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How do I know what printing of a book I have?

October 18, 2005 / Dave Taylor / Writing and Publishing / 2 Comments

My question deals with the inside page of a book. There is a lot of info about publisher and ISBN # and copyright and then there are some numbers at the bottom that usually look this:
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
What do those numbers mean?

Ah, the mysteries of the copyright and print page of a book. These are not questions for us mere mortals, so I asked two of my favorite people in the publishing industry, Matt Wagner of Fresh Books Agency and Joe Wickert of J. Wiley, Publishers.
Perhaps surprisingly, they had the exact same answer: The leftmost number shows you what printing you have.
For example, if you see “1 2 3 4 5” then you’re holding the first printing of the book. If you see “2 3 4 5”, however, it’s the second, and “4 5” would be the fourth, etc.
Why this obscure scheme is used is a mystery, but I’m guessing it’s something to do with making it as easy as possible to change the printing info on the page without having to reflow content or other material.
Hope that clarifies what printing of the book you have in your hands!

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Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

2 comments on “How do I know what printing of a book I have?”

  1. Dave Taylor says:
    October 19, 2005 at 3:59 pm

    Thanks for the additional information, Patricia. It is, as you say, very important to differentiate between printings and editions. A subsequent printing is still the same edition, and theoretically nothing has changed of note. A subsequent edition should reflect new or updated editorial content.

    Reply
  2. Patricia Hall says:
    October 19, 2005 at 3:38 pm

    That is not always correct. Some publishers start the number line at 2, with 1 being the first edition.
    Also, if your number line started at 3 4 5, you would probably have a first edition, 3rd printing unless the book was published by one of the non-conforming presses.
    And, even if your book says first edition and has a number line starting with one, if the DJ does not have a price or there is a stamp on the rear cover, you may have a book club edition rather than a first. To further confuse matters, some book club editions are true firsts.
    And finally, if your book is from a small press, there may be no number line or reference to edition or printing as it may have been a one printing run.
    Here are some references for you:
    http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/writing/editions/
    http://www.litterascripta.com/bibliomania/ident.shtml
    There are entire books written about how to differentiate between first editions and subsequent printings. Your readers should be careful and do their research before they start buying and or trying to sell true firsts.

    Reply

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