Is My One for the Money a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing carries a complete number line on the copyright page in which the "1" is present; dealers record the Scribner-era line for this title as "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2", the outward-running pattern then in house use, so "full line including the 1" is the test rather than a line reading 10-to-1
• Do not look for the old Scribner "A" point: Quill & Brush records the "A" as the house first-edition marker from 1930, but by 1994 Scribner's had moved to the number line, and an "A" is not expected on this book
• Binding is quarter white cloth over blue paper boards, lettered in blue on the spine, with blue endpapers and pastedowns; octavo, collating [10], 3-290, [4] pp
• The jacket should be priced, with the price present at the front flap
• First appearance of Stephanie Plum

How Charles Scribner's Sons marked a first edition

• After 1973 the letter code was abandoned in favor of a descending number line ending in 1.

Full Charles Scribner's Sons 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 census claim is confirmed: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1994 — the US hardcover — is the true first. The UK first edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed in 1995 and was issued in wraps only, a paperback original in Britain, so no contemporaneous UK hardcover first exists; it is collected as the first British edition but is clearly subsequent to the US issue. Reported claims of a 1994 UK issue are not supported by the dealer records consulted, which date the Hamish Hamilton wraps to 1995.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No distinct book-club issue of the Scribner first is documented in the sources consulted. The trap on this title is a different one: a Scribner's advance reading copy / uncorrected proof in pictorial stiff wrappers (sometimes accompanied by a publisher's press release) precedes the trade issue and is separately collected, but it is a proof, not the first edition, and should never be catalogued as one.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of One for the Money a first edition?

A first edition of One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (Charles Scribner's Sons) is identified by: The first printing carries a complete number line on the copyright page in which the "1" is present; dealers record the Scribner-era line for this title as "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2", the outward-running pattern then in house use, so "full line including the 1" is the test rather than a line reading 10-to-1.

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 census claim is confirmed: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1994 — the US hardcover — is the true first.

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

No distinct book-club issue of the Scribner first is documented in the sources consulted. The trap on this title is a different one: a Scribner's advance reading copy / uncorrected proof in pictorial stiff wrappers (sometimes accompanied by a publisher's press release) precedes the trade issue and is separately collected, but it is a proof, not the first edition, and should never be catalogued as one.

I have a first edition of One for the Money — 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.