I was at a used bookstore and ran across a proof, the unedited version sent out for review before the publication. I was amazed because I've never seen one before. I was even more amazed because according to the first pages this book had already been published in the UK and Canada and was being published in the US by Bantam, which is a major publisher. I bought it for a dollar assuming it was some uber rare collector's item I might never come across again. The book is Ritual by Mo Hayder. I am apparently unable to put my hands on a book without reading it, and its wonderful. In fact I think Mo Hayder could be among the best authors I have ever read. It has all the typos and grammatical errors and such. I googled Mo Hayder. Her books have been highly reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, and the Baltimore Sun newspaper which I assume has a book review column (read a lot of review quotes from there). 3 of her books were national bestsellers. How valuable is this book? Just wondering. I'm not selling it. I like it too much. Its an awesome book - you guys should read it! http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews2/9780871139924.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Hayder
An unedited novel? I imagine it's not worth much more than the final version of the book. My mom works at the local library, and I have at least half a dozen pre-publication novels in my room right now. I get to keep them, too. From my understanding, libraries are not supposed to keep them; they're supposed to give them out to anyone who wants them and hope for feedback. That way, they know if they want to order a copy of the book when it comes out. Not hard to get at all.
I don't think they have any special value... I have about thirty of them on my shelves, unedited proofs of assorted novels - I'm part of a reviewer program.
