If you are an editor, you know that the 18^th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) is coming out this September. Being an editing geek, I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on its butter-yellow cover with its bright red lettering.

And if you are a scientific editor, you know that the 9^th edition of Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers just came out last month with a new title—The CSE Manual (CSE). I’m excited about this one, too, and I will be purchasing it soon.

What will I do with my older editions of CMoS and CSE? Right now, they are both sitting on the bookshelf next to my work desk, looking sad because they know they are going to be replaced. Does anyone like being replaced? Of course not, but in this case, it is definitely necessary.

I could keep the old editions in my office. Not a good idea, because they will soon become clutter. Clutter is very bad for any office, especially that of an editor. The books will end up on the floor if I do this, and they will have to be moved every time we vacuum.

I could try to sell the old editions on eBay or another auction service. However, there are a few problems with this idea. People will know the manuals are out of date, and so they will be reluctant to buy them. If the manuals do sell, they will not fetch much money. (My CMoS doesn’t even have a dust jacket anymore.) Plus, I will have to pay a pretty penny to ship them, because they certainly are heavy.

What I will probably do with my old CMoS and CSE manuals is take them to a huge used bookstore located in the city where I live. According to the store’s website, it takes in and pays for just about any book. Granted, it does not pay much for outdated manuals such as the ones I have—I might only get a few dollars for each. However, the manuals will not take up valuable real estate in my office anymore, and I will not lose money shipping them to a private buyer. As for the money I will receive for them, “Every little bit helps.”

What do you do with your style manuals once they become outdated?