Is My The Martian a First Edition?

The points of issue

• CENSUS CLAIM REFUTED — the true first is the Crown hardcover, New York, 11 February 2014 (ISBN 978-0-8041-3902-1), not a 2011 self-published paperback
• The first printing has "First Edition" stated on the copyright page above a full number line descending to and including 1
• Binding is solid black boards with white lettering to the spine; approximately 369 pp
• The jacket front bears only the title, author name and the descriptor "a novel", with seven reviews on the rear panel; first-issue jacket is priced at the flap
• Decisively, the Crown copyright page itself states: "Originally self-published, in different form, as an ebook in 2011" — the publisher's own testimony that the 2011 self-published form was an ebook

How Crown Publishers marked a first edition

• Pre-1970s: NO first-edition statement; first printings identified by the ABSENCE of any later-printing notation on the copyright page. Later printings were noted.
• 1970s onward: began using both a number row AND the words 'First Edition'.

Full Crown Publishers 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 UK 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's claim that the true first is "the scarce 2011 self-published paperback (CreateSpace)" is not supported by any source consulted and is contradicted by the documentary record. No CreateSpace or other self-published PRINT edition is documented by fedpo.com, Wikipedia, ISFDB-linked listings, or dealer inventories; searches for such a paperback return nothing. The 2011 origin was a free chapter-by-chapter serial on Weir's own website, followed by a the printed price Amazon Kindle ebook (September 2012). Weir sold print rights to Crown in March 2013, and Crown issued the first print publication in any form on 11 February 2014. The first UK edition followed from Del Rey (Ebury / Penguin Random House UK) in 2014 and is separately collected — one dealer reports the UK hardcover as limited to 1,000 copies, a figure not independently corroborated here. US Crown precedes.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Crown text is substantially revised from the self-published ebook: profanity reduced, spelling and grammatical errors corrected, scientific errors fixed, many minor stylistic changes, and a 263-word epilogue removed — so the 2014 first edition is not textually identical to the 2011 original, a point of interest to collectors. No book-club issue is documented. Later traps include the movie tie-in printings and the Deluxe Edition; the negative tell throughout is the absence of "First Edition" plus a number line ending in 1.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Martian a first edition?

A first edition of The Martian by Andy Weir (Crown Publishers) is identified by: CENSUS CLAIM REFUTED — the true first is the Crown hardcover, New York, 11 February 2014 (ISBN 978-0-8041-3902-1), not a 2011 self-published paperback.

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's claim that the true first is "the scarce 2011 self-published paperback (CreateSpace)" is not supported by any source consulted and is contradicted by the documentary record.

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

The Crown text is substantially revised from the self-published ebook: profanity reduced, spelling and grammatical errors corrected, scientific errors fixed, many minor stylistic changes, and a 263-word epilogue removed — so the 2014 first edition is not textually identical to the 2011 original, a point of interest to collectors. No book-club issue is documented. Later traps include the movie tie-in printings and the Deluxe Edition; the negative tell throughout is the absence of "First Edition"

I have a first edition of The Martian — 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.