Author Topic: Publication News  (Read 9810 times)

EUOL

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Publication News
« on: November 06, 2003, 07:50:11 PM »
I decided that 'The Next Step' was a kind of strange and uninformative title for the thread, so I thought I'd start a new one.  Mostly, I thought it would be nice to have a place where I can post some of the more interesting correspondences I get from the various people I'm working with.  Some of you may find these things interesting or helpful--many of them are responses to questions I had.
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EUOL

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Re: Publication News
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2003, 07:53:33 PM »
It looks like the publication date is going to be later than I thought--somewhere around May of '05.  When I asked why so late, here is what Joshua (my agent) had to say:


> Brandon:  In publishing terms, May 2005 is not all that far off, only a few
> months later than the February date we'd been thinking about over the course of
> World Fantasy, and as far away as it seems right now, the time will go much
> quicker than you think.  
>
> Even for a book that's been on the schedule (let's say it's part of a
> multi-book deal, or sold on the basis of an outline) and is moving very quickly from
> delivery to store shelves, the publisher is hoping to have eight or ten months
> to put the book through copy-editing, revisions, production, etc. from the
> time it's turned in until the month it's to go on sale.  It's not good to be
> crashing deadlines like Robert Jordan, rushing from manuscript to finished books
> in ten weeks.  ELANTRIS isn't a book that Tor signed up in 2002 or 2001 and
> has had on its projected schedule for a year or two already, so I certainly
> wouldn't have expected it to be published until the first quarter or first half of
> 2005.
>
> May '05 means you can turn in a revised manuscript in February, that there's
> time for Moshe to read, for you to do any additional tweaking, for the
> finished product to be sent to blurbers over early Summer so quotes would be
> available for the catalog, solicitation jackets, galley or advanced reader copies,
> etc. which are being worked on in late summer and very early fall.  As we get
> along in 2004, I think you'll be happy there are a few more months for the buzz
> to build.  It also gives a bit more leeway for finding a British publisher that
> can coordinate a release in the same season as Tor.
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42

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Re: Publication News
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2003, 07:56:10 PM »
Actually, May 2005 is sooner than when I expected it to get out.
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2003, 01:01:24 AM »
The Leading Edge could do a review of it even before you send out the advance copies.   ;D
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2003, 05:41:35 PM »
Well, we just sold Russian rights to Elantris.  Kind of a strange story--a Russian publishing house saw in Locus (the big sf&f news magazine) that TOR had bought a stand-alone fantasy from a new author, and decided (without knowing anything about the novel) that they wanted it.  They got in touch with Joshua, and made their offer.  We decided to accept because it would take us another six months or so to get an edited copy to other Russian houses and get back counter-offers.

So, yay.  I'm in two languages!
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House of Mustard

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Re: Publication News
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2003, 05:48:35 PM »
How does Russia compare money-wise?
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2003, 06:01:44 PM »
Awesome, I want a copy of the Russian text. Signed and autographed, or whatever it is you novelists do to books.
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EUOL

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Re: Publication News
« Reply #7 on: December 11, 2003, 06:14:01 PM »
Actually, the advance is larger than I expected.  $1,500 (as opposed to 10k in America) with 10% on the royalties.  
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House of Mustard

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Re: Publication News
« Reply #8 on: December 11, 2003, 06:27:36 PM »
Is the Russian market big?
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #9 on: December 11, 2003, 06:48:55 PM »
Besides America, the only moderately big market is the UK market.  Everything else is kind of marginal.  

From what Dave said in class about royalties, he expected to make his advance over again from all the foreign markets combined.  If you figure that the UK is going to pay about half what America does, then that leaves about 50% of your advance (5k in my case) to be spread across Russia, Germany, France, and Spanish and Asian markets.  

These are rough estimates.  I'm sure I'll know more eventually.  I'm not sure about other European markets (Italy, Poland, Scandinavia.)  Germany, France, and Russia are the three I hear mentioned most often.
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #10 on: December 11, 2003, 06:56:16 PM »
I know from experience that the German SF&F market is fairly large, but little more than that.

I'm curious about this company, though. I mean, doesn't Tor put out stand-alone fantasy novels from new authors fairly often? And $15k advance when your US advance was only $10k? Sounds odd, but congrats nonetheless.
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2003, 06:59:35 PM »
Hum. So britain (59 million chaps) has 50% of the book market size that america (290 million chaps).  Guess us brits are more book friendly?

Incidentially, how long till you reckon a UK publisher? We get the shaft on movies (1.5 months later usually) and games (same) so having it on books stinks.
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #12 on: December 11, 2003, 07:00:49 PM »
I'm not sure why they jumped on buying this book so quickly.  Stand-alone Epic Fantasies (as locus described Elantris) are rather rare, and perhaps they smelt out that Tor is launching a new author that could get very big (I hope) and want to snatch him up before anyone else can.

As for the money--I think you moved the comma one over.  I wish it was 15k, but it's only 1.5.
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #13 on: December 11, 2003, 07:14:32 PM »
Entropy: The plan is to do a simultaneous release if possible.  That's one of the reasons Joshua doesn't mind the 15 month wait for publication--it gives him time to find a British publisher and give them the chance to put out the book around the same time as Tor (the Brits don't like being behind on these things.)

And, yes, Britain (despite its smaller population) is VERY book friendly.  It's also very fantasy friendly--after all, you guys did found the genre in the first place....

Anyway, we mailed off manuscripts to two major British publishers last month, both of whom had nibbled a bit already.  One is Gollancz (an imprint of Orion--they publish Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.)  I can't remember the other.  Harper UK, maybe?
« Last Edit: December 11, 2003, 07:15:23 PM by EUOL »
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Re: Publication News
« Reply #14 on: December 11, 2003, 07:23:12 PM »
I guess Terry Prattchets author will be fantasy friendly  ;D
If you're ever in an argument and Entropy winds up looking staid and temperate in comparison, it might be time to cut your losses and start a new thread about something else :)

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