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FAQ
Here are all of your most Frequently Asked Questions about Lyra’s Books, our Imprints, the Rights system and everything else as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to all the questions we have had put to us thus far, and a few that we’ve dreamt up ourselves. We will add more questions as they are asked and answered, so check back now and then to stay up to date with the latest situation. There is always the chance that you have a query which you don’t find answered here. If that is the case then head to the Contact page and get in touch with us directly.
Imprints
About the two Lyra's Imprints
Lyra’s Classics is a separate imprint from Lyra’s Press, both of which are owned by Rich Tong and come under the umbrella of Lyra’s Books.
Lyra’s Classics focuses on fine press editions of public domain books and is bringing in new illustrators for a fresh approach to classic titles.
Lyra’s Press focuses on publishing titles which are not in the public domain, author signatures (if we can get them) and more modern and unique bindings. Dimensions of the books, designs and materials may differ from title to title for both imprints.
Due to many of the books having rights attached to them, we wanted to create two separate and distinct branches of titles. We are aware that not everybody wants to follow a contemporary book like Stardust with a classic literature book like The Picture of Dorian Gray. These are two very different titles. We don’t want customers to feel any kind of pressure to buy a book that is far outside of their normal area of collecting just to retain rights. These two branches of publishing also allow us to create two very different types of books for, possibly, two very different types of customers. You will have the freedom to choose between either imprint (or have both!). Another reason for creating two imprints is that dealing with and gaining reprint rights from publishers is a long and laborious task. Having a public domain imprint running at the same time allows us to publish titles a little more consistently.
Lyra’s Classics publishes only Numbered and Lettered editions and there is no Standard edition. There will be approximately 200-300 Numbered copies and 26 Lettered copies. The quantity of the Numbered edition may vary from title to title. There will always be 26 of the Lettered edition.
The numbers and editions of Lyra’s Press may vary from title to title. There will always be 26 copies of the Lettered edition and a minimum of 150 of the Numbered edition. There may not always be a Standard edition as this will depend on the title.
At the moment it is hard to say. Once we achieve some momentum with commissioning illustrators for future titles we would hope to release at least one a year of the Classics. Perhaps one a year, if we can, of the Press. Richard is also extremely busy working with other publishers on their projects, so works coming directly from Lyra’s Books may not always be consistent and there might be large breaks between titles.
Rights
General Questions About Rights - What they Mean, and Which Books Have Them
Owning the rights to a Numbered or Lettered book allows a collector to have a window of time to pre-order the next published book with that matching Number or Letter before the public pre-order. This allows collectors to maintain a collection of books all with the same matching limitations, provided they continue to purchase newly published books.
No, not all. The owners of the Numbered edition (copies 1-150) have rights to privately pre-order the matching number of the next Classics book. Owners of copies numbered 151+ do not have rights.
Lettered Edition – These copies all have rights attached to them.
Numbered Editions – Copies 1-150 of the Numbered editions have rights attached to them. Copies numbered 151+ do not have rights attached to them. This allows a quantity to be available to the general public while at the same time allowing long-term customers the ability to have matching sets in their collections. Since some copies will always be available via public sale, this approach allows all customers an equal chance at purchasing future publications without feeling the need to buy every single book.
Lettered Edition – These copies all have rights attached to them.
Numbered Editions – Copies 1-150 of the Numbered edition have rights attached to them. Copies numbered 151+ do not have rights attached to them.
No, rights cannot be transferred.
Rights are only available if the books were purchased directly from Lyra’s Books. A rights-holder will have rights to the next published book even if they sell the most recent Numbered/Lettered book that has rights attached to it. If a rights holder decides they no longer wish to purchase the next Numbered/Lettered book they have rights to, that Numbered or Lettered book with rights will become available for public sale and be added to the available pool of copies. This rule applies to both Lyra’s Classics and Lyra’s Press titles.
For a couple of reasons. Firstly, we want there always to be copies available for public sale so that everyone gets an opportunity to purchase the books. Locking every Numbered copy into having rights could exclude new and occasional customers. At the same time, we appreciate that a lot of people want to have rights as it allows them less stress with ordering future titles. Hopefully, this way, we cater for as many people as we can and can keep the audience as broad as possible. Secondly, not having all copies tied into rights gives us, the publisher, the flexibility to vary the limitations from title to title – some titles will warrant lower limitations, while for others it will need to be higher.
Classics
Lyra’s Classics Rights
Press
Lyra’s Press Books and Rights
All owners of the most recent Lettered and owners of copies 1-150 of the most recent Numbered edition of the Press books have rights to a private pre-order for the next book.
There are no rights for copies of the Standard edition.
By entering a lottery for any copies that have rights but which were not purchased by the owner of the previous book.
Owners of Numbered copies 1-150 have rights to the next Press book. Owners of copies 151+ do not have rights to a private pre-order, but of course can always choose to purchase the next book at the public sale where copies will be available (copies numbered 151+ will always be available for public pre-order either directly from the shop or via a lottery).
Any available copies of the Lettered edition can only be purchased via a lottery.
Click here to see our rules around the lotteries on the FAQ page
No, although Numbered and Lettered buyers will be able to purchase one copy of the Standard edition at the time of their other purchase if they wish to do so. This is something that also happened with the sale of Stardust and there is a ‘one copy per household’ limit in place for the first 24 hours of public pre-order.
There are no rights in the normal sense for this edition for a couple of reasons – firstly and most importantly, there may not always be a Standard edition. Secondly, this edition will not be numbered in the future, as it was with Stardust so it will be impossible to match numbers. Making an edition of 500 books or more, on top of the Numbered and Lettered editions, is a huge undertaking for our bindery. It is not something we will be able to cope with for every release. The inclusion of this edition will also depend on the title as well as whether we are able to acquire reprint rights from the publisher for this many copies.
Orders
Other Questions Related to Orders
Customers will only be able to purchase one copy of the Lettered and one copy of the Numbered edition. If, after the lotteries and/or public sale, there are still copies available then this limit will be removed.
If you are already a rights holder, you cannot enter the lottery for another copy of an edition you already have. That is, if you have a Numbered edition and no Lettered, you can enter the lottery for the next Lettered Lyra’s Classics book. If you have a Lettered edition and no Numbered, you can enter the lottery for the Numbered.
Lottery entries will be checked against existing rights holders, and duplicate entries will be removed.
Customers will only be able to purchase one copy of the Lettered and one copy of the Numbered edition. If, after the lotteries and/or public sale, there are still copies available then this limit will be removed.
If you are already a rights holder, you cannot enter the lottery for another copy of an edition you already have. That is, if you have a Numbered edition and no Lettered, you can enter the lottery for the next Lettered Lyra’s Press book. If you have a Lettered edition and no Numbered, you can enter the lottery for the Numbered.
Lottery entries will be checked against existing rights holders, and duplicate entries will be removed.
Lotteries
How the Lottery system works, and why
- For each and every lottery we hold on the website, whether it be for Lyra’s Press or Lyra’s Classics, there will be a strictly ‘one entry per household’ rule for each individual lottery.
- If there is a lottery for the Numbered and Lettered editions at the same time, customers may enter both with one entry per lottery.
- Anyone found to have made multiple entries in a single lottery will have all entries deleted and will be banned from that particular lottery.
- Anyone who makes repeated multiple entries across future lotteries will be banned from entering all future lotteries.
- Please only enter a lottery if you have the means to purchase the book.
- You are not eligible to enter a lottery if you are already a rights holder for that particular Numbered or Lettered edition, in that particular imprint.
All of these rules are in place in order to ensure everyone has an equal chance.
