Patrick Rothfuss: _The Name of the Wind_
philos...@yahoo.com
publishing business, I amuse myself by looking to see who's paying for
special treatment at the bookstores and try to figure out why they are
pushing whatever book it is.
Today when I was in Barnes and Noble, I ran across the book above that
is being seriously pushed by the publisher. It's apparently Rothfuss'
debut novel, first in a trilogy (although it doesn't say that on the
book!), a whopping 662 pages in hardcover. And the publisher is
paying for it to be on the end, facing out, in it's own stand, _and_
it's on the tables at the front of the store with the new releases.
All of which seems like a very significant push for a new genre
author. I flipped it open to a random middle page, and it seemed to
read well. So, has any read this and have any comments? Is the
publisher's faith justified?
As an aside, Amazon will give you an additional 5% off if you get this
book with book 9 of the Harry Dresden series, so I assume they think
it's going to appeal to the same audience.
Rebecca
Sea Wasp
So who the heck is Rothfuss? Never heard of him before, now two
separate posts referencing him.
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/seawasp/
Andrew Wheeler
I personally liked it
(http://antickmusings.blogspot.com/2006/12/book-day-149-1212-name-of-wind-by.html),
well enough to buy it as a Main Selection at the SFBC. It's an
impressive debut fantasy novel. That said, it *is* an epic fantasy --
not completely according to type standard, but still fitting in the
larger category.
DAW, its publisher, is more excited about it than I've ever seen them be
about anything in my career in publishing. They're notoriously careful
with their money (in part because it *is* their money; they're privately
held), and the big front-of-book-store push is rare for them to begin
with. Tor and/or Del Rey publish a debut with a similar push about once
every year, but this is the first time DAW has ever done that as far as
I know.
However, some people are saying this is the greatest thing since sliced
bread, which I think
(http://antickmusings.blogspot.com/2007/04/overpraising.html) is a
little much. Don't get me wrong: I really liked it. But everything gets
a backlash these days, so _Name of the Wind_ probably will get one as well.
Anyone who likes intelligent secondary-world fantasy will probably enjoy
it; the main character has a great voice and an interesting story
(though the book takes a little while to get going).
--
Andrew Wheeler: Professional Editor, Amateur Wise-Acre
--
Personal blog: http://antickmusings.blogspot.com
SFBC blog: http://thebookblogger.com/sfbc
Spare time: rare
David T. Bilek
<seawasp...@sgeObviousinc.com> wrote:
>
>
> So who the heck is Rothfuss? Never heard of him before, now two
>separate posts referencing him.
He's just some writer. Why not try relaxing and reading his novel
while enjoying the crisp, refreshing taste of Pepsi Blue (tm)?
That said, I am hesitant about buying any doorstop fantasy with a
subtitle like "The Kingkiller Chronicles" even if Andrew Wheeler liked
it. That's a crappy, crappy name.
-David
Gene Ward Smith
> That said, I am hesitant about buying any doorstop fantasy with a
> subtitle like "The Kingkiller Chronicles" even if Andrew Wheeler liked
> it. That's a crappy, crappy name.
Can you think of someone who used "Chronicles" in the title
where it wasn't a crappy name?
Hmmm...Chronicles of the New Sun. Chronicles of Middle Earth.
Chronicles of Robots and Empires. Lots of possibilities being
missed, it seems.
David DeLaney
>Today when I was in Barnes and Noble, I ran across the book above that
>is being seriously pushed by the publisher. It's apparently Rothfuss'
>debut novel, first in a trilogy (although it doesn't say that on the
>book!), a whopping 662 pages in hardcover. And the publisher is
>paying for it to be on the end, facing out, in it's own stand, _and_
>it's on the tables at the front of the store with the new releases.
>All of which seems like a very significant push for a new genre
>author. I flipped it open to a random middle page, and it seemed to
>read well. So, has any read this and have any comments? Is the
>publisher's faith justified?
I got given a chapbook, if that's the right word, with the first chapter
or two of the book included, with my purchase a couple weeks ago at
Waldenbooks. It seems to read along nicely, and I'm interested in getting
the book ... but not enough to plunk down the extra $15 or so to get it in
hardback. It's on my list of 'to get once released in paperback'.
Dave
--
\/David DeLaney posting from d...@vic.com "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.
Sea Wasp
Jim Baen expressly told me and Eric that he was extremely leery of,
to the point of refusing to, publish anything with "...files" or
"...chronicles" in the title. One reason why I had to come up with a
different name for the book that became "Digital Knight".
philos...@yahoo.com
Yeah... that's what made me decide to ask the group about it. It's
really interesting to see what the publishers decide to promote. Lots
of Lackey, some Forgotten Realms, something called Dante's Girl, and
some old stuff. I can see the first two, but why spend the money to
put something from the old masters on the end? Surely people either
know about those books, or they don't care? Unfortunately, I can't
remember who it was.
Oh, and the copies of Wind that I saw had the guy with the spiky red
hair on them, if you want to update your blog.
Rebecca
Gene Ward Smith
> Jim Baen expressly told me and Eric that he was extremely leery of,
> to the point of refusing to, publish anything with "...files" or
> "...chronicles" in the title. One reason why I had to come up with a
> different name for the book that became "Digital Knight".
Were those files or chronicles?
"Files" doesn't quite match up with "chronicles" in terms of
pretentiousness, though The Files of Thomas Covenant, the
Unbeliever would still be awfully hard to take. But Anne Rice's
The Vampire Chronicles is distinctly more pretentious sounding
that P. N. Elrod's The Vampire Files. As for The Dresden
Chronicles, for the TV show the audience would be half asleep
before the show even started.
Daniel Silevitch
The Chronicles of Narnia, for one.
-dms
Mike Schilling
"Daniel Silevitch" <dms...@uchicago.edu> wrote in message
news:slrnf1j8qs...@bardeen.local...
Also the Chronicles of Prydain.
Tim Skirvin
> So, has any read this and have any comments? Is the publisher's faith
> justified?
I liked it. It was an interesting take, and blended several
different styles of fantasy pretty cleanly and effectively. The style of
the majority of the magic - "sympathy" - was very interesting, being an
interesting blend of physics, chemistry, and self-consistent "magical"
principles.
It was worth reading.
- Tim Skirvin (tski...@killfile.org)
--
http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/ Skirv's Homepage <FISH>< <*>
http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/history/ Skirv's History
Lawrence Watt-Evans
<genewa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Apr 8, 5:56 pm, David T. Bilek <dtbi...@ca.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> That said, I am hesitant about buying any doorstop fantasy with a
>> subtitle like "The Kingkiller Chronicles" even if Andrew Wheeler liked
>> it. That's a crappy, crappy name.
>
>Can you think of someone who used "Chronicles" in the title
>where it wasn't a crappy name?
Is "the Obsidian Chronicles" particularly crappy? I kinda liked it.
--
My webpage is at http://www.watt-evans.com
The fourth issue of Helix is at http://www.helixsf.com
The tenth Ethshar novel has been serialized at http://www.ethshar.com/thevondishambassador1.html
Robert A. Woodward
philos...@yahoo.com wrote:
> Ever since I've learned about some of the ins and outs of the
> publishing business, I amuse myself by looking to see who's paying for
> special treatment at the bookstores and try to figure out why they are
> pushing whatever book it is.
>
> Today when I was in Barnes and Noble, I ran across the book above that
> is being seriously pushed by the publisher. It's apparently Rothfuss'
> debut novel, first in a trilogy (although it doesn't say that on the
> book!), a whopping 662 pages in hardcover. And the publisher is
> paying for it to be on the end, facing out, in it's own stand, _and_
> it's on the tables at the front of the store with the new releases.
> All of which seems like a very significant push for a new genre
> author. I flipped it open to a random middle page, and it seemed to
> read well. So, has any read this and have any comments? Is the
> publisher's faith justified?
DAW also paid for a 12 page excerpt bound into the current issue of
_Locus_.
--
Robert Woodward <robe...@drizzle.com>
<http://www.drizzle.com/~robertaw>
philos...@yahoo.com
Now... I've been wondering. Why does some newcomer get this kind of
pitch for a debut novel, while well-established authors are lucky to
get their books faced out on the shelves? Seems to me it would make
more sense to better promote a known quantity than an unknown one.
Rebecca
JJ Karhu
>Ever since I've learned about some of the ins and outs of the
>publishing business, I amuse myself by looking to see who's paying for
>special treatment at the bookstores and try to figure out why they are
>pushing whatever book it is.
>
>Today when I was in Barnes and Noble, I ran across the book above that
>is being seriously pushed by the publisher. It's apparently Rothfuss'
>debut novel, first in a trilogy (although it doesn't say that on the
>book!), a whopping 662 pages in hardcover. And the publisher is
>paying for it to be on the end, facing out, in it's own stand, _and_
>it's on the tables at the front of the store with the new releases.
>All of which seems like a very significant push for a new genre
>author. I flipped it open to a random middle page, and it seemed to
>read well. So, has any read this and have any comments? Is the
>publisher's faith justified?
I would say that the faith is justified. A debut book pretty much must
be advertised for it to get really good sales, and I think this one is
worth advertising.
Rothfuss has a great voice; witty, eloquent and literary. I am sort of
reminded of R. Scott Bakker, whose Prince of Nothing was the high mark
for recent years. I'll have to see where this series will reach.
Although the story outline as such treads on cliched ground, Rothfuss
seems to take a great amount of pleasure of turning certain plot
points upside down. I would heartily recommend trying it out; the
sample chapters on the Amazon page are reasonably characteristic (the
framework story begins in 3rd person, and Kvothe's narratives are in
1st person) of the book. Konrad didn't seem to be impressed, though,
so YMMV big time. :)
// JJ
Charlton Wilbur
p> Now... I've been wondering. Why does some newcomer get this
p> kind of pitch for a debut novel, while well-established authors
p> are lucky to get their books faced out on the shelves? Seems
p> to me it would make more sense to better promote a known
p> quantity than an unknown one.
At a guess, because it's much easier to promote an unknown quantity.
The advertising for established authors is of the sort "hey, readers
of author, there's a new book out!"
The advertising for new authors is of the sort "hey, readers, there's
a new author you may like!"
Especially once an author has several books out, there's a
probably-reasonable assumption that most of the people who will like
that author's books have found that author already. For instance,
it's unlikely that large numbers of people who are into fantasy
doorstops will discover George R. R. Martin for the first time when _A
Dance with Dragons_ is finally out; but there's a good chance that a
new author will find his audience based largely on the success or
failure of the initial advertising push.
So a big push for a promising new author is worth it, especially if
the author produces several books; while a big push for an established
author is probably not worth it, if only because the target audience
is smaller.
Charlton
--
Charlton Wilbur
cwi...@chromatico.net
Sea Wasp
> On Apr 8, 6:48 pm, Sea Wasp <seawaspObvi...@sgeObviousinc.com> wrote:
>
>
>> Jim Baen expressly told me and Eric that he was extremely leery of,
>>to the point of refusing to, publish anything with "...files" or
>>"...chronicles" in the title. One reason why I had to come up with a
>>different name for the book that became "Digital Knight".
>
>
> Were those files or chronicles?
Both titles used, actually -- the Morgantown Chronicles, the Jason
Wood Files. :)
James Nicoll
produce additional sales well in excess of the cost of the ads.
This isn't the usual pattern for a new author. Your basic
proto-genre midlister will get a spot on the company webpage (1)
and a place in the company "upcoming releases" group ad, plus maybe
a mention in the Locus "we saw this" listings. Oh, and a few reviewers
might get Advanced Reading Copies (I'm not up on my ARCology, but I
think that most books don't get ARCs, which are expensive). Otherwise,
it's up to luck, word of mouth and whatever effort the author wants to
put into promoting their book.
In fact, I've seen authors bitch that it's the established
best seller authors who get the ad money.
1: Usually. I know of an upcoming book that I will not mention that
hasn't shown up on the company page or Amazon US and whose author
seems to have no internet presence to speak of. Also, if the shiny
new Tor website has a listing of upcoming books, I have managed to
overlook it.
--
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
http://www.cafepress.com/jdnicoll (For all your "The problem with
defending the English language [...]" T-shirt, cup and tote-bag needs)
James Nicoll
Charlton Wilbur <cwi...@chromatico.net> wrote:
>>>>>> "p" == philospher77 <philos...@yahoo.com> writes:
>
> p> Now... I've been wondering. Why does some newcomer get this
> p> kind of pitch for a debut novel, while well-established authors
> p> are lucky to get their books faced out on the shelves? Seems
> p> to me it would make more sense to better promote a known
> p> quantity than an unknown one.
>
>At a guess, because it's much easier to promote an unknown quantity.
This is a testable hypothesis. If it is true, then we might
expect to see new authors get most of the ad money. Is that in fact
the case?
Charlton Wilbur
JN> In article <87y7l18...@mithril.chromatico.net>,
JN> Charlton Wilbur <cwi...@chromatico.net> wrote:
>>>>>>> "p" == philospher77 <philos...@yahoo.com> writes:
>>
p> Now... I've been wondering. Why does some newcomer get this
p> kind of pitch for a debut novel, while well-established authors
p> are lucky to get their books faced out on the shelves? Seems
p> to me it would make more sense to better promote a known
p> quantity than an unknown one.
>> At a guess, because it's much easier to promote an unknown
>> quantity.
JN> This is a testable hypothesis. If it is true, then we
JN> might expect to see new authors get most of the ad money. Is
JN> that in fact the case?
Oh, it's more subtle than that.
I'd expect to see a new author that the publisher thinks has broad
appeal to get a larger advertising budget than an old author that the
publisher thinks has found his niche. Expensive advertising is a sign
that the publisher thinks the book will sell enough copies to make the
advertising expense worthwhile.
But given a new author and an established author, with the publisher
projecting comparable audiences for both, I'd expect the new author to
have a larger publicity push (not necessarily advertising budget)
because the established author's prior books are a publicity push in
themselves.
Unfortunately, not being privy to publishers' budgets and projections,
I can't offer hard numbers.
Peter D. Tillman
Charlton Wilbur <cwi...@chromatico.net> wrote:
> JN> This is a testable hypothesis. If it is true, then we
> JN> might expect to see new authors get most of the ad money. Is
> JN> that in fact the case?
>
> Oh, it's more subtle than that.
>
> I'd expect to see a new author that the publisher thinks has broad
> appeal to get a larger advertising budget than an old author that the
> publisher thinks has found his niche. Expensive advertising is a sign
> that the publisher thinks the book will sell enough copies to make the
> advertising expense worthwhile.
And, of course, for some established bestseller writers, the ads are (in
part) ego-boo to keep the cash cow content. I'm thinking of the
bling-laden Danielle Steele full-page ads that currently grace the
book-review pages.... I'm not sure the current one even has the title of
the new book?
Has anyone here ever read a Danielle Steele? -- who's bold enough to
admit it in public, that is.... <GG>
Cheers -- Pete Tillman
--
"Paris, this army you're battling--they're *Greeks*. Idomeneus,
Diomedes, Sthenelos, Euryalos, Odysseus--I *know* these men. Know
them? By Pan's flute, I've *dated* half of them..."
-- Helen O'Troy, per James Morrow.
Jo Walton
>
> I personally liked it
> (http://antickmusings.blogspot.com/2006/12/book-day-149-1212-name-of-wind-by.html),
> well enough to buy it as a Main Selection at the SFBC. It's an
> impressive debut fantasy novel. That said, it *is* an epic fantasy --
> not completely according to type standard, but still fitting in the
> larger category.
I liked it too. I wasn't expecting to, but I really enjoyed reading it.
The world was well done and the magic was well done but the thing that
made it for me was the main character's voice.
The big push thing -- well, people get lucky sometimes, and this time it's
happened to a pretty good book.
--
Jo
I kissed a kif at Kefk
Jon Schild
I need to know one thing. Does it have an **EPIC JOURNEY** in it? I
have become so weary of those!
--
An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.
Will in New Haven
> >>>>> "p" == philospher77 <philosphe...@yahoo.com> writes:
>
> p> Now... I've been wondering. Why does some newcomer get this
> p> kind of pitch for a debut novel, while well-established authors
> p> are lucky to get their books faced out on the shelves? Seems
> p> to me it would make more sense to better promote a known
> p> quantity than an unknown one.
>
> At a guess, because it's much easier to promote an unknown quantity.
>
> The advertising for established authors is of the sort "hey, readers
> of author, there's a new book out!"
>
> The advertising for new authors is of the sort "hey, readers, there's
> a new author you may like!"
>
> Especially once an author has several books out, there's a
> probably-reasonable assumption that most of the people who will like
> that author's books have found that author already. For instance,
> it's unlikely that large numbers of people who are into fantasy
> doorstops will discover George R. R. Martin for the first time when _A
> Dance with Dragons_ is finally out; but there's a good chance that a
> new author will find his audience based largely on the success or
> failure of the initial advertising push.
Will there still be an English language when DwD finally comes out?
Will Earth still be inhabited?
Will in New Haven
--
" It is well that war is so terrible -- lest we should grow too fond
of it." - Robert E. Lee
>
> So a big push for a promising new author is worth it, especially if
> the author produces several books; while a big push for an established
> author is probably not worth it, if only because the target audience
> is smaller.
>
> Charlton
>
> --
> Charlton Wilbur
Tim Skirvin
> I need to know one thing. Does it have an **EPIC JOURNEY** in it? I
> have become so weary of those!
No.
- Tim Skirvin (tski...@killfile.org)
--
http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/ Skirv's Homepage <FISH>< <*>
http://tskirvin.livejournal.com/ Skirv's LiveJournal
Andrew Wheeler
>
> philos...@yahoo.com <philos...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >Today when I was in Barnes and Noble, I ran across the book above that
> >is being seriously pushed by the publisher. It's apparently Rothfuss'
> >debut novel, first in a trilogy (although it doesn't say that on the
> >book!), a whopping 662 pages in hardcover. And the publisher is
> >paying for it to be on the end, facing out, in it's own stand, _and_
> >it's on the tables at the front of the store with the new releases.
> >All of which seems like a very significant push for a new genre
> >author. I flipped it open to a random middle page, and it seemed to
> >read well. So, has any read this and have any comments? Is the
> >publisher's faith justified?
>
> I got given a chapbook, if that's the right word, with the first chapter
> or two of the book included, with my purchase a couple weeks ago at
> Waldenbooks. It seems to read along nicely, and I'm interested in getting
> the book ... but not enough to plunk down the extra $15 or so to get it in
> hardback. It's on my list of 'to get once released in paperback'.
You know, you could also save about $15 by buying it from A Certain Book Club.
nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more
Andrew Wheeler
Readers already know whether they like or not a known quantity, whether
they've read them or not -- pick some random epic fantasy writer you've
never read, and never intend to read (of the
Eddings/Feist/Brooks/Donaldson variety), and ask yourself what a
*publisher* would have to do to get you to read a new book by that person.
It's much easier to get a new writer started than to get a large new
audience for an established writer -- the old guy is "been there, done
that, he sucks" for a large swath of the potential audience.
Andrew Wheeler
Not really. The main character, Kvothe, starts off as a kid in an
itinerant group of entertainers, but his situation changes, and then he
mostly spends the rest of the book in one specific place or another.
He's not gathering buddies to kill the Dark Lord, or collecting plot
coupons at all -- he's trying to survive, most of the time.
philos...@yahoo.com
I can see where you are coming from, but don't publishers pay to have
their books put on the end of the book racks? You know, the short end
that faces the main aisle, so that you see them before you go digging
through the "authors by alphabet" section? If so, why are they using
that money to promote Forgotten Realms and Lackey books? Surely you
can't get much more of a known series/author than that.
Rebecca
David DeLaney
>David DeLaney wrote:
>> I got given a chapbook, if that's the right word, with the first chapter
>> or two of the book included, with my purchase a couple weeks ago at
>> Waldenbooks. It seems to read along nicely, and I'm interested in getting
>> the book ... but not enough to plunk down the extra $15 or so to get it in
>> hardback. It's on my list of 'to get once released in paperback'.
>
>You know, you could also save about $15 by buying it from A Certain Book Club.
>
>nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more
Mailbox not really big enough. Don't want yet another company deciding it
can ship things to me via UPS, who either leave the boxes at my door without
asking, to possibly disappear without my ever knowing they were there, or
force me to go through a 3-day runaround to pick the box up at their local
center. FedEx works for me but no company I've ever dealt with will _default_
to it, or -stay- assigned to it once you've run through their hoops to change
their default and convince them that you really mean "don't ship to me via UPS
ever ever EVER".
Paperbacks through the mail I could deal with. Hardbacks ... present
difficulties.
Kat R
> On 2007-04-09, Andrew Wheeler <acwh...@optonline.com> wrote:
>> I personally liked it
>> (http://antickmusings.blogspot.com/2006/12/book-day-149-1212-name-of-wind-by.html),
>> well enough to buy it as a Main Selection at the SFBC. It's an
>> impressive debut fantasy novel. That said, it *is* an epic fantasy --
>> not completely according to type standard, but still fitting in the
>> larger category.
>
> I liked it too. I wasn't expecting to, but I really enjoyed reading it.
> The world was well done and the magic was well done but the thing that
> made it for me was the main character's voice.
That was my feeling, too. I'm not an epic-fantasy fan and this book
really sucked me in.
>
> The big push thing -- well, people get lucky sometimes, and this time it's
> happened to a pretty good book.
>
Yeah. Too bad about the "Fabio" cover.... ;) I got the "wind" cover,
myself. (Yes, two different covers!)
--
Kat Richardson
Greywalker (2006), Poltergeist (2007)
Website: http://www.katrichardson.com/
Bloggery: http://katrich.wordpress.com/
Thomas Lindgren
"Will in New Haven" <bill....@taylorandfrancis.com> writes:
> On Apr 9, 10:08 am, Charlton Wilbur <cwil...@chromatico.net> wrote:
> > >>>>> "p" == philospher77 <philosphe...@yahoo.com> writes:
> > For instance,
> > it's unlikely that large numbers of people who are into fantasy
> > doorstops will discover George R. R. Martin for the first time when _A
> > Dance with Dragons_ is finally out; but there's a good chance that a
> > new author will find his audience based largely on the success or
> > failure of the initial advertising push.
>
> Will there still be an English language when DwD finally comes out?
> Will Earth still be inhabited?
Why, I got the impression that DWD was largely done when the previous
installment was published. There must have been a terrible mess at the
printer's. (Not that the last "outtakes volume" really gave me a lot
of confidence in the continuation. But we can hope; the odd-numbered
volumes* have been the better so far.)
Best,
Thomas
* And to imagine I once thought this was going to be a tight, masterful
trilogy.
--
Thomas Lindgren "Too jaded to question stagnation"
Kat R
>
> I need to know one thing. Does it have an **EPIC JOURNEY** in it? I
> have become so weary of those!
>
>
No. There are several journeys but they aren't the epic kind. When
epic or portentous things happen, it's usually by accident or through
some kind of awful mistake and many don't seem so very epic at the time.
And parts of the book are very funny, without going all Tom Holt on you.
philos...@yahoo.com
DeLaney) wrote:
>Andrew Wheeler <acwh...@optonline.com> wrote:
>>David DeLaney wrote:
>>> I got given a chapbook, if that's the right word, with the first chapter
>>> or two of the book included, with my purchase a couple weeks ago at
>>> Waldenbooks. It seems to read along nicely, and I'm interested in getting
>>> the book ... but not enough to plunk down the extra $15 or so to get it in
>>> hardback. It's on my list of 'to get once released in paperback'.
>>
>>You know, you could also save about $15 by buying it from A Certain Book Club.
>>
>>nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more
>
>Mailbox not really big enough. Don't want yet another company deciding it
>can ship things to me via UPS, who either leave the boxes at my door without
>asking, to possibly disappear without my ever knowing they were there, or
>force me to go through a 3-day runaround to pick the box up at their local
>center. FedEx works for me but no company I've ever dealt with will _default_
>to it, or -stay- assigned to it once you've run through their hoops to change
>their default and convince them that you really mean "don't ship to me via UPS
>ever ever EVER".
>
>Paperbacks through the mail I could deal with. Hardbacks ... present
>difficulties.
>
Get them mailed to you at work?
Rebecca
Will in New Haven
> On Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:40:04 -0400, Andrew Wheeler
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >> >In article <gcqi135hbo9l660jtrld5hn1fkob4de...@4ax.com>,
When I was on the long march through the bookstores of New Haven I
worked in a small independant bookstore, then a newsstand, then the
small independant again, then a Walden's, then I managed the small
independant and finally I worked at the Yale Coop. I don't remember
ever being told what books were to be faced out and what books would
be on the endcaps of my sections, and I usually "had" the SF section.
When I was at the chain store, we used to get prepared displays with
several dozen copies of a book and a nice cardboard stand that we
could put them on. We didn't have to and most of those cardboard racks
went out with the trash while the books went into their humble spot on
the alphabetical shelves. I think there were a couple of books that we
had to, by chain policy, display in some special way but it wasn't
common that there would be more than one such book in the store at a
time and it was almost never SF.
But that was long ago, and it was uphill both ways.
Will in New Haven
>
> Rebecca- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Will in New Haven
> "Will in New Haven" <bill.re...@taylorandfrancis.com> writes:
>
> > On Apr 9, 10:08 am, Charlton Wilbur <cwil...@chromatico.net> wrote:
> > > >>>>> "p" == philospher77 <philosphe...@yahoo.com> writes:
> > > For instance,
> > > it's unlikely that large numbers of people who are into fantasy
> > > doorstops will discover George R. R. Martin for the first time when _A
> > > Dance with Dragons_ is finally out; but there's a good chance that a
> > > new author will find his audience based largely on the success or
> > > failure of the initial advertising push.
>
> > Will there still be an English language when DwD finally comes out?
> > Will Earth still be inhabited?
>
> Why, I got the impression that DWD was largely done when the previous
> installment was published. There must have been a terrible mess at the
> printer's. (Not that the last "outtakes volume" really gave me a lot
> of confidence in the continuation. But we can hope; the odd-numbered
> volumes* have been the better so far.)
It isn't like that. He hasn't finished the damn thing and it hasn't
reached the printer. He has pointed to various engagements and other
trivia that have kept him from finishing it.
Will in New Haven
--
>
David DeLaney
>d...@gatekeeper.vic.com (David DeLaney) wrote:
>>Mailbox not really big enough. Don't want yet another company deciding it
>>can ship things to me via UPS, who either leave the boxes at my door without
>>asking, to possibly disappear without my ever knowing they were there, or
>>force me to go through a 3-day runaround to pick the box up at their local
>>center. FedEx works for me but no company I've ever dealt with will _default_
>>to it, or -stay- assigned to it once you've run through their hoops to change
>>their default and convince them that you really mean "don't ship to me via UPS
>>ever ever EVER".
>>
>>Paperbacks through the mail I could deal with. Hardbacks ... present
>>difficulties.
>
>Get them mailed to you at work?
Formerly a perfectly good possibility, and one that I used for various things.
Currently, I work from home, and have for a couple years, and also don't have
another place I spend a lot of time at as I used to that I could have things
mailed to (no local late-night gaming stores in Knoxville now). Oh well.
[Not really ready to get a post office box for the purpose either...]
Andrew Wheeler
If you don't promote the books that the large audience is looking for,
that audience will miss those books (those kind of readers aren't the
ones with lists, who haunt the Internet to find out when their favorite
author is putting a new book out). And then those books will sell much
worse than you expect.
So that kind of promotion isn't to bring in new people,m but to maintain
the audience you've already got.
Andrew Wheeler
It might be different for independents, but those spaces are all sold in
the chains. (It's a valuable object that people are willing to pay for.)
Will in New Haven
The Waldens was the only chain I worked for and it was so long ago
that things might have changed quite a bit. We did get orders from on
high about displays but not very often. I guess that was early payola
and it has become more common now.
At Book World we WOULD have accepted bribes to face-out your books (or
to murder your cousin if the bribe were large enough) but then some
author's wife* would come by and face HIS books out and yours would
get turned spine-out. Or an author** who was at Yale at the time would
come in and face her OWN books out. And then one of us would put them
spine-out again.
The publisher I work for does not pay for display space but biology
textbooks aren't usually sold because they are face out.
Will in New Haven
* Guess who
** Guess who again
--
>
> --
> Andrew Wheeler: Professional Editor, Amateur Wise-Acre
> --
> Personal blog:http://antickmusings.blogspot.com
> SFBC blog:http://thebookblogger.com/sfbc
> Spare time: rare- Hide quoted text -
Kay Shapero
> On 8 Apr 2007 18:15:30 -0700, "Gene Ward Smith"
> <genewa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >On Apr 8, 5:56 pm, David T. Bilek <dtbi...@ca.rr.com> wrote:
> >
> >> That said, I am hesitant about buying any doorstop fantasy with a
> >> subtitle like "The Kingkiller Chronicles" even if Andrew Wheeler liked
> >> it. That's a crappy, crappy name.
> >
> >Can you think of someone who used "Chronicles" in the title
> >where it wasn't a crappy name?
>
The Chronicles of Narnia?
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles?
--
Kay Shapero
http://www.kayshapero.net
Address munged - to email use kay at the domain of my website, above.
Chuk Goodin
>On Apr 8, 6:48 pm, Sea Wasp <seawaspObvi...@sgeObviousinc.com> wrote:
>
>> Jim Baen expressly told me and Eric that he was extremely leery of,
>> to the point of refusing to, publish anything with "...files" or
>> "...chronicles" in the title. One reason why I had to come up with a
>> different name for the book that became "Digital Knight".
>
>Were those files or chronicles?
Coming soon: The Chronicles of the Files Saga. Saga Files?
Needs some kind of epic reference in there, too.
--
chuk
Chuk Goodin
<Til...@toast.net_DIESPAMMERSDIE> wrote:
>And, of course, for some established bestseller writers, the ads are (in
>part) ego-boo to keep the cash cow content. I'm thinking of the
>bling-laden Danielle Steele full-page ads that currently grace the
>book-review pages.... I'm not sure the current one even has the title of
>the new book?
>
>Has anyone here ever read a Danielle Steele? -- who's bold enough to
>admit it in public, that is.... <GG>
I think I've read at least two of them (hey, grew up with 3 sisters and a
mom -- sometimes I didn't have any of my own books around and one thing
led to another.) One thing that was weird was that instead of having a
plot summary on the back of the paperback, it just had a big picture of
Danielle Steele. Did you have any questions about them? (One was SF, sort
of -- it had a clone in it.)
--
chuk
Konrad Gaertner
>
>
> Coming soon: The Chronicles of the Files Saga. Saga Files?
>
> Needs some kind of epic reference in there, too.
The EPIC Chronicles of the Saga Files!
--
Konrad Gaertner - - - - - - - - - - - - - email: kgae...@tx.rr.com
http://kgbooklog.livejournal.com/
"You are nothing if not thorough in your self-congratulatory made-up
logic." "I'm rather humble that way." -- Sanderson, _Warbreaker_
Sea Wasp
> Chuk Goodin wrote:
>
>>
>>Coming soon: The Chronicles of the Files Saga. Saga Files?
>>
>>Needs some kind of epic reference in there, too.
>
>
> The EPIC Chronicles of the Saga Files!
>
No, No:
The Epic Files: Chronicles of the Saga Cycle.
I'm sure that r.a.sf.w's "Sword of the Dragon Prince" (and sequel
"Rage of a Flapping Cat") would be part of this.
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/seawasp/
David DeLaney
>Konrad Gaertner wrote:
>> Chuk Goodin wrote:
>>>Coming soon: The Chronicles of the Files Saga. Saga Files?
>>>
>>>Needs some kind of epic reference in there, too.
>>
>> The EPIC Chronicles of the Saga Files!
>
> No, No:
> The Epic Files: Chronicles of the Saga Cycle.
Tycho and Gabe on line one for you...
> I'm sure that r.a.sf.w's "Sword of the Dragon Prince" (and sequel
>"Rage of a Flapping Cat") would be part of this.
Dave "as a man spaceshippeth" DeLaney