In addition to lowering the cost for readers, buying the rights to a book could allow certain improvements to be made.
The paperback version of Reasons and Persons is poorly typeset (the text is small and cramped) and unevenly printed (some parts are too light; others too dark). The form factor is close to that of a mass market paperback (short, narrow, and fat). The cover photo is bleak and blurry. These factors combine to make the book seem dated and unappealing.
On What Matters, a book with the same author and publisher, is a beautiful volume, and an example of whatâs possible if someone puts some effort into the process and uses modern technologies.
Living High and Letting Die influenced me more than any other book. Unfortunately, it seems not to have been edited. Hereâs a passage from the first page:
Now, you can write that address on an envelope well prepared for mailing. And, in it, you can place a $100 check made out to the U.S. Committee for UNICEF along with a note thatâs easy to write.
I count two odd-sounding filler phrases (âwell prepared for mailingâ and âthatâs easy to writeâ), one clearly superfluous comma (following âAndâ in the second sentence), and a bizarre choice to italicize the name of an organization. The whole book reads like it was dictated but not read. Another problem is that it gives unrealistically low estimates of the cost of saving a life.
Changing the text of a book might not always be feasible (youâd need the authorâs buy-in, and many authors wouldnât want to spend time helping to re-edit an old book), but itâs something worth exploring.
In addition to lowering the cost for readers, buying the rights to a book could allow certain improvements to be made.
The paperback version of Reasons and Persons is poorly typeset (the text is small and cramped) and unevenly printed (some parts are too light; others too dark). The form factor is close to that of a mass market paperback (short, narrow, and fat). The cover photo is bleak and blurry. These factors combine to make the book seem dated and unappealing.
On What Matters, a book with the same author and publisher, is a beautiful volume, and an example of whatâs possible if someone puts some effort into the process and uses modern technologies.
Living High and Letting Die influenced me more than any other book. Unfortunately, it seems not to have been edited. Hereâs a passage from the first page:
I count two odd-sounding filler phrases (âwell prepared for mailingâ and âthatâs easy to writeâ), one clearly superfluous comma (following âAndâ in the second sentence), and a bizarre choice to italicize the name of an organization. The whole book reads like it was dictated but not read. Another problem is that it gives unrealistically low estimates of the cost of saving a life.
Changing the text of a book might not always be feasible (youâd need the authorâs buy-in, and many authors wouldnât want to spend time helping to re-edit an old book), but itâs something worth exploring.