Attn. JMS - The Crusade Story
Mac Breck
made, what do you think of doing a series of Crusade novels that would
present the entire first season as you meant it to be aired, in the proper
order, with all the information there? That way, the true story would get
out there, not the "Clark-Controlled ISN version".
I'd *love* to see this happen. It wouldn't have to be 22 novels (probably a
half dozen), since one episode isn't usually enough to make a normal sized
novel. The only questions are whether Warner Bros. would let you do it, and
whether TNT (possibly through influencing Warner Bros.) would be able to
block that as well.
I'm sure the fans of Babylon 5 and Crusade would really like to see the
first Season of Crusade, unadulterated, in novel form.
Mac
Jms at B5
but it's in getting a publishing company to license books for a series that
only went 13 episodes that the idea lapses. Del Rey has shown no real interest
in it, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else has either.
jms
(jms...@aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
(all message content (c) 2000 by
synthetic worlds, ltd., permission
to reprint specifically denied to
SFX Magazine)
Mac Breck
anybody, and if so by whom? Who should do the pitching, you, the fans via a
petition, Warner Brothers?
I know I should give up on the whole idea, but I hate to see the suits at
TNT succeed in destroying everything. They appear to be about 95%
successful so far.
Mac
"Jms at B5" <jms...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000326175736...@ng-ck1.aol.com...
Andrew M Swallow
>anybody, and if so by whom?
Have the 'Secure' methods of downline loading documents and music been made to
work adequately yet? That is can the author get payment in return for a
numbered and sealed copy ?
I assume that the copyright laws and contract laws can be used to prevent a
second person displaying a 'free' copy of the document.
I assume that the working master would be encrypted, except for a teaser. On
payment the book would be sent with a means of decryption. Computer programs
are certainly sold this way.
Andrew Swallow
Michael J Wise
> I'd *love* to see this happen.
<AOL>Me2</A>!
Aloha mai Nai`a!
--
"Please have your Internet License http://kapu.net/~mjwise/
and Usenet Registration handy..."
Michael J Wise
> Have the 'Secure' methods of downline loading documents and music been
> made to work adequately yet?
Encrypt it with the purchasers credit card number as the key.
Kurtz
"Jms at B5" <jms...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000326175736...@ng-ck1.aol.com...
> Neither WB nor TNT would have any impact on the publishing of Crusade
novels;
> but it's in getting a publishing company to license books for a series
that
> only went 13 episodes that the idea lapses. Del Rey has shown no real
interest
> in it, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else has either.
>
>
> jms
>
That's a shame. I would like to have seen how it all came out,
whether on the screen or in print.
Mac Breck
publishing house interested in publishing Crusade novels (paperbacks that
you can go buy in a bookstore) that will faithfully represent JMS' vision
for the first season, in the intended order, with all 22 episodes worth in
it.
Online security does not enter into this discussion. I don't know where you
got the idea that it did.
Mac
"Andrew M Swallow" <andrewm...@cs.com> wrote in message
news:20000326203727...@ng-cu1.news.cs.com...
> >So how can we get a publishing company interested? Was the idea pitched
to
> >anybody, and if so by whom?
>
> Have the 'Secure' methods of downline loading documents and music been
made to
Jim Kress
download a copy for a fee? This seems to be a growing trend and would,
IMHO, be well received by your fans (including me)! It also gets rid of the
middle men and maximizes your profits or reduces the price to the buyer or
both (your pick). In addition, your could include artwork that would be
much better than any one could publish in a mass market paperback -
including things such as animation, 3D worlds, etc. Gee, I'm getting
excited just talking about it!
What do you think, Joe?
Jim Kress
Check out my web site http://www.kressworks.com/
--
Jms at B5 <jms...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000326175736...@ng-ck1.aol.com...
> Neither WB nor TNT would have any impact on the publishing of Crusade
novels;
> but it's in getting a publishing company to license books for a series
that
> only went 13 episodes that the idea lapses. Del Rey has shown no real
interest
> in it, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else has either.
>
>
> jms
>
RaG
show is Agents of Gaming's B5 Wars.
Everything else seems to be slowly going to The Rim.
Mac Breck
for years (Lets see, how many disconnects will that involve?!), and would
much rather go pick up a paperback in a bookstore or thru Amazon over the
web.
Mac
"Jim Kress" <jimk...@kressworks.com> wrote in message
news:8bm8ul$qg9$1...@slb7.atl.mindspring.net...
Michael J Wise
> Neither WB nor TNT would have any impact on the publishing of Crusade novels;
> but it's in getting a publishing company to license books for a series that
> only went 13 episodes that the idea lapses. Del Rey has shown no real interest
> in it, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else has either.
http://www.adobe.com/products/pdfmerchant/main.html
Now *THIS* has ALL SORTS of possibilities. Basically, if you have access
to a web-server somewhere, you can serve up digital content, like a book.
This is what they were testing with Stephen King's latest that was being
noised about on the web a few weeks back.
"I'd by THAT for a Dollar!"
How much DO authors make per book, anyway?
Sham Gardner
: Sorry, not all of us can afford cable modems. I don't feel like downloading
: for years (Lets see, how many disconnects will that involve?!), and would
: much rather go pick up a paperback in a bookstore or thru Amazon over the
: web.
I take it you either haven't worked out the size of a novel or are using a
stoneage 2400 baud modem.
Say a novel were 100000 words long, take a pessimistic (for these purposes)
average word length of 20 characters and you have a file of 2 megabytes or
so. Hardly something that would take years to download.
Andrew M Swallow
>publishing house interested in publishing Crusade novels (paperbacks that
>you can go buy in a bookstore) that will faithfully represent JMS' vision
>for the first season, in the intended order, with all 22 episodes worth in
>it.
>
>Online security does not enter into this discussion. I don't know where you
>got the idea that it did.
We are two steps a head of you.
Currently we can not get the UK publisher of the existing Babylon 5 books to
print 'Legions of Fire'. Nor can we get Britain's biggest bookselling chain to
display the Babylon 5 books on its shelves.
So the probability of getting a publishing house interested in Crusade novels
strikes me, and a few other people, as a 100 to 1 outsider. We will not stop
you, but we do not expect you to succeed.
I do want to read the stories; so my problem becomes how do I obtain them?
Initial answer - use the net.
Will the stories be published for free? Unlikely. JMS is a professional
writer - he writes for money. He may enjoy his work but it is still his job.
It would also be unethical of me to encourage some skinflint to exploit him.
Consequently a method of sending money to the author of any book I read is
needed. Hence online security becomes relevant.
Would I prefer the story on paper or on the screen? Answer - on paper. However
'You never get all you want'. So I will compromise and have it on screen.
Andrew Swallow
Mac Breck
news:8bockm$5gf$1...@news.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de...
> Mac Breck <macb...@timesnet.net> wrote:
> : Sorry, not all of us can afford cable modems. I don't feel like
downloading
> : for years (Lets see, how many disconnects will that involve?!), and
would
> : much rather go pick up a paperback in a bookstore or thru Amazon over
the
> : web.
>
> I take it you either haven't worked out the size of a novel
Correct. What's the file size of that Stephen King novel that people are
talking about?
> or are using a
> stoneage 2400 baud modem.
I use a 28.8K on the desktop and a 56K on the notebook, but the best line
speed I've ever had has been 26.4K. Usually it's 24K.
> Say a novel were 100000 words long, take a pessimistic (for these
purposes)
> average word length of 20 characters and you have a file of 2 megabytes or
> so. Hardly something that would take years to download.
Even assuming the novels have no graphics (pretty dull), I think the novels
would be bigger than 2MB (which seems too good to be true). Also, after
downloading the novel, I'd want to print it out on paper and read it that
way. That said, what's to prevent someone from printing off copies and
selling them?
Mac
Shaz
"Mac Breck" <macb...@timesnet.net> wrote in message
news:8bonlq$j...@library2.airnews.net...
> "Sham Gardner" <gara...@rz03.FH-Karlsruhe.DE> wrote in message
> news:8bockm$5gf$1...@news.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de...
> > Mac Breck <macb...@timesnet.net> wrote:
> > : Sorry, not all of us can afford cable modems. I don't feel like
> downloading
> > : for years (Lets see, how many disconnects will that involve?!), and
> would
> > : much rather go pick up a paperback in a bookstore or thru Amazon over
> the
> > : web.
> >
> > I take it you either haven't worked out the size of a novel
>
> Correct. What's the file size of that Stephen King novel that people are
> talking about?
>
> > or are using a
> > stoneage 2400 baud modem.
>
> I use a 28.8K on the desktop and a 56K on the notebook, but the best line
> speed I've ever had has been 26.4K. Usually it's 24K.
Yuck! I have a 56 k modem and my download normally kicks in at 44,000, and
I'm in a small village out in the sticks of Sussex. Where the heck are you
trying to get through from?
> > Say a novel were 100000 words long, take a pessimistic (for these
> purposes)
> > average word length of 20 characters and you have a file of 2 megabytes
or
> > so. Hardly something that would take years to download.
>
> Even assuming the novels have no graphics (pretty dull), I think the
novels
> would be bigger than 2MB (which seems too good to be true). Also, after
> downloading the novel, I'd want to print it out on paper and read it that
> way. That said, what's to prevent someone from printing off copies and
> selling them?
What's to prevent someone from photocopying an entire book and selling it? I
guess the answer is does it cost more to rip it off than it does to get it
from the original site?
As for the size, I know my Ph.D. of 87,000 words fitted with space to spare
on a 1.44 mb floppy disk.
Shaz
Mac Breck
news:8boqq8$itu$1...@lure.pipex.net...
A small town in the northwest suburbs of Pittsburgh PA.
> > > Say a novel were 100000 words long, take a pessimistic (for these
> > purposes)
> > > average word length of 20 characters and you have a file of 2
megabytes
> or
> > > so. Hardly something that would take years to download.
> >
> > Even assuming the novels have no graphics (pretty dull), I think the
> novels
> > would be bigger than 2MB (which seems too good to be true). Also, after
> > downloading the novel, I'd want to print it out on paper and read it
that
> > way. That said, what's to prevent someone from printing off copies and
> > selling them?
>
> What's to prevent someone from photocopying an entire book and selling it?
It's a lot more inconvenient to rip apart a book and then photocopy it, than
just printing extra copies from a file, or photocopying the pages after you
print them once.
Somebody could also make extra copies of the file and distribute them in
compressed form on a floppy.
> I guess the answer is does it cost more to rip it off than it does to get
it
> from the original site?
>
> As for the size, I know my Ph.D. of 87,000 words fitted with space to
spare
> on a 1.44 mb floppy disk.
In what format? TXT file? RTF file? Word 97 DOC file? PDF file?
Mac
Jeremy Billones
Jms at B5 <jms...@aol.com> wrote:
>Neither WB nor TNT would have any impact on the publishing of Crusade novels;
>but it's in getting a publishing company to license books for a series that
>only went 13 episodes that the idea lapses. Del Rey has shown no real interest
>in it, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else has either.
I've seen licensed novels based on the Lost In Space movie. I gotta believe
there's a market for Crusade *somewhere*...
--
Jeremy Billones "The fact that I hold moral
sophistication and self-conscious self-restraint in extremely high regard
means that John Wayne is never going to be at the top of my hit parade, but
that's not the same thing as saying it's a villainous persona." - Micky DuPree
Iain Reid
<snip>
> Currently we can not get the UK publisher of the existing Babylon 5 books
to
> print 'Legions of Fire'.
<snip>
So Boxtree are definatley not publishing LoF then? Have they confirmed
this?
Iain Reid
Mac Breck
"Jeremy Billones" <bill...@Radix.Net> wrote in message
news:8bo0a4$4gf$1...@saltmine.radix.net...
> In article <20000326175736...@ng-ck1.aol.com>,
> Jms at B5 <jms...@aol.com> wrote:
> >Neither WB nor TNT would have any impact on the publishing of Crusade
novels;
> >but it's in getting a publishing company to license books for a series
that
> >only went 13 episodes that the idea lapses. Del Rey has shown no real
interest
> >in it, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else has either.
>
> I've seen licensed novels based on the Lost In Space movie. I gotta
believe
> there's a market for Crusade *somewhere*...
Especially if it reflected the way the story was supposed to be told.
Mac
Pelzo63
>A small town in the northwest suburbs of Pittsburgh >PA.
used to live in a suburb on the NW side of "da burgh" myself(emsworth to be
exact), and and always got through at 44,400 or 45,333. that was on AOL of
all services too. <g> now i'm stuck in San bernardino CA, for the time being.
>photocopying an entire book and selling it?
>It's a lot more inconvenient to rip apart a book and then photocopy it,
>than
>just printing extra copies from a file, or photocopying the pages after
>you
>print them once.
well, they could program in a limit on printing, and "screen captures" which
would be turned into printable files can be killed(i can't take screen captures
of DVD movies from my computer's dvd player)
>Somebody could also make extra copies of the file >and distribute them in
>compressed form on a floppy.
there are software encryption methods to prevent this, even prevent printing at
all, you may not want to b forced to download thefile, but i'd rather have the
novels in ANY form, than worry about not having "the most convenient form", and
if sales o the online novel were oo nough, they MIGHT just say "hey, let's put
it out on paperback".
just my thoughts...
---Chris AOL/AIM-pelzo63
http://members.aol.com/pelzo63/welcome.html
the biggest complaint i have with my iMac is that i's too fast for me to be
able to take a drink between clickin and loading!
Mac Breck
news:20000327234546...@ng-fd1.aol.com...
> >> "Mac Breck" <macb...@timesnet.net> wrote in message
>
> >A small town in the northwest suburbs of Pittsburgh >PA.
>
> used to live in a suburb on the NW side of "da burgh" myself(emsworth to
be
> exact), and and always got through at 44,400 or 45,333. that was on AOL
of
> all services too. <g> now i'm stuck in San bernardino CA, for the time
being.
I'm in Ambridge.
>
> >photocopying an entire book and selling it?
> >It's a lot more inconvenient to rip apart a book and then photocopy it,
> >than
> >just printing extra copies from a file, or photocopying the pages after
> >you
> >print them once.
>
> well, they could program in a limit on printing, and "screen captures"
which
> would be turned into printable files can be killed(i can't take screen
captures
> of DVD movies from my computer's dvd player)
>
> >Somebody could also make extra copies of the file >and distribute them in
> >compressed form on a floppy.
>
> there are software encryption methods to prevent this, even prevent
printing at
> all, you may not want to b forced to download thefile, but i'd rather have
the
> novels in ANY form, than worry about not having "the most convenient
form", and
> if sales o the online novel were oo nough, they MIGHT just say "hey, let's
put
> it out on paperback".
Anything's better than nothing, which is what we have now, and what we'll
have in the future if we depend on Warner Bros doing anything.
Mac
Pelzo63
>oo nough
oops, new keyboard :-) i meant to say GOOD ENOUGH
yeah, theres other typo's, but none as bad, and none that might cause
confusion.
Michael J Wise
> Sorry, not all of us can afford cable modems. I don't feel like downloading
> for years (Lets see, how many disconnects will that involve?!), and would
> much rather go pick up a paperback in a bookstore or thru Amazon over the
> web.
Stephen King's novella, "Riding the Bullet" is 68 pages (one of them is a
huge graphic), and is only 252KB in size. Lessee... 200 page novel, that
would be about 800KB, which should download in a little over 6 minutes
with a 28.8 modem.
I'll say it again for the cheap seats.
SIX MINUTES.
Mac Breck
Mac
"Pelzo63" <pel...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000328002422...@ng-fd1.aol.com...
Andrew M Swallow
>this?
>
>Iain Reid
>
They have not told me anything, either way.
Andrew Swallow
Andrew M Swallow
Providing 1 copy is sold, a profit can be made. You just have to set a very
high price. If only a few books will be sold a hardback publisher may do it.
If someone gets really desperate, I am sure that a vanity publisher will print
it - if YOU pay them.
It may be worth using a vanity publisher, if only to see the salesman's face
when asked for a second print run. It has probably never happened to him
before. The authors normally have to give them away.
Andrew Swallow
Michael J Wise
> Also, after downloading the novel, I'd want to print it out on paper
> and read it that way.
Suit yourself. You just have to pay extra.
> That said, what's to prevent someone from printing off copies and
> selling them?
Lesse now, assuming 200 pages, $.05 a page, that works out to...
$10/copy
If the book cost $1/copy to download, you just priced yourself out of the
market. Plus, I'm SURE there are things in the format that would leave
little hints about the credit card # of the person who did it. So, upon
finding a printed copy, they could just add a "Copyright Violation" charge
to the card. You could dispute it, of course....
Robert Rhodes
> Neither WB nor TNT would have any impact on the publishing of Crusade
novels;
> but it's in getting a publishing company to license books for a series
that
> only went 13 episodes that the idea lapses. Del Rey has shown no real
interest
> in it, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else has either.
Yes, I can imagine.
Space Cases was in talks with a company about a book deal, when
Nickelodeon pulled the plug.
With 26 eps out, the book talks just kinda faded away. (Which is a real
shame, considering the impact that the show had on Nick, and continues
to have on the fans.)
RLR
-Robert Rhodes [robert(at)spacecases(dot)com]
http://www.spacecases.com/
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
David Barnett
news:20000326175736...@ng-ck1.aol.com...
: Neither WB nor TNT would have any impact on the publishing of Crusade
novels;
: but it's in getting a publishing company to license books for a series
that
: only went 13 episodes that the idea lapses. Del Rey has shown no real
interest
: in it, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else has either.
Strange, as I'm sure all your fans would show huge interest, myself
included.
--
David Barnett
"Are you a doctor? I am today!" (The Pretender)
Susan Phillips
>it - if YOU pay them.
You're not serious, are you?
Sue
"How can you be anal-retentive if you don't have an anus?"
Bartleby, "Dogma"
Susan Phillips
meg. Not a whole lot.
Craig Powers
: Stephen King's novella, "Riding the Bullet" is 68 pages (one of them is a
: huge graphic), and is only 252KB in size. Lessee... 200 page novel, that
: would be about 800KB, which should download in a little over 6 minutes
: with a 28.8 modem.
: I'll say it again for the cheap seats.
: SIX MINUTES.
Potentially, less, because text compresses very well (this is where
hardware compression kicks in). Typically, when we download large
files, they're zipped, compressed images, or compressed sound, all of
which cannot realize any further gains from hardware compression.
Unless, of course, King's novella that you're using for comparison was
in a compressed format.
Not to put a damper on the idea or anything, but didn't the security on
King's novella get cracked?
--
Craig Powers NU ChE class of '98
cpo...@lynx.dac.neu.edu http://lynx.neu.edu/home/httpd/c/cpowers
eni...@hal-pc.org http://www.hal-pc.org/~enigma
"Good..bad....I'm the guy with the gun." -- "Ash" in *Army of Darkness*
Michael J Wise
> Unless, of course, King's novella that you're using for comparison was
> in a compressed format.
PDF is a compressed format. Somewhat brittle, as well, regrettably.
> Not to put a damper on the idea or anything, but didn't the security on
> King's novella get cracked?
Yes, but it doesn't sound like it was Adobe's fault.
http://cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/04/04/bullet.hacker.idg/
" Glassbook President Len Kawall says that the updated version will be
" available next week, equipped with security features that should have
" been present for the King book release. But in the hurry to get the book
" out to market, a less robust reader was used.