dustjackets?

[quozl]

I finally saw Sorcerer the other day and noticed it's a hardcover with a dustjacket.  What do people think about dustjackets?  Do gamers like them?  Also, are they cheaper or more expensive than a normal hardcover?

---Jon

[Ferry Bazelmans]

Personally, I could do without the Sorcerer dustjacket. I think the book has a lot more appeal in its bare HC form with the gold lettering. But as I said, that's a personal feeling.

As for my general thoughts on dustjackets, I'd have to say I have yet to see a game that utilizes it to a point where it becomes more than an excuse to print a coverpainting.

Fer

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

The dust jacket for Sorcerer was a quick fix for the fact that what I'd originally planned would be way too expensive. The idea was to stamp the image into the hardcover as a kind of panel; I'd seen a couple of examples and liked them. Turned out they cost a lot, lot of money to print. So the printer suggested a dust jacket, I said, "H'm, no game ever did that," and went for it. I didn't want to lose the classic/book look of the clothbound hardcover, and I didn't want to lose the cover painting - and believe me, in RPG publishing, a cover image is key.

Was it a "good idea" at the time? Sure. Apparently lots of people like it, based on feedback I've received (besides Ferry's). If they don't, (a) it didn't cost them extra money the way an inside color plate would have, and (b) they can take it off. So at least I don't think I'm screwing anyone by having the dust jacket. ("Above all else, do no harm ...")

Retailers and distributors don't like it, for obvious reasons - it can get torn, it's not what they're used to, the book is smaller than standard, etc. I'm OK with that. I like making sure those ends of the biz aren't totally ignored, but they don't set the standards for my decisions, at the end of the day.

Would it be a "good idea" from the ground up? I don't know. I imagine, frankly, not. One reason is that the content of Sorcerer is consistent with the library-book feel of the dust jacket + clothbound, and a game with different content would seem pretty odd to me, in that format. Another reason is that novelty might be the main reason people like it in Sorcerer; it's the book with the dust-jacket. Another game wouldn't necessarily benefit from the novelty.

Best,
Ron

[Valamir]

Actually, with regards to cover art, the one truely big near impulse purchase that I made in RPGs was a book I saw (standard RPG size) with a thick padded faux leather cover with detailed border embossings and some wicked embossed rune-ish / occult-ish symbols.  That book had to be mine.

Until my FLGS owner looked askance at me and said "you realize that just a fancy cover on a bunch of blank pages to keep a journal in don't you?"

I didn't.  That cover so demanded purchase I hadn't even flipped through it first to notice.  I put it back...$50 for a blank notebook was a little much, even by my standards ;-).  If the cover had been removeable to be put on another book (like Cthulhu...) I might have bought it anyway...it was that cool.

Point of this post.  I guess I agree with Ferry...not that I didn't like the dust jacket or any such...but IMO the book looks far more menacing without it.

[Misguided Games]

Valamir,

If you get the chance, take a look at the limited edition of The End from Tyranny Games.  It has a very sharp embossed black leatherette cover with gold foil stamping.

[Clay]

Personally, I'm in favor of the dust jacket. It can get torn, but one solution is that the dust jacket stays on the shelf and only the actual book gets carted to the game session.  A friend and I adopted this policy after my cat (one she gave me, too, so I'll blame her for giving me a deranged cat) took a flying leap for a high counter and tried to get a grip on the dust jacket.

I agree that the book looks great without the dust jacket - most hardcovers do.  But dust jackets help present an image of the book that I know influences my purchasing decisions. If the publisher thinks the book is so boring that they can't be bothered to produce a decent cover design, I have little faith that the book is going to be worth reading.

In the interest of protecting my dust jacket, does anybody know where to get those celophane covers that libraries use on dust jackets?  That way I can protect my book from deranged cats and coffee spills.

[Buddha Nature]

I have to say I think the dust jacket - real-book bound thing was a great idea.  You get the info you need at the time of purchase (what its all about and a bit of a "feel" from the cover image) and you get damn nice feeling and extremely usable book once you purchase it.

To be honest, when I ordered I was expecting your standard quality POS RPG hardbound book.  When I found a "real" book with a dust jacket I was floored.  I think I giddily said to myself "Damn!  That is so fucking cool!" with a smile on my face.  And it was doubly cool to see that the "cover" of the book was a nice looking gold stamp of Sorcerer.

I really dislike to quality of the normal rpg hardbacks.  They fall to pieces, the glue cracks, and their all glossy and crap.  Sorcerer all around said "I'm a Bad Mother Fucker!"  Hmm...  Maybe that should be stamped on there too =)

-Shane

[Sidhain]

I have a softcover Japanese RPG with a dust jacket, and the I rather like them to some extent (but a plain pretty book--like say the Hardcover Aberrant) that is a /good quality/ cloth bound book, that is simple also has it's appeal.