Remember The Time. . .

When you enjoy a person, you have some great memories of them.  When you don't actually know the person, the stories you remember are stuff  you got second or third hand.  We all have favorite stories of famous people. 

Here are a few of my favorite Stephen King antidotes:

Remember the time. . .

He slipped into a bookstore and started signing his own books.

A bookstore manager was stunned when she saw someone enter her bookstore and begin writing in the books. The person quickly left, causing the employees think they were the victims of vandalism. 

Ms. Ellis said, "So we immediately ran to the books and lo-and-behold here was the signature in several books. We sort of spun around on our heels, [saying] 'where did he go, where did he go. . . So I went over and introduced myself ... He was lovely, very nice, charming." 

King signed a total of six books. I don't know, I just find something fun about that story! Imagine going to the bookstore, not a specialty store or something like that, just a regular store, and choosing to buy a Stephen King book -- and it turns out to be signed! Cool.
www.abc.net

The time the lady told him WHAT?!!!

King told Neil Gaiman at journal.neilgaiman.com this fantastic story:

I was down here in the supermarket, and this old woman comes around the corner this old woman – obviously one of the kind of women who says whatever is on her brain. She said, 'I know who you are, you are the horror writer. I don’t read anything that you do, but I respect your right to do it. I just like things more genuine, like that Shawshank Redemption.'

“And I said, 'I wrote that'. And she said, 'No you didn’t'. And she walked off and went on her way.”

Stephen King was so messed up, he forgot writing Cujo.

I'm not kididng! King has said that he was so drugged and drunk at the time he wrote Cujo, he doesn't remember the process of writing it.

Stephen King and his wife went to see Carrie in the theater:

In Stephen King Goes To Hollywood, King shared:

The first time I saw Carrie with an audience they previewed it about a week and a half before Halloween.  They didn't do a screening in Maine, but they did one in Boston, so my wife and I went down to the theater, and I just looked around in total dismay, because the regular picture that they were showing was Norman, Is That You? with Red Foxx.  The theater was entirely full of black people.  We looked like two little grains of salt in a pepper shaker, and we thought: This audience is just going to rate the hell out of this picture.  What are thing going to think about a skinny little white girl with her menstrual problems?  And that's the way it started, and then, little by little, they got on her side, you know, and when she started doing her shtick, I mean, they were going, "Tear it up!" "Go for it!" and all this other stuff.  These two guys were talking behind us, and we were listening to them, and at the end they're putting on their coats and getting ready to leave.  Suddenly his hand comes up, and these two big guys screamed along with everyone else, and one of them goes, "That's it!  That's it!  She ain't never gonna be right!"  And I knew it was going to be a hit.  (p.ix) 

Stephen King threw Carrie away:
Yeah, you remember that one.  But  what I love more is the story of the day he got the call Carrie was going to be a paperback.

Stephen King used another persons author photo for Richard Bachman

Richard Bachman's author photo taken by Claudia Inez Bachman. The actual subject of the photo is Richard Manuel, the insurance agent of Kirby McCauley, who was King's  literary agent. (Source: Wikipedia)

Stephen King bought the van that almost killed him. 

"Yes, we've got the van, and I'm going to take a sledgehammer and beat it!" King told the Bridgton News of Bridgton, Maine. (chicagotribune.com)

The Crapper

This is from Tom Barton's short piece on King's speech in Savannah:

King, who was in his mid-20s at the time, was in the Steel City on a book tour, promoting his first novel "Carrie." Part of his job, he said, was to appear on morning TV shows (AM Pittsburgh), along with jitterbugging grandmas, to plug his book to the locals.

That evening, King said, he had a command performance at a dinner that the local newspaper hosted at a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately, the author was suffering from homesickness and a far worse malady -- an intestinal disorder that forced him to make an emergency trip to the joint's opulently appointed restroom.

This was a place that had its own restroom attendant. King remembered him as an ancient man who appeared to be about 108 years old.

Unfortunately, there was one necessity that this restroom lacked: Doors to the stalls. So as King was sitting on the toilet, the attendant approached the young author, carrying pen and paper.

"He said, 'You're Stephen King, aren't you? I saw you on AM Pittsburgh. Can I get your autograph?' I gave my first autograph sitting on the crapper."

Emily Shultz Spent Stephen King's Money

This is one of my favorites.  In 2006, Emily Shultz wrote a book titled Joyland.  A lot of people bought the wrong book!  

Schultz writes at her website:

I'm Emily Schultz. My first novel came out eight years ago. It was called Joyland. Last year Stephen King released a print-only novel with the same title. That was cool, until a few King readers bought the e-book version of my novel by mistake and started leaving negative and confused Amazon reviews. I asked Amazon to change their search results to keep people from buying the wrong book but never heard back. 

Apparently there were a lot of confused readers as this week I got a—for me—big royalty check for those mistaken books. I'm not so upset anymore. Sure, it's more a pleasant surprise than a fortune, and I'm stuck with those reviews, but I thought a blog detailing how we're spending the Stephen King money would be a nice way to end this funny and strange story.  

So what do you do when Stephen King's money starts to roll in?  Well, obviously, if you're a writer, you write about it!

Schultz has started a delightful blog titled, "Spending The Stephen King Money"  With each purchase she records, she also asks the question, "Would Stephen King like it?"  This includes: furniture from Ikea, a haircut for Brian, the deductible for bumper repair, books, Dinner for two at a place called "Junoon" . . . and more.  She notes that she bought a new Apple computer, and asks if Stephen King would approve. 

 King told Entertainment Weekly that he is “I’m delighted for her."  And, what's more, "I’m going to order her book.”  So there's a real sale!  And, from none other than Stephen King.  Schultz said in turn that she would be buying King's book. Of course, she'll be buying King's book with King's money.  A nice way to go!

What's your favorite (REAL) Stephen King Story?

Collecting Rules

Every collector has their own "thing" that they like to chase down.  Most of us love first editions.  But, as you collect,  you have to develop some rules, or you'll create a giant pile of stuff that will lead to a divorce or an eviction.

So I used to buy anything with King's name on it.  Now. . .

1. First edition hardbacks of books pre Duma Key.  So that means book club editions are out.  I used to hold on to them; but they're really only worth about $5, and it can get confusing in a collection to keep up with which ones are true firsts, and which ones are reproductions and book club editions.  Truth is, after Duma Key, the market seems so flooded with first editions, they don't really matter.  Besides, I stopped buying them because I know someone in my family is sure to give me the latest Stephen King novel.

When it comes to some rarebooks, second editions will have to do.  Such is the case with The Gunslinger, which is hard to find as a first edition, but hte second edition has the same cover and is almost identical.

2. Post Duma Key, special editions are preferred.  A signed copy of Under The Dome, the Cemetery Dance edition of Doctor Sleep and Full Dark No Stars are all good options.  When a new King book comes out, usually a specialty publisher will secure the rights to do something really cool with the book.  Donald M. Grant has "artist" editions of the Dark Tower books that are pretty cool.

3. No books on tape.  The tape days were great, but they're worthless.  Two exceptions: The original reading of The Stand and The Mist.  As the Mist can only be obtained in tape format, and The Stand in its 1978 format only exists on tape.

In general, audio books have no value.  So get them to listen to, not to collect.   I recommend a subscription to audible, which will give you the new release at midnight.

4. Toys --  not.  Sorry, but I read books, I don't really collect a lot of Stephen King toys.  I don't need a Pennywise -- whatever.  I do have a toy Christine; but I don't really "get it."  I mean, it's blue. . .

5. Red Leather editions are also out.  I have some, but I stopped collecting them because they're not that special.  yeah, it's bound red leather; but so what?  There are no special introductions, no pictures, nothing that makes the  book itself more desirable.  They don't even look that cool on the shelf.

6. No book cover -- no sale.  The book cover is part of the book, and that said, I want my books to have their covers!  I've thrown out more than one copy of the mid eighties novels because they didn't have a book cover.  Is a copy of Different Seasons without its cover valuable?  Not really.

7. Old magazines -- OH YEAH!  In the late seventies and early eighties, Stephen King was everywhere.  His stories could be found in detective magazines and, well, porn.  I don't buy the porn because . . . you know why.  But there is a LOT of stuff out there.  People magazine, Time, Disney, magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and so much more.  Even TV guide with a King article is pretty cool.  In fact, it's fun to get these old magazines and get a sense of time warp.

8. Books by King's family members are not really collectible's to me.  I don't seek first editions.  I've read some stuff by Joe Hill, and liked it a lot.  But I don't collect Hill, I read him.

9. Anything signed by King negates all other complaints.  Do I take books with no covers?  No.  Unless it's signed by King!  However, I actually prefer signatures that fans got from King as opposed to "flat signed" copies.  I know, most collectors prefer the flat signed, but I don't see the point.  If King wrote a fans name and a little note to them in the book, that makes it a little more personal.  It's connected to someone.

The mass flat signing that happens today is just a cold grab for money on the publishers part.  For the most part, I have no interest in slapping down lots of my savings to grab a book that was flat signed.

10. Bachman books are good, so long as they have Bachman's name on them, not King's.  This means  finding old paperbacks.  By the way, the bookclub edition of Thinner with Bachman's name is worth about $5.  But find Rage, Roadwork or The Long Walk as paperbacks, and you're in business.

Tell me some of your collecting rules.

King Signing Doctor Sleep

Stephen King with Bookstore1 Events Coordinator Elsie Souza - See more at: yourobserver.com

This (and the picture) is from yourobserver.com

Casey Key resident and best-selling author Stephen King signed books at downtown Sarasota’s Bookstore1 Sunday. King signed copies of his most recent novel, “Doctor Sleep,” for 400 fans. 

Stephen King Postcard

"Dear Sean Mick,

Sorry to be so late in replying, but as usual I'm buried under piles of mail I can't hope to keep up with!  Thanks for the good words, and for your continued interest in my work.  CREEPSHOW will be out in July, and there will be a "comic" book sometime after that.  The next novel will be out in August.  Entitled DIFFERENT SEASONS, it is for (sic*) short novels published under one title.  Contrary to some of the advertising, it is not horror.  Hope you'll like it.  Have a great summer.  Best, Stephen King"

www.ebay.com
selling price: $495.00

Sounds like a lot of money -- but I think it's cooler than the mass-produced Doctor Sleep.

Signed Is Better

taped inside Pet Sematary
ebay.com current bid: $6.50

When it comes to collecting books -- signed is better.  I own a lot of signed books.  Unfortunately, only one of them is signed by Stephen King!  (Under the Dome)  I made a decision a while back that I wasn't going to go to spend a lot of family money on Stephen King's handwriting.

Why not to mess with signed editions: Because publishers have figured out signed is better and have made it a business.  The days of sending your personal copy of a book to the author and getting it signed  and returned are gone.  Authors no longer do as may signings, and publishers don't like the author to sign books when they run into fans because it devalues their signature.  So what was fun is now just a money game.

Taped inside a copy of Pet Sematary is a note signed by King.  Now the book itself is not signed, it's on paper.  But, think about this -- it's the same signature.  So I'm asking -- what's special about his handwriting inside a book as opposed to on a paper?

I think inscribed books are better than flatsigned.  I love seeing the ones where little personal notes have been written from the author to the book owner. Some people prefer flatsigned books.  They don't want the writing that is directed to someone else.  However, that is part of the books history -- part of the signing -- and I think it's delightful.  I don't own a book King has insribed,but I own other boosk with little  notes from the author, and it's great!

Here's a couple I spotted that I think are cool:

• Four Past Midnight: "For Rick, don't stay out late."
• Firestarter: "To Dianne -- on her 25th -- with love from Scott and Stephen King, 8/19/90."

Someone should put together a list (book) of the things King has written to fans when autographing them.

An interesting thing is that the more expensive signed books are the old ones and the more recent ones.  A copy of Doctor Sleep signed is $400+.  Why?  Because that's where Cemetery Dance set the price, and people were ready to fork that over.  I think at $400 you should also get a couple of new tires and a Walmart gift card.

Know what I notice?  Signed books from the mid portion of King's writing don't cost as much.  Check it out on ebay!  (Not that I recommend buying signed items on ebay.)

• Bag of Bones, $250
• Christine, $150  (Hold on!  Why is this so low and Doctor Sleep so high?  A signed Christine seems like it would be very valuable because it's more rare to have those than the current super novel)
• Rose Madder, $175
• Eyes of the Dragon, $195
• Bag of Bones, $150 (advanced reading copy)
• Four Past Midnight, $149
• Firestarter, $375
• Full Dark No Stars, 112.50 (current bid, not final selling price)
• The Shining, $2,800 (seriously -- that's a lot of money.)
• BETTS BOOKSTORE: Dolores Claiborne, $75 (www.bettsbooks.com)

Okay, my point is really just how subjective this all is.  The books prices are pretty standard until  King autographs them, and then BAM! the price can go anywhere.  Salem's Lot signed goes for about $3,000.  That doesn't mean anyone will pay that, but it is what someone is asking.

Tell me -- 

how  important is a signature?  

How much would you be willing for fork over?

What King books do you have signed?

Collecting As Investment

Ed Lin at Penda Daily posted an article I really enjoyed  titled, "Making a killing off  Stephen King." (barrons.com)

Lin addresses special editions as investments.  Do  you think of your collection as an investment?  I have thought how difficult it would be to break my collection down and sell each piece on ebay.

Cemetery Dance sold the signed limited edition of Doctor Sleep for $2,500 with a print run of 52 books.  Even at that steep price, it sold out in 75 minutes.  Lin puts the pieces together, adding up that readers paid a total of $130,000 on PRE-ORDERS!  Pre-orders create lots of anticipation -- and sometimes you even forget what you bought.  I ordered a book called "Scream Plays" YEARS ago -- and am yet waiting.

Selling such nicely produced books with a very small print run creates what Lin calls a "instant rarity."

Lin writes:

“We’ve been publishing limited editions in the 500-to-2,000 copy range since 1992, and the market has stayed fairly strong even when the economy hasn’t been chugging along,” says Brian James Freeman, the managing editor. “We have witnessed other presses come and go over the years, but we have a strong base of collectors who have seen us through good times and bad.”

No matter what Freeman says about customers seeing CD through good times and bad, no one is buying books just to keep the publisher in business!  They are selling books because  they are producing something buyers want: A high quality product that is instantly rare by a beloved author.

Now, I have a first edition of The Shining, and was anxious for the Doctor Sleep signed editions to be offered.  However, when I saw the price of the signed editions (just the signed ones came to something like $350) I could not justify it.  I could afford it -- but I couldn't justify it.  Kids to send to camp, dance costumes to  buy. . . and I want a $350 book.  What's different about it?  King signed it.  Is a signature worth it?  I would argue not.  I own one item signed by King (Under the Dome), and that's enough for me.  (See my article:  Signed Books, Do They Matter? talkstephenking)

HOWEVER. . . if you are collecting to SELL, Lin points out that signatures might be well worth it!

By the way, I love special editions!  I think the IT edition by King was fantastic.  Also Full Dark  No Stars was a great production.  Simply put, buyers purchase from CD because they keep swinging home runs.

Lin offers the following "rough" guidelines for collecting special editions:

• Sign up for the publishers’ email lists.
• Acquire all the titles in a series. 
• Buy books that you would truly enjoy owning.

The full article is HERE.

Double Feature SIGNED

This is cool -- Cemetery Dance has copies of Owen King's novel, Double Feature for $26.00.  That's. . . REALLY GOOD!

Fellow King blogger, Bryant Burnette asked Owen King about all the B-movie plots he had to make up as part of Double feature.  King said,

The challenge of the made-up films was to make sure that they made sense in their respective milieus - i.e. B-movies or indies or avant garde or mainstream or whatever. It was definitely fun, though, and probably the part of the novel where I was most able to let my imagination run wild. (Much of the pleasure, from my standpoint, is that they're just brief descriptions. Actually drawing stuff out - i.e. turning a story into prose - is what makes writing fiction so agonizing!)  (thetruthinsidethelie.blogspot.com

Here's the announcement from Cemetery Dance:

Double Feature by Owen King
Signed Trade Hardcover Edition!

Publisher: Scribner
Format: Trade Hardcover
Publication Date: March 2013
Trade Hardcover: $26.00

PRE-ORDER SIGNED COPIES OF DOUBLE FEATURE HERE

Note for Collectors:
Owen King has generously agreed to sign copies of the trade hardcover for our collectors, so this is a preorder.

About the Book:

SAM DOLAN is a young man coming to terms with his life in the process and aftermath of making his first film. He has a difficult relationship with his father, B-movie actor Booth Dolan—a boisterous, opinionated, lying lothario whose screen legacy falls somewhere between cult hero and pathetic. Allie, Sam’s dearly departed mother, was a woman whose only fault, in Sam’s eyes, was her eternal affection for his father. Also included in the cast of indelible characters: a precocious, frequently violent half-sister; a conspiracy-theorist second wife; an Internet-famous roommate; a contractor who can’t stop expanding his house; a happy-go-lucky college girlfriend and her husband, a retired Yankees catcher; the morose producer of a true-crime show; and a slouching indie-film legend. Not to mention a tragic sex monster.

Unraveling the tumultuous, decades-spanning story of the Dolan family’s friends, lovers, and adversaries, Double Feature is about letting go of everything—regret, resentment, dignity, moving pictures, the dead—and taking it again from the top. Against the backdrop of indie filmmaking, college campus life, contemporary Brooklyn, and upstate New York, Owen King’s epic debut novel combines propulsive storytelling with mordant wit and brims with a deep understanding of the trials of ambition and art, of relationships and life, and of our attempts to survive it all.

Signed Books, Do They Matter?

I collect a lot of Stephen King books.  I do not collect his signature.  I have  one book signed by Stephen King (Under The Dome) and that is really enough to satisfy me.  Because. . . I don't get it.  How does his marking the page increase or change the books value?  I'm serious.  Couldn't he just check mark each book, acknowledging that for 1 second he was in contact with that copy of that book?

I do seem to have a lot of signed books!  Most of them were given to me.  Sometimes I've bought books, only to discover later that they are signed. yes, it does make me happy -- no, I don't know why.  I'm waiting for someone in the psychology department to tell me why.

One reason  I may hesitate to buy signed items is that I personally have no way of verifying a signature. When it comes to King, I would have trusted  Betts Bookstore -- and now the Overlook Connection and Very Fine Books.  But ebay. . . no thank you!

Some people collect much more than King's signature on books.  When anything the guy signs is instantly of value, I start  to wonder what's really up.  So people put credit card receipts up for sale because. . . SK signed it.

image credit: /www.ashvegas.com

I  find the above quite strange.  Is Stephen King cool because he writes great books and we want to treasure  those  books, or is he cool because he's part of the Hollywood culture of media idols?  We  should have no interest in being like 13 year olds in need of a teen idol -- where anything he touches is of strange significance to the fan.  True fans of Stephen King call themselves, "Constant Readers."  A term King coined -- but I like it.  The name suggests that the Constant Reader's primary interest is in reading the books, not chasing the man.

I read that the value of a signature is greater when it is "flat signed" instead of inscribed with a note  to the person it is intended  for.  Once again,  I think that's nuts!  I'd rather have a book that had meaning when it was signed than one that is "FLAT" signed!

For instance, here is a copy of Carrie that has a pretty cool note (espeically if you're Larry!)

www.icollector.com

Here are some signed books I own.
1. Under The Dome, Stephen King
2. The Dark Tower 7 (signed by Michael Whelan.)
3. The Wind Through The Keyole (signed by Jae Lee)
4. The Talisman (signed by Peter Straud and illustrator Rick Berry.  #2849)
5. Stephen King's Richard Bachman, Michael Collins
6. Bone  Soup, T.M. Wright
7. BAAL, Robert McCammon
8. Forrest Gump, Winston Groom  (inscribed to my wife: "To Rebecca, all best.")
9. The Case for Antioch, Jeff Iorg
10. Money, Possessions and Eternity, Randy Alcorn
11. The Law Of Rewards, Randy Alcorn
12. You The Warrior Leader,  Bobby Welch.  (Inscribed, "To David!  A great warrior leader for  our Savior and Souls!  Bless you!!  Bobby.")
13. The Glory of God, Chris Morgan.  (Inscribed: "David, many thanks for investing yourself  in teaching our CBU students."
14. The Gift of Valor a war story, Michael M. Phillips (Inscribed: "June 7, 2005.  For Pastor David Squyres.  Thanks for the support and prayers you offer for  the Marines.  Michael Phillips.")

I had a book about Alchatraz that I got signed by the author on my visit to the Rock, but I don't know where it is now.   It was about his life of crime, hard time on the Rock, and his coming to faith in Christ.

The Largest Collection Of Signed Books
Who has the largest collection of signed books?  You'll never guess!  According to Guinness World Records, that distinction belongs to Pastor Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life.

The website states:

Richard Warren of Lake Forest, California, USA, has collected 2,381 books, all signed by their original authors. 

Pastor Rick Warren began building his personal library in 1970 at the age of 16. Over the years as he travelled and spoke around the world, he began asking authors to autograph their books for him. Also many other authors began to send him their books autographed. The collection was verified by the bookseller Ed Postal who specialises in rare books and is a member of ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America). Of 2,422 books, the total number of books accepted was 2,381.

I wish I had room for that many books!  I wonder if Rick Warren has any signed books by Stephen King.  Or. . . if Stephen King has any signed books by Warren.

I once got a personal letter from Rick Warren, responding to a letter I'd written him in which I thanked him for some insights on preaching.  Imagine, some people would have kept  that letter just for the signature.

The Sneaky Signature:

This 2007 story is one of my favorites --

A bookstore manager was stunned when she saw someone enter her bookstore and begin writing in the books. The person quickly left, causing the employees think they were the victims of vandalism. 

Ms. Ellis said, "So we immediately ran to the books and lo-and-behold here was the signature in several books. We sort of spun around on our heels, [saying] 'where did he go, where did he go. . . So I went over and introduced myself ... He was lovely, very nice, charming." 

King signed a total of six books. I don't know, I just find something fun about that story! Imagine going to the bookstore, not a specialty store or something like that, just a regular store, and choosing to buy a Stephen King book -- and it turns out to be signed! Cool.
www.abc.net

Here is King signing books on The Simpsons:

I wonder if book signings are one of those things that authors hate.  I would!  It takes away from time that could be spent writing!  And, it forces the writer to have to be nice to all those annoying fans  who want to talk about why Carrie's father died before she was born, but managed  to save her  mother from killing her when Carrie was a baby.  And you can't say to these fans, "Because it's just a book.  I'm making this stuff up!"  No -- they actually think there's an answer!

Tell me what signed books you have.