Today, Valmry, author of The Rouge Guardian, will be joining us to bring about a discussion of collecting books.  I know we all read books, but do you collect them.  Valmry collects books: first editions, antique findings, new releases, and even unheard indies.  She is with us to show us how to find the best deal when we want to start our own book collection.  Here's what she had to say:

Collecting books is not just a hooby, it's an art. If you want to get your hands on valuable, remarkasbly old books (or in general) you have to have talent! You need to be able to barter through other collectors, exchange with pawn shops, and speak the language of bargianing when going to garage sales. It's serious work, time consuming and requires lots of money. But if you're like me and don't have that much money, you have to know where to look:

• Garage sales
• Private collectors
• Public collectors
• Pawn shops
• Flea Markets
• Fairs
• Antique shops

Usually the best place to start is in your local community and the local newspaper. Most of the time, people don't know what they're selling and when they do, if you suck up enough you'll get a discount, maybe even free! But whatever you do, do not tell other collectors you're a collector yourself. They will often raise prices or they won't sell it. But you have to be crafty too, don't just walk in and buy books every week, they will notice. You have to be sneaky, smart, and work your way through conversations so they think you're a dunce. You have to remind yourself, readers, that these books, not only collectors but also well informed antique shop owners, know that they're worth a lot of money. Sometimes from $20-$100 but most older books can range from $100-$100000. It depends on the book itself. For example:

• The author
• The book title
• The book binding
• The book cover material
• The year it was published
• If there are any marks (symbols?)
• If there is an author signature (or a signature, in general)
• The fame of the book itself
• If there are any engravings (debossing or em-bossing)
• The paper material (different kinds of paper)
• If the book is marked up in any way (duct tape, cut marks, ripped binding, ripped paper, if it had been damp, brunt, buried (yes buried in a grave) and many other things like tempature exposure, bugs, sunlight exposure).

There are so many different things that would need explaining but since I can't go into too much detail, I'll leave you with some juicy info.  Collecting books may seem a waste of time but if you find yourself in a tight place for some cash, you could sell them.  As long as they're worth more than what you paid for.  Plus you can also get scholarship money just for collecting them!

Interested in starting your own book collection full of hidden treasures?  I am.  Did you love Valmry's advice?  Go buy her book HERE.  To find out more, go HERE. 

Thank you for the wonderful post, Valmry.  And hope you have a lovely weekend, you all.