Is My Copy of The Atlas Six a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the author's self-published print-on-demand paperback, ISBN 9781679910999 / 167991099X, issued 30 January 2020 under Amazon's "Independently published" imprint at 383 pages, with illustrations by Little Chmura; the self-published Kindle ebook followed on 31 January 2020
• Because the book was print-on-demand — the author states her self-published titles are distributed by Amazon and printed on demand, with no inventory held — there is NO conventional first printing to identify: every copy was manufactured individually as ordered, the interior file could be revised silently between orders, and copies carry an Amazon/KDP manufacturing stamp on the final leaf recording the print date and facility instead of a printer's key
• Identification therefore rests on the ISBN 9781679910999, the "Independently published" imprint statement on the copyright page, the 383-page setting, and the original self-published cover
• There is no number line and no dust jacket, so no jacket points exist; any listing claiming a "first printing" number line for this book is wrong

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

Self-published US precedes. The self-published POD paperback (30 January 2020) is the earliest issue. Tor Books' ebook reissue followed on 28 September 2021, and Tor's hardcover on 1 March 2022 (ISBN 9781250854513, 376 pp) is a REVISED and re-edited text with new illustrations by Little Chmura — the author's own FAQ states "The revised version with new illustrations by Little Chmura will release March 1, 2022" — so the Tor hardcover is a first thus of a revised text, not the first edition. The first UK issue is Tor UK / Pan Macmillan, ISBN 9781529095234, 2022. Both the self-published 2020 issue and the 2022 Tor hardcover are collected, for different reasons: the former as the true first, the latter as the first hardcover and first appearance of the revised text.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue. The trap runs the opposite way from a normal reprint tell: the Tor hardcover and the Tor Trade paperback (9781250854544, 6 September 2022) are the copies most often encountered, while the plain self-published POD paperback is the one that is actually the first. And because POD copies were manufactured to order across a long window, a late-printed self-published copy is bibliographically indistinguishable from an early one except by the KDP date stamp on the last leaf.P-043257

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Atlas Six a first edition?

A first edition of The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (self-published) is identified by: The true first is the author's self-published print-on-demand paperback, ISBN 9781679910999 / 167991099X, issued 30 January 2020 under Amazon's "Independently published" imprint at 383 pages, with illustrations by Little Chmura; the self-published Kindle ebook followed on 31 January 2020.

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). Self-published US precedes.

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

No book-club issue. The trap runs the opposite way from a normal reprint tell: the Tor hardcover and the Tor Trade paperback (9781250854544, 6 September 2022) are the copies most often encountered, while the plain self-published POD paperback is the one that is actually the first. And because POD copies were manufactured to order across a long window, a late-printed self-published copy is bibliographically indistinguishable from an early one except by the KDP date stamp on the last leaf.

I have a first edition of The Atlas Six — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.