Author Topic: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?  (Read 6795 times)

Frabby

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I noticed that the page count for the ROC reprints of the old FASA novels (c.f. Gray Death trilogy) went down considerably, roughly between 10 and 23 %. Was the actual text reduced in the reprints, or is this just because of a new layout/print style that saves page count?
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J_Schmetzer

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #1 on: 16 March 2011, 07:01:13 »
My suspicion would be more efficient typesetting, but you'd have to show me pages side by side for comparison.  Since there haven't been rumors for 15 years about "director's cuts" of those novels, it seems unlikely that content was cut.
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Mendrugo

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #2 on: 16 March 2011, 07:19:42 »
The Warrior Trilogy did have some minor content cut between the FASA edition and the ROC reprint, but that primarily consisted of Mike Stackpole's 'about the author' section, which was written as a ComStar ROM report in the FASA editions.
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Sigma

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #3 on: 16 March 2011, 09:55:44 »
Mike Stackpole in the 31st-and-a-half Century! was cut from the BoK Trilogy as well as the Warrior Trilogy in the reprints.

cavingjan

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #4 on: 16 March 2011, 12:09:19 »
Also the early novels contained the images of various mechs\dropships that I think were cut in later novels.

Batman

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #5 on: 16 March 2011, 12:52:24 »
Mike Stackpole in the 31st-and-a-half Century! was cut from the BoK Trilogy as well as the Warrior Trilogy in the reprints.

Really? I had both copies of Lost Destiny and I didn't notice anything amiss.

J_Schmetzer

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #6 on: 16 March 2011, 13:32:41 »
Sorry---I didn't really consider end matter as real content. I don't think the story was modified.
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Batman

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #7 on: 16 March 2011, 15:58:42 »
Oh. Right, that last bit. The glossary and maps are still in there, right?

Sigma

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #8 on: 16 March 2011, 16:53:44 »
Really? I had both copies of Lost Destiny and I didn't notice anything amiss.

Unless you read about a 900 year old man escaping into Clan space during Operation Scorpion, then it was definitely missing. The old TRO section was more extensive too IIRC, at dinner right now.

Batman

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #9 on: 17 March 2011, 01:41:56 »
I don't remember a TRO section in any print run of BoK.

Trace Coburn

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #10 on: 17 March 2011, 05:08:11 »
I don't remember a TRO section in any print run of BoK.
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  Lethal Heritage: p.388 has a rank-table for AFFC, DCMS and FRR Kungsarme, with a Glossary on p.389-392 explaining basic things like autocannon, 'Mechs, JumpShips/DropShips, etc.  ;)
  Blood Legacy has the same, p.371 and p.372-375 respectively.
  Lost Destiny skips the rank-table, but its Glossary (p.380-386) is expanded to include some Clan terms the other two books skipped.

   ;)

Batman

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #11 on: 17 March 2011, 13:14:49 »
But no 'Mech pictures at the end, right?

Trace Coburn

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #12 on: 17 March 2011, 19:19:37 »
But no 'Mech pictures at the end, right?
  Nope.  That schtick came later, once people had been given the vocabulary to fully comprehend the awesomeness they were reading.  ;D

Sigma

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #13 on: 17 March 2011, 20:42:09 »
Sword and Dagger had Mech ID pages. Probably as a consolation prize for finishing it. ;)

Trace Coburn

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #14 on: 18 March 2011, 03:16:43 »
Sword and Dagger had Mech ID pages. Probably as a consolation prize for finishing it. ;)
  I'd have to take your word for it - I know The Sword and the Dagger only through legends and fables.  :D

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Re: Reprints of early FASA novels - why the smaller page count?
« Reply #15 on: 18 March 2011, 05:28:11 »
Apparently, the reason for the 'Mech pictures and advertisements at the end of many of the novels is due to the cost savings when your book's page count is divisible by eight.  (Printers print in 'signatures' of 8, 16 or 32 pages, and it costs more if you have a non-standard number of pages.)  So to reach the desired number of pages, filler pages with art and ads get added.

From: http://www.writing-world.com/publish/preparing.shtml

"Page Count: Once you've formatted your book according to the template you've designed, you'll be able to determine the final page count. Keep in mind that offset-press (as opposed to POD) books are printed in folios (units of 8 or 16 pages). Thus, the actual printed page count of your book will be divisible by eight. Blank pages will be added to the end of your book, as needed, to complete the last folio.

You can save money by reducing the number of folios in your book. If, for example, you're just a few pages "over" a multiple of eight, take a look at your formatted manuscript for places where you might be able to "lose" a page. Do you have a chapter or two with just a single paragraph "hanging over" onto a right-hand page? By trimming each chapter so that it ends on a left-hand page, you can save not just one page but two.

You can reduce the number of pages by reducing your overall font size, but be cautious. Experiment with different fonts to find one that is readable in a smaller size. (For example, Century Schoolbook is more readable at 11 points than Times is at 12, and will save you a bit of space.) Don't arbitrarily reduce font sizes or tighten line spacing just to save pages, as you'll be doing so at the expense of readability.

If you still need blank pages at the end of your book, see if you can use them to promote another book (e.g., by including a brief excerpt). You might also consider swapping "ad space" with another self-published author who has related titles."
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

 

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