a "Writer's Tale" tale

[dbskyler]

So I finally went to buy RTD's "The Writer's Tale" (more because I'm interested in the writing process for Doctor Who than because I'm interested in how RTD writes), but after a long wait, Amazon.com has now informed me that they can't get the book! How hard can it be to get the book? I can get it myself from Amazon.co.uk -- well, assuming they'll mail overseas, but it looks like they will. Other American bookstores are having the same trouble. BBC America says the book is "unavailable" as well. Come on, guys, there's no "region 1" vs. "region 2" issue with a book! The British version is fine! It's still in English! If things are occasionally spelled "ou" instead of "o," I think I can deal.

So now the question is, should I go ahead and order it from England, and pay the international shipping? Or should I wait until my upcoming trip to England and buy it there? Sometimes it's nice to have a book to read while you're traveling, but I don't want to be lugging around anything too heavy.

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I'd borrow it from the library if I was really desperate to read it (I ain't! I don't trust myself not to send it back to the library covered in margin notes ranting at the moronic way he wrote!) And I certainly wouldn't want to lug it around with me while I was travelling the country.

But I admit I'm strongly biased against the bloke, so my opinion is of no value.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

My local library doesn't carry it. Not very surprising; I suspect that none of the local libraries around here carry it. (And by "around here," I pretty much mean North America.)

I had to think about whether I wanted to buy it, but now that I've decided that I do in fact want it, it's annoying that it's become so hard to get!

I'm more split on RTD's writing than you are. Some of his stuff I love, and some of it I hate. But I do think it will be interesting to read about the writing process even for the episodes I hated.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Well I suppose it's not surprising if your libraries don't carry - but I do know mine does, because I looked for curiosity's sake.

The number of RTD-penned (ie ones HE got the writing credit for) episodes I love can be counted on the fingers of one hand - *and* I'd have fingers left over! (I think I'm right in saying it's only Midnight and Smith & Jones that I really love which he wrote.) Some of the others are so-so okay, but the vast majority make me see red and want to kick his arse very hard from here to Timbuktu and back again!

But, as I said, my PoV is hopelessly biased so it's invalid.

[aralias.livejournal.com]

i only have hte original version (hardback - very heavy), but i loved it. i loved it so much i am almost constantly considering buying the new paperback edition with the extra bit at the end - which i don't think will be so heavy, and could fit in your bag. on the other hand - there's always marketplace (even if you want the paperback new edition there are dealers on the english marketplace who say they ship from america... so might be bargained with).

this is a lot of comment. again. i'm sure i'll slack off soon...

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm only looking for the paperback version with the "final chapter." Amazon.com does still have the hardcover edition, but the paperback edition has now vanished completely from their websites, so no marketplace.

But you got me to check Amazon.co.uk's marketplace, and lo and behold, there are some sellers saying they're shipping from the U.S.! Plus I actually recognized one seller -- Powell's Books, a legendary independent bookstore in Portland, OR. I ran to their website to buy from them directly in U.S. dollars, and what did I get? "Currently out of stock." So close!

this is a lot of comment. again. i'm sure i'll slack off soon...

You're certainly not obligated to comment, but I love it when you do. :D

[pitry.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm the exact opposite from persiflage - I wouldn't count my opinion because I'm hopelessly biased on the other direction and RTD is my television god! Haha, aren't we useful? :D But for what it's worth, I really enjoyed it, and found it really interesting and informative, not just about RTD's writing process, but about the Who process in general.

(as for the books, I think they didn't print a lot of them to begin with - there was a huge problem when the book was published even in the UK, no one had enough copies :|)

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear there's good stuff on the Who writing process in general! I also think RTD is pretty interesting in his interviews, so I think I'll enjoy reading about his personal writing process, too. I don't have to like the final product to find the process interesting.

The book had availability problems in the UK, too? Wow. I just assumed people would be tripping over copies there.

[pitry.livejournal.com]

Yup! and he definitely knows how to make the process interesting..

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that sounds like the publisher is being a bit hamfisted. I know the trend is to print not *too* many books, but where there's a massive amount of demand, you can have too much of a good thing in that respect. Probably there's some poor fellow racing to get more copies printed and shipped.

[pitry.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I can sort of see how it happens, you don't expect a book like that to sell a huge number of copies - especially as half of it has already been published in hardback! But they completely miscalculated demand... The poor assistants who must have spent that entire week running from one place to the other :)

[thisbluespirit]

All I can say is it *is* a very heavy book! Plus, I'm not sure how easy it is to find in shops at the moment. I haven't looked, but... *thought derails* Sorry I just thought that if anywhere would have it, it would probably be the amazing Waterstones on Gower Street... when you are in London, if you are a bibliophile at all, Charing Cross is bookshop central, of course, but about two thirds of the way up Gower Street is a Waterstones that also contains a floor with remainders and a floor with second hand books. It has staircases that only seem to connect with certain parts of the building, so it is about the only mainstream bookshop I know of anywhere that fits the 'genteel black hole that knows how to read' definition. (Mind you, the crazy one with books piled up EVERYWHERE in complete disregard of access, health and safety etc that I saw in Cheltenham was worth the trip there...)

Sorry, it is a very heavy book. If Amazon cannot oblige, what about other websites, or even Ebay? Sorry, you've probably looked, but, personally, I wouldn't want to be weighted down with that thing. You could fit at least five other paperbacks in, if not more without it...

ETA: And, yes, I think it's worth the read. There are deleted scenes and things from scripts, and certainly the process of writing for something like that is fascinating. (When it comes to RTD, I sit on the fence: I think he's a brilliant screenwriter, who sometimes writes things that I think are silly. Or worse. But we are all so protective of DW. It's so much more than any one person, Doctor, or era, I suppose. I have to say, even though I have problems with much of his stuff, I don't think anyone else would have made its return the success it has been.)

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you told me, because I assumed the book would be easy to get there. I'd love to wander into some London bookstores, but I'd hate to be looking for a book that's hard to find! If it's also heavy, I think those are two great reasons to buy it through the internet instead.

Ebay scares me, but you prompted me to take a look for curiosity's sake, and there are some sellers. However, they all seem to be shipping from Australia! I think I can get it quicker and cheaper from Amazon.co.uk.

It sounds like you and I have very similar views on RTD, so I'm glad you enjoyed the book -- that's a very strong indication that I will like it too!

[thisbluespirit]

I've seen it in plenty of book shops, but I think less so now - and I suspect it'll get rarer now he's not the DW producer/writer.

:-)

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

OMG YOUR ICON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*covets*

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

To respond to what you actually said, I was actually hoping the book would get discounted now that RTD's not King of Doctor Who anymore. I never expected it to get hard to find!

(And now I'm off to redscharlach's journal to snag the icon . . . :D

[thisbluespirit]

Hee. I had to have the icon once I saw it! :-) (And with one of these, you don't need to ask 'who made it?' do you?)

Could easily go in the bargain bin as well, yes, true. I haven't been in many bookshops lately (*sigh*) and I wouldn't have been looking for that. That type of thing though - non-fic TV tie-ins - tends to be really random as to whether anything is in stock for a show, and what it is.

[pitry.livejournal.com]

Waterstone's have this good "check availability" feature on their website. It's not 100%, I think, but from taking a look at it, it looks like most shops no longer have it :|

[shadowturquoise.livejournal.com]

Ebay's Half.com, paperback is .89 and the hardback is $20
http://search.half.ebay.com/the-writers-tale_W0QQqueryZtheQ20writerQ27sQ20taleQQmZbooks

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Thanks, but I'm not an Ebay user, so I'm not sure what to do with that site. It finds a product for you? Does it automatically buy it on your behalf, or just alert you? I'm a little frightened of Ebay in general, so I'd prefer to avoid it.

[shadowturquoise.livejournal.com]

Half.com is owned by EBay but they are not an auction site. They are a clearance
center for new and gently used media, mostly for textbooks. I used them heavily when I was finishing graduate school. Just go there and type in the title, author, or ISBN and they will show you everyone who has a copy for sale, then you deal directly with them through a link. It is rarely individuals. Usually used book stores. There is a feedback/star system to tell you how many sales they've made and how reliable they are.