The Girl Who Never Was is discussed in the entry immediately below this. But I’m knocking that off the top of the post order because, well, this is more exciting. Slightly later than hoped for, but still miles better than last time, I am proud to announce the third book volume of TARDIS Eruditorum is now in print and ready for your purchasing pleasure.
Links follow:
US Print Edition ($14.99)
US Kindle Edition ($4.99)
UK Print Edition (£11.99 VAT excluded)
UK Kindle Edition (£3.49 VAT excluded)
Smashwords Edition ($4.99, for eReaders other than Kindle)
As ever the pricing is based on the model “Five bucks seems about right for the ebook, and I’ll make the print edition so that it gets me the same royalty.”
Over the next few weeks the book will appear on other major ebook sites like Barnes & Noble and iBooks, but for right now if you have a non-Kindle reader you’ll need to get it from Smashwords and upload it manually. (And this is frankly the best way to do it anyway – if you buy from Barnes & Noble or Apple you’re only buying the Smashwords edition but diluting my cut by giving it to Apple or B&N)
If you have a Doctor Who or sci-fi website, blog, or whatever and would like a review copy, drop me an e-mail and I’ll see to it.
Furthermore, if you’ve not picked up previous volumes, the Patrick Troughton (US, UK, Smashwords) and William Hartnell (US, UK, Smashwords) versions remain on sale. Though to be open, the Hartnell version is going to get replaced with a shiny new second edition that doesn’t have horrible typos later this year (more news on that in the next week or two), and so you may want to hold off on that. Equally, however, you can buy the first edition and then have a cool out of print book to show off. I’m certainly not going to tell you not to give me money twice.
Here’s what this one includes:
- Revised and expanded editions of every essay on the Jon Pertwee era.
- Three book-exclusive Time Can Be Rewritten entries on the Barry Letts-penned audio The Paradise of Death, the Paul Magrs Companion Chronicle Find and Replace, in which Jo Grant, played by Katy Manning, meets Iris Wildthyme, played by Katy Manning, and Virgin’s acclaimed Who Killed Kennedy?
- Various book-exclusive short essays, including an attempt to reconcile the Pertwee era with Torchwood, an explanation of how the TARDIS works, and a guest essay by Anna Wiggins that attempts to explain the Blakean extravaganza that is my Three Doctors essay.
- A phenomenally cool cover by James Taylor (no, not that James Taylor), who discusses his process here, in a very cool post that you should totally go read.
- Excellent copyediting by Millie Hadziomerovic.
- A small but significant amount of money that goes in my pocket.
This last point is a big one. I spend what can charitably be called a lot of time on this blog and on these books. That’s fine. I enjoy it, I love the community I have here, and I’d do it either way, though possibly not at quite the brutal pace I do. But equally, this is basically my job. My family relies on the money I get from these books. It’s not a ton of money, but it’s often the difference between fixing the unsettling rattling noise in my car or seeing if it can go another month. I’m not destitute or anything. I’ve got a good lifestyle, I’m not going to lose my home or go hungry anytime soon. But the book income is enough to make a real difference.
As I’ve said before, I really like to live in a world where I can post something I have fun writing for free and get a sizable audience that will support the project. Nobody has to. If you want to just read the blog for free, by all means, do so. I’m thrilled to have you as a reader. Really. Just seeing you in the daily pageview count makes me smile. But if you enjoy the blog and can scrounge a few dollars to toss my way, I appreciate it, and I’ve got a pretty cool book you can have for your trouble.
Even if you can’t afford a copy, though, please spread the word. I don’t have a marketing budget here. I depend on my readers and the larger fan community to get word out. So please, link this post far and wide, tell your friends to buy the book, mention it on forums. If you buy a copy, please review it on Amazon. Even if you hate it. Reviews help. I’m not one of those corrupt jerks who pays for my Amazon reviews. They’re all from real readers, and I know for a fact that they help sell books.
Finally, the inevitable question. After sizing up word count and the maximum number of pages I’m allowed I’ve reluctantly come to the conclusion that Tom Baker is going to need two volumes. I hope to get the first one out by the end of the year. This, however, raises a slight issue. The time that Millie and I can turn a book around seems to be about six months. Millie is a phenomenal copyeditor and I am not looking to replace her. But she doesn’t scale, and limits me to about two books a year. I’m thus tentatively interested in adding a second copyeditor to my retinue.
The job would be paid, though at miles below market rate. It involves reading the manuscript, fixing all the stupid mistakes I make throughout it, and occasionally thwacking me upside the head and telling me I’m being really dumb and need to rewrite a portion. I you’re interested, please e-mail me.
Note that I am not just looking for someone to volunteer to glance over the manuscript and give it a quick proofread. This is a request for thorough editing. You should be comfortable reworking sentences to improve flow, flagging weak bits of argument, and obsessing mildly over the proper usage of em-dashes. Experience editing, writing things that have been professionally edited, or, at the very least, being the best English major in your graduating class is pretty necessary. Please do not offer to work for free. If your work wouldn’t be good enough to pay for, it’s not what I need in an editor.
But most importantly: thank you again for reading. It means the world to me. I don’t think I’ve ever been as proud of something as I am of this blog and its community. Thank you.
April 5, 2013 @ 12:40 am
Great news Phil – Print and Kindle editions duly purchased. Can't wait for the new Hartnell edition news as well.
Keep up the fantastic work, don't know what I'll do when my three-times weekly fix finishes!
April 5, 2013 @ 1:06 am
Duly purchased — very much looking forward to reading the new essays.
Incidentally, the standard UK practice would be to include VAT in purchase prices, so the Kindle edition would be £3.59 (there's no VAT on print books).
April 5, 2013 @ 1:27 am
Purchased.
May I put in a request for an essay on Robin of Sherwood in the Davison/Baker book please?
Reasons:
* An episode is probably quicker to sit through than another Davison Past Doctor Adventures.
* It is the other major family genre show that many people remember from the period.
* Paul Cornell said on his blog that it was central to everything he's ever done. (He was commenting at the death of Richard Carpenter, the creator, so he was bound to be nice, but still.) So it's relevant to the story you're telling.
* The episode you'd probably want to focus on is the final episode of the first season, The King's Jester. That would make a useful contrast with your essay on The King's Demons.
April 5, 2013 @ 1:56 am
I'm tempted to ask for a review copy… but, in all honesty, while I'd undoubtedly devour the book, I'd be quite likely to shirk the complex and difficult task of actually writing the review. 😉
April 5, 2013 @ 3:19 am
Excited! Needs only to be downloaded to my Kindle.
Incidentally, which version gets you the greater sum: ebook or print?
April 5, 2013 @ 3:35 am
I agree with all of the above – it was and still is an excellent show.
Kindle edition purchased – although I'm still happily absorbing the Hartnell volume at a relaxed pace, it's nice to have them stacked up ready to go.
April 5, 2013 @ 3:45 am
Purchased.
April 5, 2013 @ 3:50 am
Just bought it.
I'll have to review the second book at some point.
April 5, 2013 @ 4:55 am
Will the new Hartnell version accuse his fans of hating the vast majority of Doctor Who?
If not, I'll buy a copy. 😉
April 5, 2013 @ 5:20 am
If one were interested in the copy editing job, would it be alright to send you a copy of one's resume at the email address on your blogger profile?
April 5, 2013 @ 5:36 am
Grabbed – busy today, but will definitely read on my train journey tomorrow. Thanks!
April 5, 2013 @ 5:43 am
Purchased!
April 5, 2013 @ 6:08 am
I actually quite liked that comment, because I think he's right and I'm probably one of those fans.
I like McCoy most, but Hartnell is definitely my second favorite and like Sandifer's alleged Hartnell fans, I hate a good deal of post-Hartnell Doctor Who.
April 5, 2013 @ 6:39 am
Just bought it. Seriously enjoyed revisiting the Hartnell and Troughton entries through the book versions, and have been eagerly anticipating the Pertwee book.
Being the 50th Anniversary year, it's a great time for reflection
April 5, 2013 @ 9:02 am
As a Mcgann fan it rankled a bit and made me take a step back. I eventually realized it was in good fun…but devouring it at the time I was definitely…nonplussed.
April 5, 2013 @ 10:15 am
Know what I haven't read? Vols 1 and 2.
But what am I buying now? vol 3!
What will I get with the typos corrected? Well.. yes.
Reading this Blog has been a fascinating exercise, even if I don't comment much. And it makes me feel smarter about enjoying Doctor Who!
Many congrats on getting this volume out!
Hope you will make it to Chicago TARDIS sometime, as that's the only con I currently go to (if going for the first time last year, and planning to go this year, counts as being a regular attendee…).
April 5, 2013 @ 10:23 am
Getting this, and also going to get the Kindle version of the second edition Hartnell, to go with my paper first edition. <3
April 5, 2013 @ 10:36 am
Bought!
Also bought volumes one and two. The 'My Doctor' section of volume one made me cry.
What I hadn't really noticed reading the blog as individual entries was how much of a thread of melancholy runs through them. It becomes really pronounced in the second volume I think, that sense of reflective sadness at there being a 'something' in Doctor Who that is just out of reach.
A kind of soft, gentle sadness that makes my heart beat in sympathy.
Or maybe it's just me 🙂
April 5, 2013 @ 12:18 pm
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April 5, 2013 @ 12:20 pm
I've been reading your blog now since it began. It's always been a fascinating read, even if sometimes I've boggled at some of the stuff you've written and muttered "For fuck's sake, Sandifier…" under my breath. But, at the end of the day, what you've done with this blog is a Herculean labour of passion and I've always been damn impressed with your dedication to it.
I'll be adding this new Kindle volume to the first two I already downloaded, and will be buying the paperback when I can! I'm actually a self-employed writer by profession, currently doing an MA in London, albeit more a playwright than a prose writer – but your regular workload puts my "a few essays and short plays per semester" to shame!
I'd actually be interested in the editing position? Though I'm not necessarily an editor by trade, I have the academic background (and current profession) that would perhaps dovetail nicely? How should I contact you about this further?
April 5, 2013 @ 12:45 pm
Ooop! I've just popped an e-mail to you!
April 5, 2013 @ 12:47 pm
veni, vidi, empti…
April 5, 2013 @ 12:52 pm
I shall have to see whether I can purchase this; regardless, let me be the first, Phil, to state that your logo design advice skills are questionable, because your Eruditorum Press logo, half-disguised by the "old book" look your cover uses, looks less like a "scroll" and more like a phallus with a claw at one end. :-S
I would've gone with Mr. Taylor's second logo, myself; less room for, er, "misinterpretation", there.
Also… I worry that the cover will give me as much of a headache in person as it's doing on my screen, right now. :-/
For simplicity's sake, I'd have gone with the initial design in the second row, far right, if only because, since Pertwee was the "James Bond" of Doctors, the look harkens back rather nicely to Maurice Binder's work on the titles for Dr. No: http://watchthetitles.com/img/Dancing-Watchthetitles.jpg
Regardless, all the best on editing the Baker volume. 🙂
April 5, 2013 @ 1:58 pm
As a great scholar once nearly said: Want. Bought. Have.
April 5, 2013 @ 10:16 pm
Bought!
Like others, I'm still working my way through Hartnell. I'm always slowest with him and Troughton because I've seen so few of their stories (not for lack of desire). But I love Pertwee, and even though I think you probably don't, I'm still looking forward to reading your thoughts.
I'd throw my hat into the ring to edit a Baker volume but (a) I don't think my diploma would impress you enough and (b) if you hadn't strangled me halfway through the second entry, we'd end up locked in a mortal feud worthy of Miles and Wood. 🙂
April 6, 2013 @ 12:18 am
Bought on kindle and really looking forward to your take on 'Who Killed Kennedy'. This is probably a good place to say thanks for all the work you put into this blog. It's such a treat every time a new entry appears. I haven't commented much recently as I don't have much to add to any critique of the wilderness years which you haven't already said. Really looking forward of course to your Nu Who entries. Thanks again.
April 6, 2013 @ 7:34 am
Never mind, just reread the second paragraph, so now I won't feel guilty about choosing one format over another.
April 6, 2013 @ 9:03 am
I got to test out my new Kindle by buying Volumes 2 and 3! I'll wait for your revised Hartnell edition. Good luck with Baker…I assume you're splitting up by Hinchliffe/Williams + JNT?
April 6, 2013 @ 11:14 am
Just bought my copy. Looking forward to reading it.
April 6, 2013 @ 12:53 pm
Talking about copy editing – a couple of times on the web version you've used "imminent" when you've meant "immanent". Wish I'd pointed that out at the time but it just popped into my head now.
April 6, 2013 @ 2:12 pm
I did a review of the Troughton book before realising review copies were a thing. I've got it all backwards.
April 6, 2013 @ 6:45 pm
Bought it last night, about a fourth of the way through an loving it. Can't wait until I get to "Who Killed Kennedy," I love that book, and I'm pretty sure I discovered it through you.
I'd toss my hat in on the copy editing thing, I used to do it for a living and I'd gladly give you a cut rate, but the combination of full time day job and my "pale shadow of Philip Sandifer" act over at My Little Po-Mo has eaten my life completely.
Are you aware of/planning to come to Connecticon? There was a pretty ginormous Doctor Who contingent there when I last went two years ago.
April 6, 2013 @ 7:37 pm
…and didn't the superior viewing figures of Robin of Sherwood have an influence on Doctor Who's cancellation crisis in the mid-80s?
April 6, 2013 @ 10:59 pm
brought it last night, still yet to start on the Hartnell volume. Any way I can support your fine work here Dr Sandifer.
April 9, 2013 @ 9:41 am
veni, vidi, empti, et liberatus est hodie !
April 10, 2013 @ 2:43 pm
Having a copy of the book in my hand, I can confirm that the logo does not look like that in person.
April 10, 2013 @ 2:59 pm
It is safe to assume that sentence will get rephrased to a blander "most people who list Hartnell or McGann as their favorite Doctors are the sorts of people who like taking unpopular, contrarian views about how Never Let Me Down is the best David Bowie album and The Godfather series never really worked until Part III."
April 10, 2013 @ 3:00 pm
A headache is a perfectly valid aesthetic response to glam rock, Matthew.
April 10, 2013 @ 11:42 pm
Hang on, there's something about this argument I've never quite got. The quote in my copy at least is "be particularly wary of anyone who cites Hartnell AND McGann as their favorite Doctors – you are basically guaranteed someone who actually hates the vast majority of Doctor Who" (emphasis mine). It's nothing to do with Hartnell fans, it's about people whose two favourite eras are totally unrepresentative of Doctor Who in two completely different ways. "Hate" may be a bit strong, but it's definitely a very odd position to take.
April 11, 2013 @ 8:11 pm
Also to Colin Bakers coat. You won't believe what I have in mind for that one – sadly there's probably not enough garish ink in the world. 😉
April 11, 2013 @ 8:13 pm
You know there's Peter Davison in that book too, right? Or are we just going to literalize the joke of him being the bland Doctor and have him crowded off his own book cover by the qlippothic kaleidoscope that is Colin Baker? I mean, I've got no objections if this is the plan.
April 20, 2013 @ 8:35 am
I'd like a cover that consists of Six having just pushed Five off of it – you can see a leg and a flailing hand, maybe.
October 24, 2014 @ 1:27 pm
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