Is My Growing Up Weightless a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US Bantam Spectra mass-market paperback original, October 1993 (ISBN 0-553-37306-4), issued as a Spectra Special Edition; first printing indicated by the number line counting down to 1 on the copyright page
• Wraps carry cover art by Pamela Lee, with the printed cover price present at the lower spine/back panel

How Bantam Spectra marked a first edition

• Copyright page printing statement: classic Bantam used a printed-line phrase such as 'Bantam edition / (date)' with a printing history; a true first lists only the first printing.
• Modern Bantam (post-merger) uses a descending number line; first printing retains '1' (e.g. '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1').

Full Bantam Spectra first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The US Bantam Spectra paperback original (1993) is the true first; there was no preceding hardcover, so a first-issue paperback with the down-to-1 number line is the earliest obtainable form. Co-winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for 1993 (presented 1994), tied with Jack Womack's Elvissey.P-015563

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Long out of print, the title was reissued by Tor/Macmillan in 2022 as part of the estate-sanctioned program to bring Ford's work back into print (which began in 2020 with The Dragon Waiting). Any Tor-imprint copy is a later edition, not the 1993 first.P-015564

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Growing Up Weightless a first edition?

A first edition of Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford (Bantam Spectra) is identified by: US Bantam Spectra mass-market paperback original, October 1993 (ISBN 0-553-37306-4), issued as a Spectra Special Edition; first printing indicated by the number line counting down to 1 on the copyright page.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The US Bantam Spectra paperback original (1993) is the true first; there was no preceding hardcover, so a first-issue paperback with the down-to-1 number line is the earliest obtainable form.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Long out of print, the title was reissued by Tor/Macmillan in 2022 as part of the estate-sanctioned program to bring Ford's work back into print (which began in 2020 with The Dragon Waiting). Any Tor-imprint copy is a later edition, not the 1993 first.

I have a first edition of Growing Up Weightless — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.