# Which Page gets the Autograph? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 8, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-page-gets-the-autograph/665656 "2013-08-08T01:37:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-page-gets-the-autograph/665656/1 "2013-08-08T01:37:07Z")
In a novel, it’s easy: title page. But what about an anthology? “World’s Best Uvula Stories, Series Fourteen.” And I’m at an Anatomists’ Convention (hey, San Diego, it’s the Anatomists’ Convention!) I meet Jack R. Orff, whose story, “Uvula’s Pride” is on page 97 of the anthology. His name is also on the second page of the Table of Contents. And then there’s the Title Page, but the only name there is of the Editor (Editor R. Campbell the Third.) Signing it there seems presumptuous. So, autograph on the TOC, or where the story itself starts? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-page-gets-the-autograph/665656/2 "2013-08-08T02:01:39Z")
You usually autograph the page where your story begins. The one exception is if their doing an anthology with all the author’s names in it; in that case the authors are sent sheets of paper and sign their name and pass them on. These are then put in the front and the back of the book, either on the inside covers or on a page just inside of them. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-page-gets-the-autograph/665656/3 "2013-08-08T03:26:20Z")
I own many signed books. My personal rule is that the author of a book signs on the title page. The editor of a book signs on the title page. The artist signs on the title page. The author of the foreword or preface signs at the beginning (or perhaps the end if that’s just above their name) of the foreword or preface. The authors of the individual stories (or essays or articles or whatever) sign at the beginning of their stories or whatever. However, at times any of these people may simply ignore my requests and sign anywhere they feel like, and I just go with what they want. The author sometimes signs on a page before the title page that has enough room for what he wants to write. An author of one story will simply grab the book and sign on the title page. I have a few odd signatures that don’t fit into any category mentioned so far. In one case, I had a children’s book where I knew the artist. I also knew the woman who he used as the model for one of the characters that he drew (with her permission, of course). I had both of them sign the book and the woman included something about being the model for the character in what she wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-page-gets-the-autograph/665656/4 "2013-08-08T04:45:50Z")
Thank’ee! I guess I’ll go with the page where the story starts. (If I were at a con where all of the individual authors were present, I might try for a big smash-up on the title page, but, in this case, some of 'em are no longer living.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-page-gets-the-autograph/665656/5 "2013-08-08T14:26:12Z")
Normally, the signature in an anthology goes on the story page. Which is fine for you, because you are all you care about. But if you get rid of the book, will anyone afterward look through all the pages to see signatures? Think of the dealers and collectors! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-page-gets-the-autograph/665656/6 "2013-08-08T21:20:28Z")
Well, I _might_ have been thinking of maximizing the book’s collectible value. (In fact, when I get the signature, I plan to make the stupid obvious joke, “This will shoot up in value when you die.”) So, like, if I were a greedy collectibles investor, would the answer be different? (No, I’m just a fan, and will be meeting an author at an autograph table at a convention. So – heh – I want a “conventional” answer.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-page-gets-the-autograph/665656/7 "2013-08-08T21:23:05Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > (In fact, when I get the signature, I plan to make the stupid obvious joke, “This will shoot up in value when you die.”) I know a few authors for whom an unsigned copy is the more valuable.