[John Caliber]

Can't produce any artwork in the likeness of trademarked characters, locations, etc. The text heavy content of CITY OF DREDD works better without illustrations which would be as much a distraction as pictures in a dictionary. As a personal rule: information heavy - no pics; info light - loadsa' pics! If the book was licensed, then it'd be a completely different affair.

The cover to CITY OF DREDD will feature an eagle backdrop for the top half, and a generic future city in flames at the bottom, drawn in line art 'comic book' style. An eagle emblem will encapsulate the chapter headings. It's a brand new eagle design, nothing connected directly with the comics (no USA-coloured shield covering its chest).

I was going to draw the cover myself, but if any artists among you think they can do a good job of a full colour, partially-burning cityscape, I can supply picture dimensions and also reward with a free copy of CITY OF DREDD     The picture would have to be completed by the end of April.

[Dash Decent]

I suppose if I send PDFs and notify the reviewer of the hardcopy book's dimensions ('it's a handsome, weighty tome'), that might do the trick.

Would it be worth sending the PDF to Rebellion to see if they're interested in adopting it officially?  They were obviously interested in doing the MC1 Archives, and there was certainly interest in that title.  It only died because it was so poor even CF was gritting his teeth shelling out for it.

I'd certainly be happy to buy one when it's available, whoever publishes it.

[HOO-HAA]

John, SFX included Dredd in their most recent Comic Book Heroes special, as I recall. I think they even had 2000AD themed free gifts? So worth giving them a shot, for sure...

Maybe worth hitting up some blogs as well - blog reviews and features tend to spread word-of-mouth pretty fast.

I'd be happy to have you over to my website (click signature) for a guest blog to promote the book, if you like? All you'd need to supply me for that would be a jpeg cover of the book, the links to the Amazon page(s) and 300-ish words from your good self

[John Caliber]

Yes, all good ideas! Thanks, I will, in May when I begin the final leg towards the printers.

[John Caliber]

When CITY OF DREDD is available to purchase, I'm planning a podcast, the first in a series discussing 'Dreddworld' topics. It'll be fun!