From the Editor by Craig Stark #7, 1 December 2003

It's first edition time yet again - only today there will be a payoff. If you've survived the first four BookThinker articles on this topic, this one will be, by comparison, a day at the beach. We've put together a short guide to spotting first editions in the field. This isn't foolproof by any means, but it will help you eliminate from consideration the vast majority of unproductive fiction you come across with a minimum of know-how. Following this is a companion article on identifying reprint publishers - another tool that will aid you in the process of eliminating those ubiquitous losers.

The holiday season has begun. Are sales up? We hope so. If not, keep reading the BookThinker! It's our mission to help you become as successful as you want to be. We also hope that this will be a safe and meaningful time for you and those who mean the most to you. We will continue to publish both the newsletter and update weekly, throughout December, and look forward to a year of strong growth in 2004.

Beginning in January we will be actively soliciting contributions for the BookThinker and BookThinker Update from our readers. If you possess a strong knowledge of and a passion for a specific area of books, whether it be a genre, niche or other area of interest, and would like to see your work in print (and in some cases make a few bucks in the process), email us and we'll talk. Previous writing experience isn't necessary.

We're especially interested in building a complete stable of regular collectors' columns - romance, westerns, mysteries, and more. Other special needs include articles on creative selling strategies, unusual sources of inventory, collectible authors and topics, techniques for cutting business expenses, and personal essays on books that have changed your lives.