Terrible Sarah J. Maas Trend Needs to Stop | RANT

Yes, I did get triggered. Let's talk about it.
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[@symorla]

I am 100% in the party that thinks certain stores can have their own exclusive covers/ sleeves, but the CONTENT of the book itself should be accessible in all versions. Periodt.

[@spikeanny5710]

That t on the end of period makes this come across super aggressively and I am here for it

[@Fidion]

I think alternate endings from one store to another is perfectly okay, I don't have a problem with that practice at all. I honestly would dig this business model if extra chapters were included in NEW original books she wrote, not the same thing. I actually think there is a very smart, inventive strategy here that could bring in organic money to the novel writing world.

[@symorla]

@@Fidion i cant totally appreciate that viewpoint, and I actually agree it’s a bit different when it’s an alternate ending! I think my big ick with what Sarah is doing, similar to Taylor Swift lately, is there are important pieces of information in all these long extra chapters that provide context or relationship building for the story’s progression. When that is the case, it bothers me for them to expect the readers to buy 5 different books to get that context (or have people “illegally” just post it online lol)

[@taylorgayhart9497]

I never say this, but I hope people pirate those bonus chapters instead of buying a bunch of additions of the same book.

[@peyton1457]

There’s a Tumblr account that does this already. It has all the SJM bonus chapters.

[@MadisonSquareCosplay]

Oh we do. Very happy pirates. 😂

[@shananika]

Lol yep. I was just thinking I’d get the edition with the Ruhn & Lidia chapter and then read all the other bonus chapters online. I enjoy SJMs books but there’s no way I’m getting 5 copies.

[@mkapustiak89]

It happens almost immediately after they come out 😂

[@gabrielleauclair254]

​@@peyton1457Is there a way for you to tell us the name of the account without it being explicit? So that the account stays protected

[@rin55]

As a kpop collector I am REALLY advising readers and/ or SJM fans, y'all better NOT give in to this marketing practice and DO NOT buy multiple copies of the same thing to get the bonus stories or whatever. Because IF the publishers look at the sales and see that these different editions with different bonus chapters bring in more sales, it's over his practice will take over everywhere. You must resist with all your might. Because this is what happened to K-pop. There were albums, and then they decided to include a photocard. Then they decided to include a random 1 out of a few versions of a photocard in albums. Saw it increased sales. Then they started making 2 versions of albums and include a random card, and each member suddenly has their own card, in addition to a group card. Once again fans bought multiple versions just to collect all the member cards and increased sales. THEN they started releasing even MORE album versions, and guess what. Each version has their OWN photocard set, so if an album has 4 versions and the group has 8 members there are 32 cards to collect, if we don't count group cards or unit cards. Then they started adding other random inclusions like member postcards and what not, and now we have photobook and cd versions of albums with a bunch of their own versions and random cards sets, digipacks with at times as many versions as there are members and this has their own own card sets to collect, then DIGITAL versions with codes you scan with your phone and liaten to the album in a dedicated app, and this has a random card from it's own set too.. It is madness, and all because fans were completionists and bought it all, despite the content being spread over more and more versions and more and more randomized. Just when we thought this could not possibly get worse they introduced POBs. Preorder bonus collectable cards, where every major music store has their own exclusive photocard set of however many members the group has, and you get 1 random one with every album you preorder from there... Lord help us all at this point. If you want to experience it for yourself, search "seventeen/ exo /nct /monsta x/ album unboxing all versions" on YT, and witness the horror. So for your own good and good of all the readers, do NOT give into this, because if this marketing strategy is successful, it will become the norm. Pirate the bonus stories, put it on wattpad, and share them, idc, just do not increase their sales. SJM fans are the perfect target for this strategy because just like K-pop fans, they are loyal to a fault and really invested, and a big portion of them young as well. I also collect manga, and japanese manga has this additional manga paper phenomenon, where the first print has 1 page of a bonus chapter, and you have to buy 8 or so copies of the same volume to piece together that chapter. Capitalizm will eat us alive if we let it 😄

[@KarolYuuki]

This was the first thing I thought about. It's terrible the ways these companies exploit the fans. I also used to hate when they had different albums with different extra songs/MVs

[@kees_hoe]

This is why I just buy the photocards being resold instead of a bunch of albums anymore): it’s so much cheaper and it’s sad because I want to support all my favorite artists but I cannot afford it especially when most albums are around $30 and only come with 1 card. I think twice has the best content for the money, they have 9 members but you get 4/5 cards per album and preorders/ first editions have a full member set. I wish more groups would do this to make the cards more accessible to collect. Meanwhile most groups will have a similar number of members but only give 1 or 2 cards per album to get us to buy more, it’s a nightmare

[@Meimoons]

Agree!

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

Yep. Either wait for some second hand edition or forget about it. This is a cash grab. These books may go up in value for a short while, but will plummet down and you and up with multiple copies of something that isn't worth the paper it's written on.

[@sunflowermc9703]

And then much of it is left as rubbish. Who needs 30 of the same CD to get a groups full card set. 😢

[@aerchii8643]

I think The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer is the perfect example of how to do this right. She also came out with a bunch of bonus stories for the series after it finished, but instead of selling them all separately, she put them all into one book.

[@CalKale]

Even before that they were avaliable for FREE online (at least The Queen's Army and another i cant remember atm) I thought it was amazing to have the chance to read them. When they were all realeased together, it made me overjoyed to have them in one book. However, with SJM, it's just an extra chapter, not really any insight into anything like with MM so it makes it... underwhelming to get them.

[@madilynanderson2497]

That's exactly what came to mind for me too. This is ridiculous

[@rottencandy2675]

Rick Riodan did something like it too. He made a crossover between Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles, and certain copies included a the bonus short story between them. Later, a (small) book was released that had all three stories.

[@pippycat2842]

This is what came to mind for me too! There's no reason they can't just do that with this book except of course for getting more money out of people. Even the bonus chapters for ToG (also a SJM series) were compiled into a single book. I'm also curious about what will happen with library copies of this book. I know it's common for libraries to have multiple copies of popular books, but if readers want ALL of the bonus chapters, that means at least 5 copies of a single book, and a single person would have to check out all 5 copies to get all the content...

[@misseli1]

Yeah, releasing a book that's an anthology of short stories related to the main story makes so much more sense

[@styxthistle497]

Maas has always had an overwriting problem, so in stead of correcting it... they've monetised it! I have to say, it's quite smart, but terribly scummy.

[@natesamadhi33]

It is not smart, it's downright terrible in every way

[@markpaterson2053]

It's only smart against the dummies willing to pay; she's way overrated anyway.

[@BBS-dl1lt]

@@natesamadhi33I mean people are gonna buy it. You crying about isn’t gonna make any difference to her. I don’t see how it’s a problem. Just read the other bonus chapters online like everyone else.

[@natesamadhi33]

@@BBS-dl1ltsure..but alot of people ARENT gonna buy it and are gonna get turned off by it. Just because you don't care that you're getting scammed, doesn't mean everyone else is as gullible

[@BBS-dl1lt]

@@natesamadhi33 there’s no scam. It’s fanfiction bonus content. It’s not the actual book. Probably just gonna get it on Apple Books without any bonus content. Because i care about actually reading the story and not getting a bonus sex scene lmao. She did this with other books and it was fine.

[@JinxyDragon]

Buy the same book five times??? Mmmmm more like stand in the aisle of 5 different books stores to read the one bonus chapter. And then walk out… Also casually saying Bryce and Nesta chapter not realizing how crazy it it for them to have a scene together. IM CACKLING 😂

[@herestia_photography]

And that is what I call CLEVER :DDDD bwahahahaha!!

[@tiachu]

REAL

[@The_cauldronkeeper]

I came to say this exact thing. I'm not buying the book 5 times but I am standing in stores to read a chapter

[@zetaforever4953]

​@@The_cauldronkeeper in the age of the internet? Just pirate the hell out of the other editions (apart from the one you bought). 😂

[@dcanup98]

I don't agree with pirating, but going to ever book store to spend 15 mintues reading a chapter sounds fun to me. There again, all you would have to do is wait and they will create a book with all the bonus chapter in it.

[@Mmm-xi7fx]

I think Sara J Mass should absolutely be held responsible. She’s the one who wrote all these chapters. She’s the one benefiting and pocketing the money. This has happened enough time to know that she’s on board with it. She doesn’t seem to be doing anything to stand up for her readers and fight back publishers.

[@Girl-who-reads-smut]

We don't know what was in her original contract, so I don't know how fair it is to put the blame on her. It's very possible she chose to do this for greed but its also possible that she did it becasue she wants to give her fans extra content. Bloomsbury posts all of the bonus chapters after release so the only ones who need the 5 different copies are the ones who want the content physically.

[@a_a9221]

We don5 know that. It’s just a theory.

[@nazimelmardi]

@@Girl-who-reads-smut don't try this "we don't know" card. There is no way that she had a contract where they could force her from 5 different publisher. Are you kidding? Did you ever saw any official contract for any product to make? Bc I did for several. As a fresh author 5 publisher contracted her to: "each of us will get you different endings if we wish"? LOL... And also think a bit about the translations... How that will go on? In smaller countries? Even if they put this out on her website... We don't have a website of hers in our lang...

[@Rash23215]

​@@Girl-who-reads-smut "it's also possible that she did this so that she could give her fans extra content".... Lol.... If she really cares so much for her fans then she should just release a single 50 page book of all the extra content instead of forcing her fans to purchase five 600 pages books which only have 10 pages of different content....

[@Girl-who-reads-smut]

@@nazimelmardi the different endings are from the rights that were sold to her overseas publisher and her exclusive editions, which she doesn’t have as much control over as her US publisher. She signed for exclusive content so the same ending in the different copies isn’t exclusive. Also, I can pull the we don’t know card because WE DONT KNOW what else was specifically in her contract. The translation stuff sounds like a separate issue because you wouldn’t have bought the English editions anyway as it was in ENGLISH. Please don’t twist my meanings and explanations.

[@SojournistActual]

I worked in publishing for 20 years, and while I can't say for certain where this practice started for Maas's books, most often decisions like these are made by the publisher's marketing department. That said, the author in this case has to be complicit, because she has to write the chapters, and someone of Maas's popularity would have the ability to say no. An unknown author likely would not; that is, if the publisher made this tactic a key aspect of the publishing contract, then a new/unknown author would likely have to either take it or walk away from the deal. Also, if the special edition is created by a publicity firm, then they are likely the ones who originated the idea, and the author would have a say in whether they did it. And yeah, it's an abuse of readers' loyalty to play a gambit like this.

[@saiikik2727]

Now she can buy a second house in Maui.

[@markpaterson2053]

yeah, she has no excuse; far, far better authors would be disgusted if their publishers tried this with their work, or even approached them with such a new contract. If I had extra chapters, the only reason they would exist would be so the reader could read it for free, having already paid me, not to mention having done me a massive favour for actually reading my work to begin with. This horrible person...I have nothing to say that even acknowledges her, save she's a money worshiper

[@stefanielozinski]

THIS. Treating SJM as having the same power as some random midlist author is silly. She has a ton of power here.

[@spoiledsandi]

@@saiikik2727She’s moving to New York remember. So the fans are paying for a mansion there.

[@adoniscreed4031]

This practice has 100% originated from the gaming industry and their god forsaken DLC which should have been in the game all along and then get repackaged into a "definitive edition"... someone working for that publisher had the Satanic idea of trying to replicate the same practice for the publishing industry.

[@iangubeli]

My wife loves the initial ACOTAR series. Once she finished all the current books, she heard that there was a B&N special edition with an extra chapter at the back. So, we went book shopping and she picked up the book and just read that chapter in store….dude, all it was was a gratuitous smut scene that added nothing to the story. When the majority of those books I smut anyway, that doesn’t motivate me to go out a buy a book with an extra chapter that adds nothing to the enjoyment of the series.

[@winwinner6674]

All those bonus chapters are posted on the internet

[@nazimelmardi]

@@winwinner6674tell this to the other languages. And it’s not a solution to the bad business. So nobody cares.

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

That's the series that killed my interest in SJM's works! I'm a mildly sex repulsed demisexual, and I hate skipping parts of books, but after a certain level of detail I just can't tough it out any more. "Throne of Glass," I managed there were a few scenes I couldn't stomach in the later books, but I swear "A Court of Thorns and Roses" couldn't go 5 chapters without SOMEONE having a vividly described orgasm or something from volume 2 onward. I was invested enough in the whole situation with the invasion of Hyper-Burn or whatever that other country was called to just grit my teeth, and skip scene after scene until that arc ended, then I washed my hands of it. There were parts of the story I enjoyed for sure, but what I remember most about reading it was skipping scenes, feeling bad about skipping scenes that someone (theoretically) spent a lot of time working on, and just generally feeling uncomfortable...(the fact that I can't even remember the actual name of the other country testifies to this...)

[@gizzmowalliss]

I read a series it’s not a popular one but I liked it and the author wrote 400+ pages of bonus chapters and instead of making people buy them separately she actually made them into one book with all the bonus chapters in it I was so glad Because it was much cheaper than buy them separately.

[@jaogrilo-q5s]

who's the author?

[@gizzmowalliss]

@@jaogrilo-q5s lily mayne she writes gay monster/human romance and adventure which was not something I thought I would like but I got really invested in the characters.

[@jaogrilo-q5s]

@@gizzmowalliss thank you! i'll look her up

[@s.paladi8577]

@@gizzmowalliss Thanks for your comment. I checked out the author. I'm certain that's totally my cup of tea.

[@gizzmowalliss]

@@s.paladi8577 I hope you enjoy them.

[@yolandavandermerwe5907]

I agree it's unfair because other countries doesn't always get the opportunity to buy special addition or it is so expensive it's unreasonable

[@ShandieHammelmos]

Yup i can't get any of them here in EU.

[@umimop]

Not only that. You generally don't need or want to keep 100500 physical copies of the same book just for several pages. There should be something more to it's value to be actually desirable. I love to research vintage children's books, and it's a great example of how different artistic choices, fonts, page size, layouts can impact the story and readers' perspective on it. So having different editions sometimes enriches experience. Here it's not even that, just holding the story hostage and nothing more.

[@sweetviolents29]

People share them online and that’s the whole point of them, which the video poster completely missed. They want people talking about the extra chapters and swapping them. This helps superfams connect with each other and filters out people who don’t care as much

[@umimop]

@@sweetviolents29 Oh, interesting idea! But from several videos of different booktubers I can only assume, that the publishers didn't make that possibility a huge focus of the PR.

[@ghostofparadox8469]

I hope we get at least one :") I live in France and in our hardcover version of Cc2 we have 3 bonus chapters but I don't know if in your you have all of them or only 1 per edition

[@FridmanB]

The worst part is that they are preying specifically on their most loyal fans

[@seamusb9012]

I don't believe in illegally reading 99% of the time but this practice is similar to pay to win practices in gaming. No author/publisher deserves 5 times your money for the same book.

[@symbolguy3609]

I was also reminded of micro transaction gaming.

[@TeddyCrafter84]

As both a writer & a reader, I find this practice disgusting. Why aren't they put together in a Novella?! I do have a Waterstones edition of the Binding by Bridget Collins which has bonus content (I haven't read it yet, so can't say much about it) but I only got that because it was on sale and the book was published in 2019

[@ComicChick81]

I agree a bind up of all of these stories would be best.

[@Talking_Story]

I am all about artists getting paid, but this may be too far. I do think a regular special edition can elevate the reading experience by upping the tactile quality of how the book feels in the hands as well as adding artwork. But we as readers have come to expect that. To hold out actual prose and make a fan chase it down? As a comics fan this takes me back to the 90's alternate cover craze.

[@nathandc]

I didn't understand the alternate cover attraction (for readers) then, and don't understand it now when comic book Kickstarters insist on having a ton of alt covers.

[@Talking_Story]

We were all crazy back then @@nathandc 😆

[@kellyannaynes2800]

Wow!!!! I know many readers adore these characters and absolutely NEED those extended chapters! A marketing scam that does not take the readers into consideration! I am not happy!

[@libraryofaviking]

I would be very angry if I was a massive Sarah J. Maas fan. This is a terrible practice...

[@nishthagupta1357]

Ikr

[@nunonanotv]

It usually gets posted online from people just gotta be quick to find it

[@sumanpani]

It is messed up. You are not being negative. You are saying what we can't without the platform and reach.

[@maryhetherington5997]

I remember this as a chaotic idea from Tumblr-- the idea was about having like five different endings/but not telling anyone/ and watching chaos ensue. It wasn't meant to be about marketing lol Could be a neat idea for low cost short stories, but not for huge books like these

[@Kaemea]

This was the case with the movie, Clue. There were 3 different endings and you didn't know which ending your theater was showing. There was no guarantee that any of the theaters in your area had the different endings, either. Total cash grab, but pretty entertaining.

[@evilgenius4213]

​@@Kaemeabut they have released all the possible endings for the Clue film on DVD (maybe on VHS and digital download, too, not sure there, though).

[@Kaemea]

@@evilgenius4213 Yes which is why I'm hoping for an omnibus eventually.

[@wrustria]

Sarah j maas took the taylor swift special edition business course😂😂😂. I have never heard about exclusive chapters thats insane

[@realtaanmhadaidh3157]

Every author under the sun is doing it right now. Really don't know why Sarah J Maas was singled out. The publishers don't force anybody to buy them... that choice is solely on the customer. In the end, if the customer buys all five some of them will re-sell them for hundreds of dollars. I'd say that's more sickening than the publisher's supposed "atrocity". Even buying beautiful leather editions of favorite books is considered irresponsible to some.

[@nazimelmardi]

@@realtaanmhadaidh3157 don't try the dumb card. Yes, you are not forced to buy the extra expensive Taylor Swift ticket too... But her management knows "you" will buy it on any cost if you are her fan so they sell it on high price. They checked what is the highest cost possible and they sell it on it. Not on the cost of the venue, on the highest possible. Here : you don't have to buy it but the lot of readers of this series are teens. And like addicts. They will want to buy it. And this is wasting of money. So your argument is wrong by start. This is money grabbing and everyone knows it. Sanderson could make a statement: You can only buy the Secret Projects from Dragonsteel on the given price and that's it. But no, he made it accessible on normal stores. So you can buy it on normal price. Sanderson fans prob. would buy way more!!! Secrect Projects from him if he wouldn't share. And that's money-money-money for him. Dollar millions. But he didn't do that. So no, it's not the same. I can buy the Secret Projects bc I have enough money for it. And it holds value with artwork, material, etc... Even the paper won't go old, bc it's acid free. That's the difference. You buy valuable product. Or you can buy the normal product if you want. Here you have to buy 5 products of normal value to get the full story. These don't hold any value, not special editions, not anything. You can't re-sell for serious money too. I could resell my Dragonsteel books bc those are in perfect condition and you will never get a Tress book again in store. But these? You read it and it will show on it.

[@winwinner6674]

More like SM Entertainment's when EXO has a comeback.💀 They're taking advantage of fans's loyality and just shows how greedy are the ones who worked for the product.

[@Cosmos0000]

@@realtaanmhadaidh3157 those are both shitty practices. Also, please do let us know other authors that are doing this so we can avoid them as well.

[@notllikethat]

Lots of indie authors do this and no, I am not happy

[@EmberJune]

I had never heard about this before. This is insane. I have read all of sjm’s books through the library and audiobooks. And since I am late to finding her stories I wasn’t reading the books when they dropped so I never knew anything about additional chapters. I do not think my knowledge of her stories is vastly impacted bc of not reading the additional chapters, but I honestly wouldn’t know bc I didn’t even know they existed till now. 100% it is a horrible practice designed to grab more money out of ppl. I can easily see this causing ppl to walk into stores stand there read the chapter than walk out, assuming it’s possible ordering all the different versions to read them and then return them, or finding a way to get the additional chapters illegally. Also imagine if a specific version with a specific chapter sells out how much money ppl on eBay and Mercari are going to try to charge for the version bc it would be the only way to see that chapter legally. This is crazy.

[@ela_mvp]

I just want to add that for readers in Europe it's even worse, because mostly we can't order those editions and even if one is possible, it's incredibly expensive. I found some bonus chapters on Tumblr and I actually hated the Azriel bonus chapter lol Loved how Holly Black handled her bonus chapter in the cruel prince series. She published it in her newsletter as soon as she was allowed. This should be how it is handled and communicated by the authors!

[@dimasverse2461]

YESS!! I'm 'okay' with the azriel bonus chapter because it gave us a little something about him, since we know nothing about Azriel..but it's the feysand bonus chapter that got me boiling. It was mostly smut and what they're gonna name their kid. Why tf would I care about that? It adds nothing to the story?

[@claragulick120]

This reminds me of how Taylor Swift released multiple editions of Midnights - original edition, 3AM edition, til dawn edition, plus the Target editions of each, which had bonus songs. There's no way I'd buy five or six editions of the same album, which is why I'm glad that I can just stream the different editions on Spotify, without buying them separately, but it does seem to be a clear money grab in this case as well - especially since the bonus songs on the Target editions are kept off streaming for so long.

[@jacklemm1518]

Also the vinyl clock thing she did with that album. There’s a reason it’s a running joke in the Swiftie community that she exploits her fans for money.

[@blah914]

how is it exploitation when u can1) get it on spotify and 2) buy the individual songs and not the whole albums 👀

[@caewing85]

I thought of something-it would be different if she said-“preorder my book and I’ll give you these 5 extra chapters”. But that is the only way to get them. I would understand five extra chapters, as a preorder incentive. Not five extra, different editions.

[@AJ_12-09]

Some people said those extra chapters would be uploaded online by Bloomsbury itself

[@janetmorgan9728]

As I mom who loves to read and who is raising readers this disturbs me too! I have a very limited budget because I am not a rich person and have responsibilities before leisure reading. I buy all of my books and my kid's books used. What Edition I get doesn't matter to me when I'm surfing ebay for the best deal. I also rely on my library and I guarantee they won't be hunting down special editions for me or anyone else. It just feels like such a money grab that isolates people with limited incomes. Reading should be an escape or inspiration... not more salt in the wound. I'm not even going to go into the ecological impact!

[@elisabethprice4697]

I definitely agree with this 100%! I think if authors want bonus content either sell it online or make a separate short story book!

[@sofiavienderoxastiongson2354]

I think a story should only have at least 3 editions, the OG, the Collectors (the artistic cover yes yes), the chosen (those that have additional perks and scenes but doesn't necessarily change the story, so readers don't really have to buy it if they don't want to.). Like very chaotic if more than that... and you're right it would make sense if it would be online rather than mass publish them 😢.

[@MelissaH710]

This is literally my worst nightmare.... so grateful I never read her stuff or I'd be FURIOUS!

[@ShandieHammelmos]

I starting to regret it now

[@arlissbunny]

Thank you for calling this out. This is truly beyond the pale.

[@ionaskualexander1255]

I so pale

[@glngstr]

well, what you called "insane" is already applied in the K-Pop & J-Pop marketing. the fans should buy several versions of idol/artist's CDs to get several bonus "rare" materials such as photo card, photo book, or even tracks. Japanese release for T-Ara (korean girl group) single, had 10 versions CD with 10 different 3rd track. Meaning, if fans want to listen entire tracks, they have to buy 10 versions of the CD single. in the other words, T-Ara release 12 tracks and divide them into 10 different single CDs.

[@reihwan]

I've only bought a K-pop album 4 times once. Why? They all had completely different photobooks, it came in a special box then and it was a 10th album of theirs (so special number). By this you can kind of narrow it down what band. And despite being a fan, I acknowledged that it was going to be the same album, but 4 times with different books.

[@adoniscreed4031]

I dont have a problem with extra materials that aren't the actual media itself, but once you're omitting the entire product itself in order to sell a "definitive" edition later is fucked...

[@Levitania]

For me it's not just about the money but the anxiety of different versions existing. I am a completions and you tell me when I mark my book read I only read one of the options? And that book with different endings? Omg nightmare fuel. I hope this trend doesn't take off...

[@LordKJ-xx15]

The japanese books I am reading also have different bonus chapters to collect depending on the store you bought it from (more of store bonus rather than special edition). However, I find this acceptable because a book compiling all the bonus stories is published afterwards albeit together with an artbook.

[@ridingwilding760]

Having survived raising a few children and their friends. The teenage years seem to be the most dramatic over the top emotional roller coaster years. I can imagine the dedicated YA fan going a little crazy about NEEDING to get all of the books.

[@craftyhobbit7623]

That is something that occurred to me... And there will always be a young fan who can only buy one of them and feel left out. My mum passed away when I was 14 and had very little money, but I was able to collect Star Wars books when they came out. I was always disappointed that I couldn't afford to get the hardback editions when they came out - it wasn't a lot then, but the cost of them made me wait. Hardback fiction are twice that now and paperbacks are twice the cost as they were in the 90's - it's a lot of money just for one book.

[@aaatt268]

​@@iamme25yagoshe has to shoe-horn tacky descriptions of di*cks and cli*ts but the writing quality, world-building, character-building are all very D-grade. I can't imagine well-read people reading them and actually thinking they are good books. Her books also has a lot of problematic stuff that are not addressed, instead glorified by her. Even if someone's okay with their kids reading explicit scenes, they should be cautious because Maas glorifies spending money, taking control of or dictating other people's lives, colonialism etc. Can't be good messages for kids.

[@nicholcd53]

Thank you for speaking up. I think regardless of the author having a say they should be speaking up about it. Ridiculous

[@soniamahira2871]

I completly agree !!! It’s so unfair and useless to have to buy the same book five times !! Also, I’m French and we don’t have any of these bonus scenes so we have to buy the book in another language if we want them and not everyone speaks enough english to enjoy it..

[@KristinHBergenstein]

I agree with your view on five separate editions for the bonus chapters. It almost would be better to have a website where people can show proof of pre-ordering a special edition to gain access to them. And then maybe a year after the series end, release a bind up of these bonus chapters in ONE book. It will still make money without having to buy multiple copies of the same book.

[@dracoded]

There was a special edition chapter for the 2nd book in SJ Maas ACOTAR series that I wasn't even aware of until after I read the all the books. Bloomsbury did eventually publish this chapter for free on their website, but I wish I had known about it sooner because it was pretty vital to certain characters' development! I don't mind the idea of various bonus chapter editions as long as they are eventually made accessible for free, or are atleast not integral to the plot -- otherwise it's pretty shady

[@kimmycupreacts]

"I know that dvd's aren't popular anymore" *GASP* How dare you. *cradles my LOTR extended edition DVD's* ;) Also, I totally agree with you on the point of this video. This is when I would just go to every store, read the extra chapters, and put the book back on the shelf.

[@CHiCguitar]

Knowing how popular SJM, it could take years for stores to even be able to show up and have enough books on the shelves to read one in the aisle.

[@stephen7489]

Interesting video, didn’t realise this was an emerging “trend”. I bought a version of Jay Kristoff’s empire of the vampire with a ”cutting room floor” bonus chapter that I believe was exclusive to Waterstones but didn’t question it at the time. You focus on people having to buy extra but I think the idea of big bookshops monopolising the market by having the version with added chapters is equally concerning, even if it’s the only version the reader has to buy.

[@TheBookRefuge]

❤❤❤ THIS! Other retailers need a way to compete.

[@Barbaladielo]

To add insult to injury, most of these versions aren’t even available to purchase internationally, so if you don’t live in the US, you can’t buy them. That’s what always bothered me the most of having bonus chapters, besides the having to purchase the same book more than once.

[@thelexicon7294]

First off: completely agreed with everything you said. As a European reader, I can’t even express my frustration that I have to wait for some kind soul on Tumblr to post grainy photos of their So-And-So special edition from Such-And-Such (US only) store in order for me to experience an entire story that I paid for (and paid out of my nose for shipping to boot!) I’m used to US-based authors forgetting that the rest of the world exists, but that’s where it gets kind of absurd. Having said that, this isn’t a year-old practice, nor exclusive to Sarah or even Bloomsbury. How I wish it was. I noticed it really ramp up around 2014-2015, though I’m sure it predates even that. I could give you a whole depressing list of authors and publishers who have done it, and it would be… imagine that animated trope of a long scroll unfurling and rolling down an entire length of a throne room. It’s miserable how many authors just co-signed this.

[@RalphKruhm]

I was thinking about starting to read her books. Not gonna happen now. As a matter of fact, I'm now going to pay extra attention to this practice with any book series I'll start, and if there's anything similar, I won't just buy those books, but the publisher will get a nice mail telling them I won't buy any books published by them until they stop doing this. Writing the mail to Maas's publisher now. Edit: done. Thanks for the warning. You're my favourite Viking now.

[@liviajelliot]

I'm not a Maas reader and had no idea this was going on. So, first of all, thank you for using your platform to spread what's going on. It is honestly not nice and definitely not fair to the readers. As others said, they should put up a novella with those chapters and there is.

[@henriksorensen82]

I'm very glad you made this video, because I have very little interest in Sarah J. Maa's books in particular, have seen it on instagram, but ignored it due to little interest. This is completely stupid and should not be allowed to do, especially when it comes to YA books as it is aimed at young people who do not have the same advantages as I do who work 100% with a perfectly okay steady salary. And then I'm not very fond of bonus chapters in general, even when they come together in their own book. Take Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie who is one of my favorite authors and don't get me wrong there are many of these stories in the book which are very good, but I wish they would instead release a new edition of the earlier books where these were included. Then another good example is the second prologue to The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan which you can only find in two different books TOR's 30th anniversary edition of the book and From the Two Rivers part one of the split version from 2002 which is completely hopeless to get hold of.

[@HauntedMoose]

Oof. Seems like books are going the way of video games. But like gaming, the indie scene will end up taking over with better business practices and product qualities to match, with the means to get editors, book covers, websites, etc. becoming ever more easy for creators on a budget. I've been really getting into self-published work lately, and news like this makes me even more encouraged to support them going forward.

[@OcculticaLHP]

DLC was the 1st thing I thought of

[@akl2k7]

​@@OcculticaLHPSame here. Watch as they release a Complete/Ultimate/Book of the Year edition.

[@Zassasaurus]

This is definitely becoming a worrying trend, especially when the bonus content is in books that are difficult to get. Divine rivals was recently in Owlcrate and Fairyloot monthly boxes and each of those editions had a different bonus chapter. This is so much worse because there is no way for a non-subscriber to get these books (except second hand). They were both just existing chapters from a different character's point of view so maybe not as bad, but it is a very romance heavy book so having the male lead's POV is something that most people would be really interested in. I will say that the bonus chapters are almost always posted online by someone, so I hope everyone who wants to read them saves their money and just reads them online.

[@Nickk2293]

From my research, It’s because of the publisher and their relationships with different retailers. It’s to do with the retailers rivalry with Amazon and their ability to sell books at a very cheap price. It’s in the contracts of authors. It’s actually a similar practice with the amount of special editions each and every book is currently getting with said sprayed edges etc

[@Nickk2293]

I’m surprised at the lack of people who have acknowledged this. Even more so from those book influencers who I assumed had knowledge of books!

[@TheBookRefuge]

That is fascinating. And makes complete sense. Amazon is able to sell these books for sometimes $10 less. These bonus chapters give other retailers a prayer at some business. I know I pre-ordered from somewhere I normally wouldn't have so I could get a specific chapter. Also, they are BONUS. They aren't vital to the story. To this day, I've never read bonus chapters from her other books and I haven't missed out on anything. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ you're not less of a fan of you don't get all 5 versions. I do wish they would eventually put all the chapters in a novella. But... it's NOT as big of deal as some people make it.

[@Theofficialfanboy1492]

Thank you! I’m so tired of seeing all this backlash on SJM when she, more than likely, had no choice in the matter. It’s not that deep.

[@adoniscreed4031]

Regardless of whether the content is missable or not.... 1. The fact that the edition with the added content is more expensive indisputably indicates that the content has value, monetary value, which isnt fair on the readers who paid the original price and now feel like they missed out and arent getting the full value of their stories. 2. The fact other people say that the content is indispensable, whether it is true or not, is really shitty 3. Regarless of the actual content of these chapters it sets a horrendous precedent, soon enough books are gonna me missing entire chunks of their endings or vital pieces of context that will result in a worse product at first just to be marketed as the "definitive edition" later on...

[@Wolfster1345]

I would like to add something to your comment. Yes, there is competition with Amazon as the big titan, but these big bookshops are also inevitably and knowingly cutting independent bookstores off from sales by doing this. They know what they are doing and are doing exactly what amazon does to their own smaller competition. Which makes it a rotten practice in my book. Publishers are knowingly destroying small bookstores to get better deals with retailers. Its the way capitalism goes, but it still sucks. :/

[@cybersketcher1130]

The alternate ending thing could work for ebooks, and if it played out like the theatrical version of clue.

[@thalita.carvalho]

That's so messed up I don't even have words. And I'm wondering what they will do for international reads, are they going to make that available for everyone?

[@mulan_velaris5469]

I’m a sjm fan a huge long time fan but I agree. Her recent books with the extra chapters made me feel extremely out of the loop and a lot of them aren’t even available on print outside of the USA and me being uk based couldn’t buy them if I wanted without the mad shipping costs too. Anyway I ended up reading them on Reddit and Ik that’s not ideal but how else can I access material that isn’t otherwise available and I’ve been reading this multiverse she’s created for many years I’m just as invested as fans in other countries I deserve access to same material they do. Her special editions used to be pretty leather books etc and I’d buy them even owning the regular version. Also I wouldn’t even be as frustrated if the extra chapters were available in special editions but all the chapters were available in the one special edition book in all countries, I agree that this isn’t what it should be like.

[@salahbadis3264]

The video game industry practice heading to book industry

[@hejitsmia]

Hey! Love your video btw it's very insightful about how exploitative the publishing industry can be, BUT I think it's important to note that Bloomsbury actually publish all of the bonus chapters on their website for free😄 So the exclusive editions are more so that readers can pick to have their favourite bonus chapter on their shelf!

[@Tinahgirl83]

I’m a huge SJM fan, but the publishers should stop doing this. Several authors have had to do it to fulfill contracts. For instance, Stephanie Garber was planning to write only one bonus chapter (for her conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy) that would appear in all editions of the book. Waterstones demanded that they get their own special bonus chapter so as to drive their sales. She didn’t want to do it and apologized for it, but she’s under contract. SJM is one of the biggest authors of the modern era. Each company wants to make sure that their individual copies get bought. Most people will buy from Amazon, B&N, or an indie Bookstore. The authors don’t actually get a lot of say in this because they have a contract that they can’t break. And bookstores have way too much leverage, where they can basically say, “no we want our own version,” and the publisher will go along with it. Bloomsbury has already said that they will have the bonus chapters available on their website because they know not everyone can afford to buy 5 copies. There are many people that can and will buy five copies of it, simply because they collect her books. I have several copies of my favorite books as well. I can’t afford to buy all 5, so I’ll just read them online. But don’t hold authors responsible for what they don’t have control over. Publishers are in this for money, and they can make way more money off of several different editions. I don’t like it either, but publishers aren’t going to change. It’s also not limited to authors. It’s also now popular to release unfinished games and have the players buy each new portion of the game or each new character as they’re released. Greed is running things. Videos games are $60. Then you add on NECESSARY DLC for $15-20 at a time and by the time it’s done you’ve spent $120 on one game. But gamers will do it because they need the content to finish the game. Singers have long released music where you get different bonus songs depending on which version of the album you buy. This is nothing new. It doesn’t make it right, but people will pay for what they want, and as long as they do, companies will keep doing this.

[@nazimelmardi]

You really think that this is without SJM's agreement? You are kidding, right? She is in this 100%... Getting money 100% and she agreed for it. And "biggest author" how? In selling numbers? Or? Rowling is an annoying .... ..... ... but even her didn't do such a thing. And for sure she did play for the money all along the way. Yes, we do hold authors responsible for this bc she is contracted to give a book (into this series) to a given publisher. To get a contract for give 5 different? You have to sign this difference personally. You. As in the author. Singers with major labels I know exactly how they work. I know some personally so I know what they can do and what they can't do. The label can't just invent something from air. There is a contract they follow from both sides. And by contract it means you are agreed. Both.

[@winwinner6674]

I think you're missing something here: SJM's net worth is 40M and she signed another contract for around 4 books. She's milking her loyal fans who would eat every mediocre writing she puts out.

[@Tinahgirl83]

@@nazimelmardi My statement about publishers and contracts isn’t incorrect. Even Brandon Sanderson has to do what his contract says, which is why he printed all four of his secret projects through his own imprint. He is very open about trying to negotiate and about where his ability to change things stops. Whether or not an author agrees has very little to do with what actually happens once they turn in a book. They may or may not even be allowed to have input on cover design, font, general layout, etc. My point was that people are blaming authors when the blame should go on publishers as well as on the retailers who are making these demands as a way to compete with Amazon. Is this the best way to do it? No. But marketing trends do matter, as does the ability of a retailer to offer something other retailers don’t have. Again, all bonus material will be made available online. I will not be buying all 5, but I will support other stores as and where I can, if only to help Amazon not have such a complete monopoly. People who want to buy all 5 can, people who don’t won’t and everyone can see the content for free when the book is released. A larger author may have a little more leeway, but at the end of the day that contract means they work for that publisher, and their authority has a stopping point.

[@nazimelmardi]

@@Tinahgirl83 she contracted for couple for tens of millions of dollars just recently. She is one of the most profitable authors of this hemisphere. So she has no obligation to sign any contracts that are unfair to her or she feels that it’s unfair to her fans: that’s a fact you can’t deny. That’s the starting point of any discussion here. So she is part of this bad business only a fool thinks that she is not or she was forced. Everything else is just bull..t. You just repeat what you hear from booktubers and Brando Sando here. But let’s state a fact. I had the opportunity to discuss contracts enough to see how those work. And pretty sure now she has a lawyer too, she can afford it. Every contract has to be in balance for her work she gets a real value. And so on. The contract has only obligations what she accepts and in case of books she accepted the 5 different items if it’s by contract. The key word here: acceptance. She knew what she is doing already. She is paid for it by the contract. And not a small fee. So let’s leave her saving. She is not a new author and this is her new contract not her original one or whatever you try to sell here. This is her fault bc she shouldn’t accept it for any money. She was already millionaire and the publisher needed her. There is the point.

[@erinn-nicole]

S. A. Chakraborty wrote The River of Silver that has all her 'bonus chapters'. This I appreciate. I would buy one book that has all of them together.

[@salmaa.6363]

The second in the series was terrible (and I loooved the first one) . Because of that, I was not planning to buy the third one and knowing that they created 5 different editions 🤣 made me sure again that I am not spending a penny on this book. This scheme is ridiculous. They literally could have made all stories available to fans online or restricting them to people who have preordered the book. They know what they are doing. Many are already buying multiple copies of her series. SMH.

[@intotheheartwyld]

I’m curious if you’ll be making a video about The Broken Binding having an order event with David Wraggs newest book that every order enters the buyer into a drawing for a chance to Win a “missing chapter” but there will only be 3 winners. Only 3 people will have access to a ‘missing chapter’ that’s horrible I think it’s massively worse then multiple editions with different bonus stories. At least with these bonus stories in Maas’s works are available for everyone if they choose to purchase them. I personally don’t like this practice of bonus chapter stuff, it feels scummy and a ploy to get more money (and another reason why I don’t read her works) but I also heard stores are pushing publishers into doing this to compete with Amazon. I think it would be nice if after a certain amount of time those ‘bonus’ chapters could be accessed somewhere online so those who can’t afford to buy all the editions could at least still read the bonus material.

[@deplorablereader]

Finally someone said it!!!! I have been thinking this forever. I think I would be okay with it if after 6months of release they put the extra chapters on their website for everyone so eventually everyone could get them. SJM in particular some of those editions are probably already sold out or will be before release date so if you don’t have $130-150 USD to preorder them all right when they announce you probably won’t be able to get those bonus chapters

[@carahamelie]

I think this is wrong, and shouldn't be done, but I do think a lot of people just went to the separate stores, and read the chapters without buying the book...But I also realize that not everyone has this luxury if they don't live in an area to do that. I also think it screws certain book sellers. If everyone wants the book with a certain characters chapter... then they may not buy from their local bookstore, and buy from Walmart instead.... which sucks. I was considering buying the Target one.... because of the characters... but I decided not to and will buy from my local store instead.

[@LuagoNosLivros]

The way the "book market" has been changing into "book industry" is really killing literary art.

[@awholeiolabooks8256]

Totally agree. This is now just a money grabbing scheme. Would have been ok if she wanted to sell them separately put all the “special chapters” in one book and sell it as a bind up like assassins blade

[@sweetviolents29]

Why not both?

[@inferiorinferno8859]

This is something I do like about Cassandra Clare's bonus chapters of special editions: The official fandom wiki was allowed to repost them so anyone who missed them can read them for free online.

[@TheArtfulBrittani]

To me this sounds like a corporate publishing push on these authors. BUT I feel like big names like Sarah J Maas would be able to have some sway and say that's not what she wants for her extra writing...I haven't wanted to read anything other than Throne of Glass by her but I had no idea there were extras during the series other than the prequel novellas. I doubt Sanderson would do this. He purposely had the digital only bundle for his Secret Projects for a cheaper option and didn't make the expensive physical versions different other than the binding/covers. I think Sanderson having his own company and website makes this less likely of a practice...but idk how hard publishing companies are pushing this. It is also probably determined by how many fans buy into it...but makes it hard when it feels like no choice with a series you love.

[@Thxlbx]

Totally agree. It is one thing to have special editions of Blu-Rays with additional documentaries or making ofs, but it is a totally different thing to have special book editions with key plot points and story. 50 additional pages across 5 additional books? $125 bucks or more to get the whole story? Certainly is taking advantage of fans.

[@danielleoliver1734]

The bonus chapters can’t be plot development or it would be included in the actual story, it’s likely to just be cute couple / friend scenes. Also it’s mostly and American and to a lesser extent a UK thing. The rest of the world like me just gets the book

[@bryannahbasil9442]

for the section of the video that discussed the epilogue only being available in a special edition...it reminded me of the selection series by kiera cass (a series that published from the early to mid 2010s). the selection series was originally only supposed to be trilogy following protagonist america singer, but then the author decided to add two more books in the series following another character (i would say who, but it's a massive spoiler). luckily enough, only books 3-5 have a epilogue, but at least kiera/her publisher were courteous enough to include it in every edition of the book. though books 3-5 also have bonus epilogues that you could only read in certain ways. i know for book 3's bonus epilogue you could only read it if you bought the series book/box set at the time and came in the form of a booklet (and imo, this bonus epilogue is important because it sets the foundations for the following two books). while for books 4 and 5, iirc the bonus epilogues could only be bought in the b&n exclusive editions. additionally in the series, kiera wrote other bonus stories following different characters and i know for a fact that at least two over them were published in a novella bind up called "the selection stories" and for other bonus stories, you could buy them digitally for $2-5 (i don't remember the exact price). but the difference between kiera's bonus stories and sjm's bonus stories is that at least kiera had the bonus stories available to purchase digitally if you couldn't obtain them physically AND eventually kiera/her publisher had all the bonus stories and epilogues published together in a novella called "happily ever after: companion to the selection series" once the series concluded... while sjm/bloomsbury has done none of that. this trend/practice has been around for years and i hope it stops bc it's really just exploiting readers. + all i know in the sjm fandom for bonus content is that most people will read the bonus content for HOFAS in at least one of a few ways (gathering from what happened with prior books in regards to bonus content): 1) buy all the editions to read the bonus content 2) buy the version with the bonus content they want to read the most, and wait for someone else in the fandom with different bonus content to upload it online (either through pictures of the bonus content or typing it up verbatim) or 3) buy their preferred copy and wait for the author/publisher to release all the bonus content themselves - which could take years. (for example, you mentioned the wings and ember bonus content in your video and that was released in the target edition of ACOMAF that came out in 2016, but bloomsbury didn't release it for all readers until 2021!)

[@ChrislynReadsWithPugs]

Thank you so much for discussing this! I’m a huge SJM fan and I am MORTIFIED by these bonus chapters being separated into the SAME book across different retailers! Of course I have FOMO and I want to know all the scoop but this is ridiculous! To buy 5 copies of the same book… first of all that’s way too expensive, $32.00 plus shipping! Second, where the heck am I going to put them all because these are huge books! And lastly, my husband just might ask for a divorce! 🤣🤣🤣 This whole thing was supposed to be exciting but instead it has done nothing but stress me out! I agree with you 100%!

[@mormengil]

Exclusive chapters... Good god, what is this, video game consoles? What on earth. I saw that on Petrik's video, it is absolutely disgusting. There are other disgusting practices too though. For example, a 144 page novella in the Green Bone Saga going for 40€ for a physical copy NOT in the secondary market but normal retail? What on earth? I spent less to get the entire green bone saga, 3 huge books. Come on now.

[@AyushGupta-qs5xw]

The one reason I respect the books industry is cuz it doesn't follow the other industries example of just running after the money like video games, anime manga, etc This however, might be a start for boom industry, kinda disappointed

[@sarahorme1200]

As I live in the UK I’m confused because they are all American shops!! So I won’t be buying 5 books and paying international shipping! Not happening!! I’ll wait till they end up on the internet for free!

[@marianamauricio]

I recently read Divine Rivals and when I went on reddit (r/YAlit) I found 2 different bonus chapters from 2 different special editions............ It was the 1st time I ever saw this happening and I was honestly really put off by it. After watching this video and realizing just how bad it's getting.... I'm honestly worried about the state of the publishing industry.

[@ladyofnoxus6733]

As an Author, and working on a Gothic Vampire Romance, I have a Novella that is a prequel to the main story that serves as a historical/ Romeo & Juliet piece of tragic love. But instead of me just charging for it. I want to do a giveaway of it, with pre orders to the main story. I would hate to be an person that just writes and adds to their story to overly charge for the special edition. I would add the chapters to my website. As a way of thanking my audience for showing me support.

[@margaretdyal1380]

Garber could have put all the different endings in ONE book. I really hate this practice too!

[@KathrynShropshire]

I totally agree!! I would even be okay if she had all the bonus chapters on her website and then had all these different editions. Because then we could read them all and pick the copy that we like the most, or get a copy that doesn't have one. This has always been a thing with her books, but it used to be that there was only one bonus chapter not FIVE! It has to be her publisher that's doing this because this has always been going on (she's had the same publisher for all her books). I heard too that this might be publishers trying to stick it to amazon for them allowing people to self-publish and it's a way for bookstores to get more sales back that amazon has taken. Which is such a shame. Especially for people who just hate paying for hardbound books, imagine getting 5 copies all hardbound just to read everything when it comes out! Ridiculous.

[@TheMkoose]

I think it's telling that the books using this tactic are not very good books. Don't improve the quality, make people buy more arbitrarily!

[@laurablakeauthor]

No, the word is abuse, you had it right. What a terrible and horrific idea. Ugh.

[@ElementBreachTGB]

Was happening in video games for a long time, particularly in preorder bonuses from different marketplaces. Difference is you could generally buy those digitally later. Cue in Maas fans stapling extra pages into their books as reading dlc

[@Speed202]

You can also just go to the different stores and read them in the store without purchasing or......"look" for them online....LOL......i agree with you by the way..😅

[@Miss_Myth]

- You just mentioned it in passing, but I truly think the best way to fix this trend would be to have a page online (whether Patreon, the author's own site, or a separate platform) where fans who want to are able to buy *just* the bonus content, but ALL the bonus content. - Aside from that, while I do have issues with an epilogue or relevant storylines being behind a paywall, I don't actually have a problem with the separate bonus chapters being in different stores (other than the limitation to international fans you mentioned, but again, that could be resolved by the online option). - I'm dating myself here, but I remember when they used to do exactly the same thing with CDs - an album would release with a standard version, but there would be different bonus tracks on the Target version, the Walmart version, etc. - The equalizing factor came once it went online to stores like iTunes. You could purchase all the separate bonus songs without having to buy the full album, plus there were people posting music and lyric videos on KZbin. I've had times that I was able to buy multiple copies of an album, and times I couldn't afford a single one, but I was usually able to access the main content I really wanted. - I could see people working the system to get around this, though. For example buying, say, a Walmart edition, reading the bonus content, then returning it immediately. That makes me wonder how much permanent/lasting income they'll get through this practice. - I could also see people who are interested in just one of the bonus chapters - maybe just the one with their favorite characters - *wanting* just that content, and not being interested in the other versions. Using your LotR example, I love the Extended Edition of The Two Towers, but if I could get a version that leaves out extra Gollum footage, I would. (Nothing against Andy Serkis, don't @ me.) - TL:DR, I guess I'm saying I hope they come to offer one central place for those who want all the bonus content together to have access to it with one purchase, but if they do implement that, I don't have issue with the rest.

[@cihaidw4325]

This actually seems worse than when video games are riddled with DLC to get a full experience. Like, you have to pay extra to get the freakin ending/epilogue of the book?! Screw that.

[@naastyaaaaaaaaa]

This literally brought me to tears. I had no idea. As an international reader in love with books in English getting my hands on ANY edition was already incredibly hard. You pay more for the actual book, you pay more for shipping, there's always a chance something isn't in stock, and even if you do manage to find it it can take MONTHS to arrive only to appear at your doorstep with the worst cover/edition possible - and ya don't have any control over it. International readers are hungry and desperate, but we aren't millionaires... Buying books means constant stress already, why make it worse? As someone who cares deeply about some of these characters.. I just don't understand how anyone can be so cruel. To use people's passion, turn something that brings them joy, comfort, piece against them like that.. It's heartbreaking.

[@sweetviolents29]

I’m sure you can find someone online who’s willing to share the bonus material with you! I’m positive the purpose of this is to encourage interaction between readers, especially with how many international fans SJM has. I hope you can find some friends who love the characters just as much as you

[@Readera]

As someone who primarily uses the library this makes me so mad!

[@craftyhobbit7623]

It used to be that authors wrote short stories and put them up on their website so that fans can read them for free. Kelley Armstrong used to do this, but then you had novellas published by subterranean press (quite a few authors do this) that were limited editions, etc... And then there are the anthologies that have short stories in them by various authors, and sometimes authors publish collections of short stories that appear in the multi-author anthologies - Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs and Carrie Vaughn have all done it. When e-books first came out I remember some Star Wars e-books being published as bonus material in the paperback versions of books and that wasn't too bad as not everyone could get hold of e-books back then. I don't mind the anthologies and I prefer to buy them when they are by a single author that I like, or the chance to get print versions of the free stories that are put on author's websites and budget versions of the sub press publications which are sometimes put in the single author anthologies as they help readers get access to those stories if you don't want to read them on a computer, can't afford, or miss the sub press releases, or don't want to buy loads of multi-author anthologies just for one or two authors in them, but this bonus chapters published in other books goes too far... It shouldn't be done.

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

People need to put their foot down and boycott her now, because if not others will copy the trend.

[@mariareadsssf]

OMG! I just double checked my Illumicrate special edition of "The Book Eaters" for the epilog! Yes it is missing.! I loved the book so much last year, it was in my top 10, but now I am stressed to somehow get that epilog... This practice is horrible. At least in Sunyi Dean's case I know it was not her choice.

[@MargueriteKrux2]

Thanks for calling this out! It's so wrong in so many levels

[@theresakidd]

Special additions and bonus chapters are fine and normal in print copies of books but changing bonus chapters based on where you buy a book sounds like a shipping nightmare waiting to happen. Edit: maybe they could have a QR code in the book giving access to all the bonus chapters electronically.

[@jennf1881]

I agree. The special edition premium reading experience should not impact the story. For context, this would be like buying a mass market copy of Tale of Two Cities and being told to buy a special edition for the storming of the bastille scenes. Not only does this hurt readers, but I think it undermines the merit of the book.

[@nickvreys]

This is what frustrated me to no end years ago with the artists I loved. As a fan, you bought the album close after release and then a year or so later, there is this deluxe edition with a handful of bonus tracks. This practice then evolved into the different editions of albums - Target Exclusive bonus track, Walmart Exclusive bonus track, Japan Edition, ... And there you stand with your 1st edition album, missing out on x tracks unless you go buy it again. Hence why I stopped buying albums from the get go. As with music, those bonus chapters will see the light of day on the internet in some form or another, so I won't lose sleep over it. I assume they won't be essential to the story. When it's about endings, epilogues of whatnot that truly affect your reading experience, now that is something else entirely and should not be. Everyone should be able to get the complete story.

[@flowersfantasy9686]

I totally agree with you, I feel it’s just a moneymaking scheme. Especially in our current climate, you don’t see many other authors doing this

[@SandhyaRao]

I really thought I was the only one who felt this way. NOBODY was even mentioning it!

[@andrewhallam237]

I don't think we need to worry about Brandon Sanderson going down this route. He is a very ethical kind of person and if anything, he will be fighting tooth and nail to eradicate this practice. It's the first I've heard if it but if I ever do come across an author trying to do this with a book I want to read then I'm afraid it will be Audiobook bay for that book and any other that tries this blatant cash grab.

[@mikevoss4894]

I saw a couple of comments saying the bonus content will be posted online by the publisher, but have not been able to find where that is said on the publisher's site. Anybody have a link?

[@hannahblackwellbooks]

I ONE HUNDRED PERCENT agree

[@amyschmelzer6445]

Choose Your Own Adventure was always a fun time when I was a kid but the chapters were all in one book. This sounds like a terrible practice. I am not going to buy more than one edition of a book.

[@grand_R]

Oh no, sixteen extra pages! 🤣 IDK, even if it were an author I absolutely adore I wouldn't be too bothered about these extremely short stories. I'd just read them online

[@ShineyGlaceon]

I am strongly suspecting they'll eventually put them all out together, but can't reveal it yet because it would affect sales of the first prints of these bonus pages.

[@6ixpoint5ive]

I absolutely agree with you on this, whats the point of a bonus chapter? It didn't make the cut; so cut it! I much prefer the Sanderson model of artwork and leather bindings etc. HOWEVER, I will say, books back in the 19th century used to do something similar, releasing the book slowly in chunks or "episodes;" Charlies Dickens is more famous for this and I might be okay if they did it this way, especially some Sanderson stuff where the books are over 1000 pages long.

[@donalonso2785]

Yes, but these episodes (concerning Dickens) were part of a newspaper. So this was bonus content for the newspaper.

[@MsGloomyLamp]

I had no idea, and why isn't everyone talking about this? Some people can only get books from their libraries, and this takes any chance of reading from them. Really sad.

[@caewing85]

It’s insane. Not a SJM fan. But this makes me insanely upset.

[@ChaseBuck]

Perfectly good reason to be upset: we all yell at game developers for micro transactions and releasing sub par “DLC” that are one glorified side mission with outlandish clothing items for $30, this is the same thing. It’s sad

[@ChemicalPenguinn]

Surely if there are that many additional scenes, why not make them into a novella? Or if they're that important, keep them in the actual book!

[@marytreaty9357]

My favorite author, Megan Whalen Turner, made a anthology which has a few stories from past editions (most no longer in circulation) for her book story that started in the 90's. Moira's pen also has background on how the story started and a lot of completely new stuff. And the only difference between the mass market paperback and the special edition is that the latter is signed and very pretty. That os the way to do it without it being a cash grab