Getting Started
To start collecting, you first need to decide what you want to collect. While Brandon has written 30+ novels and numerous novella's, there are literally hundreds of versions of these books in different formats and different languages. What you decide to collect will greatly affect the number of books you will need to acquire and the amount of money you will need to spend. Collecting can get extremely expensive very quickly.
First I recommend you view the Terminology Quick Reference guide.
There are a few things you will want to decide first before plunging in.
- Do you just want to collect his main bodies of work? or everything?
- Do you want to collect signed versions of his books?
- Do you want to collect 1st Edition / 1st Printing?
- Do you want to collect "numbered" or "lettered" editions?
- Do you want to collect versions from different languages / publishers?
- Do you also want to collect all the various swag that has been released over the years?
Casual Collecting
A lot of collectors just want a copy of Brandon's main body of works (novels and maybe novellas where possible). This is of course the easiest route to go, as you can just purchase his books from any book store or even on his own website. This type of collection typically has little monetary value. Generally these will contain a mixed of formats (Paper Back and Hard Covers), will be later Printings, and most of them will be well used (read and worn). If purchased from Brandon's site, they may be signed.
1st Printings
The next tier of collector still typically wants the main body of works, but desires a collection with a little more value to it. This is where you will start to see people collecting only Signed Hard Cover 1st Edition 1st Printings. These look great on a shelf, and are usually in Very Good or better condition. Most of the time finding a 1st printing is enough, as you can always get it signed by Brandon at a later time (via a Book Signing Event or by mailing it in).
Numbered or Lettered Editions
Numbered or Lettered editions are typically more rare than 1st Printings as they are limited by design and thus are typically more expensive. Its best to decide if you want to go this route first, before spending money on books that are "only" 1st printings. This may take you significantly longer to collect, as there is no guarantee they will come up for sale. You also will need to decide if you care about which number it is, or if you want low numbers, or even identical numbers (ex: if you want to try and find Skyward and Starsight with the same number to create a matched set).
Multiple Languages
As Brandon's works are translated to other languages, they are re-published in other countries. Many collectors want these versions also, even if they can't read the language, as the new artwork that goes into them can be really quite beautiful. This of course starts to get very expensive quickly, as you are now starting to purchase multiple copies of the same book, just in different formats and languages.
The Ultimate Collector
The Ultimate Collector is someone who wants every book in every format possible (even down to different editions or states of the same book). This also includes anything else created by the author, such as copies of magazines where they printed short stories or performed interviews. This requires true dedication and a very significant amount of patience, and of course, funds.