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Mormons Codex

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Tacenda Grand Master

Tacenda

Posted
Posted

Actually that is the going rate now for hardbound books of that size. I just bought such a book at Benchmark Books in SLC, and it was $60.

And that's supposed to make it right? ;)
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strappinglad Grand Master

strappinglad

Posted
Posted

$60 is 3-5 hours of work for the average person. Well worth the price. The culmination of a lifetime of study and research by a man who took the Book of Mormon seriously and magnified his talents in the process. Is this tome not worth the price of a tank of gasoline? Priorities straight yet???

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Tacenda Grand Master

Tacenda

Posted
Posted

I know, just half kidding. I just worry if the price will scare some away. I'm sure Dr. Sorenson would rather more went out vs. not as many because of price. And so many book prices get slashed after awhile. I can think of a couple that did, like the 'Joseph Smith Papers' and also 'To the Rescue'. And he indeed deserves credit and monies for his immense work.

David T Veteran

David T

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Posted

Yeah. I paid like $99 for the deluxe Joseph Smith Papers: Revelations and Translations - Manuscript Revelation Books (Facsimile Edition), and now it's $19.99. Even though the smaller, non-photo-facsimile 'Volume 1' edition is still $49.99!

Since I'm a big nerd, even though it has the same text, I want both the Facsimile Edition, and the 'Volume 1' Library Edition that is the same size as the other volumes in the series to go on my shelves, and for easy reference..

cursor Mentor

cursor

Posted
Posted

After my father's review of the online published Mormon's Codex: A Preview, I've made a couple (very minor) edits. The original link should download the latest and greatest.

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strappinglad Grand Master

strappinglad

Posted
Posted

Yeah. I paid like $99 for the deluxe Joseph Smith Papers: Revelations and Translations - Manuscript Revelation Books (Facsimile Edition), and now it's $19.99. Even though the smaller, non-photo-facsimile 'Volume 1' edition is still $49.99!

Since I'm a big nerd, even though it has the same text, I want both the Facsimile Edition, and the 'Volume 1' Library Edition that is the same size as the other volumes in the series to go on my shelves, and for easy reference..

Yes. I paid $200 for my first advanced calculator, the good ones are still about $ 100. I paid $ 300 for 4 megs of memory , boy was that dumb in retrospect. This particular book will have a limited audience compared to the Twilight series. The publishers gotta get while the gettin's good.

Calm Grand Master

Calm

Posted
Posted (edited)

 This particular book will have a limited audience compared to the Twilight series. The publishers gotta get while the gettin's good.

The LDS market is very small compared to the general public market.  LDS books are generally significantly more expensive than nonLDS.  Just has to be that way to cover the costs of publishing and distributing and selling them.  My memory of what was reported in the LDS booksellers info was that LDS publishers don't make much money off of most of their books, that it is the few outstanding ones that really pay the bills.  Looking at the direction Deseretbook and its subsidiaries have gone in just the time I have stopped working, it is pretty clear that books like Mormon Codex are not including in the major money makers.  When one looks at the DB flyer catalogues, there might be one or two academic books in them if one is lucky, the fictional market is much, much larger now, especially those that can appeal to nonLDS because they are not mormon themed like Tennis Shoes is.

Edited by calmoriah
cursor Mentor

cursor

Posted
Posted (edited)

Apparently Deseret Book doesn't want to be bothered by my father's marketing suggestions (a number of which I fed to him, admittedly) ... [psst ... if your listening ... marketing is your job!].

DB's reference to Mormon's Codex: An Ancient American Book on their website has no cover image ... despite the fact that they have had the final work from artist James C. Christensen for months now. I suggested to my dad that isn't a positive way to promote a book. He agreed, and passed along the recommendation, suggesting that it should be simple task. The singular response offered (by the only marketing contact that Dad has at DB, "the VP for product development") was, "I cannot be a point of contact for him nor are we prepared to do a great deal of marketing on this title." Um, WHAT?! Wait ... you're kidding, right?!

 

I also suggested to Dad that there is no reason for there are zero book reviews (apparently DB thinks that this too demands too much of them), in view of the fact that the manuscript has been in casual distribution for 3+ years. If any of you out there have had access, have read it, and are prepared to offer an Amazon.com review ... please inform me. Hey ... and if there are serious folk out there who DON'T currently have access to the text, but might be willing to offer a serious review of the text ... please inform me. Thanks.

Edited by cursor
Calm Grand Master

Calm

Posted
Posted (edited)

If you are going to have Christensen do the work, you might as well use it.  It is usually stunning (I might buy the book just for that...well, not really, but it is sweet icing on the cake).

 

Yeah, marketing costs money and if they don't expect to get much back in profits no matter what, why risk spending anything on it? :rolleyes:

 

One wonders why they chose to publish it rather than letting it go to a publisher that would cherish the opportunity.  I know some that would kill to get their hands on it...figuratively speaking, of course.

Edited by calmoriah
cursor Mentor

cursor

Posted
Posted (edited)

It'd take a knowledgeable tech at DB less than five minutes to upload a cover graphic to their website. It might take as much(?) as 10 minutes to upload the same to Amazon.com and DB.com. What is the absolute minimum that a book publisher is expected to do? Well, clearly, DB isn't doing even that. Perhaps they don't deserve to be professionally referred to as more than simple printers.

 

Yes, I'm one of those who cherished the potential opportunity (and who would have responsibly promoted his volume). Dad opted to go with "the big boys," who clearly don't give a damn.

Edited by cursor
David T Veteran

David T

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Posted

Not gonna line ... as interested as I am in this book, I likely won't be picking it up right away. I'm in the process of working through Gardner's 6-volume Book of Mormon commentary, and still have one volume left to purchase. That isn't cheap!

 

But man, do I recommend it. And love owning it.

 

Also - the first two volumes in 'Documents' from the JSPP are coming out in a couple of months as well. And for me, those get immediate purchase priority.

cursor Mentor

cursor

Posted
Posted

Yo, Cal ... I have told my father that he should insist on receiving a high resolution version of the cover art for his Mormon's Codex: An Ancient American Book, by James C. Christensen (and instructed him to share the file with me). When I get it, I'll seriously consider sharing it with you. =) 

Calm Grand Master

Calm

Posted
Posted

Yo, Cal ... I have told my father that he should insist on receiving a high resolution version of the cover art for his Mormon's Codex: An Ancient American Book, by James C. Christensen (and instructed him to share the file with me). When I get it, I'll seriously consider sharing it with you. =) 

Thank you!  We collect Christensen's art...well, as much as we can afford which means all of his books and all of his puzzles.  If ever a rich uncle dies and leaves me a fortune, my investments will be all in his work.

cursor Mentor

cursor

Posted
Posted

My dad just wrote:

My eye just caught two failures

    near bottom of page 1, "inferencess" instead of "inferences", and
    top of page 3, italicize Mormon's Codex
 

I'm done, I'm done!!

 

This has now been fixed. The original link above contains all fixes.

Brant Gardner Mentor

Brant Gardner

Posted
Posted

 if there are serious folk out there who DON'T currently have access to the text, but might be willing to offer a serious review of the text ... please inform me. Thanks.

I know that the Interpreter Foundation has interest in providing a review. You might contact them, particularly if you have an almost-printed version.

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cursor Mentor

cursor

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Posted (edited)

Depending on the task, I frequently find spell-check to be annoying, particularly given the uniqueness of many words and names in the Book of Mormon. Thanks for pointing me to "inferencess," though. Currently I'm translating "Preview" into Spanish. What might I use to spell-check the creation of a document that includes Kaminaljuyu, Jareditas, cumoms, and cureloms?  :crazy: 

Edited by cursor
cursor Mentor

cursor

Posted
Posted

I know that the Interpreter Foundation has interest in providing a review. You might contact them, particularly if you have an almost-printed version.

 

Thanks for that valuable reference, Brant.

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