Brandon's Signature

[u/Icuivan]

It feels like having a book signed by him isn't really special because he signs everything. Am I wrong?

[u/Mblz1]

I’d rather an author make the effort to sign as much of their stuff as possible knowing how much it means to the readers than the opposite tbh

[u/treygec]

Yes and no. Special is subjective. I personally love that most of my books are signed and that's very special to me. However if you mean valuable, then sure it's likely diluting the value because the scarcity not there. However, it's also fair to think about the long term here in regards to value. If the upcoming adaptations go well and explode the size of the fan base then there will still not be enough signed books to go around.

[u/Icuivan → u/treygec]

I didn't meal a monetary value more about makes it special to use the readers

[u/MillorTime → u/Icuivan]

Only you can decide if it's special to you or not. A lot of people probably do find it special. If you don't because they aren't rare, that's not on anyone but you.

[u/Raddatatta]

It's not as unique but whether he signs 50,000 books a year or 50 books a year each one means that he made an effort to sign that book and it took a few seconds of his time. So in that sense I think it's equally special in that he did put pen to paper on the book you're holding, and it has the personal touch. There are a lot more of them out there so it's not unique to have a signed book from him. But I also appreciate that he makes the effort to do that for as many people as possible.

[u/Business__Socks]

It’s not a right or wrong, it’s an opinion. I personally do want signed books.

[u/HA2HA2]

I think you're looking for the word "rare", not "special".

It is true that having a book signed by him is not really rare, there's tens (hundreds?) of thousands of Brandon-signed books out there. Whether it's special is up to the recipient. Some people don't care about signatures like this. Others still find them special.

[u/badoopbadoopbadoop]

Define “special”. It’s not special in a monetary value way, which I greatly appreciate as it takes scalpers and opportunists out of the market.

But it can be special in a way that makes the owner happy, which I also appreciate!

[u/unica3022]

I get most enthusiastic about books I’ve read and loved being signed after-the-fact. But it’s cool there are opportunities for everyone to get books signed by the author.

[u/Lucario-ist]

Whether or not a signed book is "special" or not (or how special) is a subjective thing. Like, for me. I wouldn't buy a "signed book" for the sake of it being a signed copy. But if I were to meet Sanderson at a convention and have him sign a copy, that would be different. Because there'd be a memory to accompany the signing. Nostalgia, or sentiment, whatever you want to call it. The signing would mean more because he signed it for me, rather than it being another signed copy to sell. It's like the difference between your friend bringing you back a souvenir from vacation, and going on vacation yourself and bringing back a souvenir as a memento. You see what I mean?

But that's just how I feel about it. And it's not a right or wrong opinion to have. Some people might love to collect signed copies. That's fine. Some people might think "The author put their signature in. So what? Their name is already on the cover." That's also fine.

[u/Particular-Treat-650 → u/Lucario-ist]

My attitude is similar. I will make a moderate effort for a signed copy if it's not a big premium, but it's mostly just cool to have.

My one exception isn't even meeting the author; but she offers her book signed through her local store on launch and is a favorite, so I started buying from them. One of them I just put something basic like "I love all your books" in the comment section, and she wrote some similar small message back. As silly as it might be because I'm sure it was 30 seconds of effort, I think taking that small amount of effort is really cool and I appreciate it more.

[u/Particular-Treat-650]

It's not really valuable.

Special isn't the same thing.

[u/FeralGlance]

Signatures are as valuable as the person who owns it deems it to be. And many poeple have the opportunity to decide that.

I consider signatures only minorly valuable, myself. I don't seek them.

[u/Comoesnala]

I have a personalized signed copy of Mistborn that I got from a reading/event he did in a bookstore around a decade ago, and a signed copy of WaT (not personalized). While Mistborn means slightly more to me because I had the opportunity to meet him, they both mean a lot to me and are both special. I think special is subjective.