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Messages - SeanTMStiennon

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Just finished Elantris
« on: August 02, 2006, 12:02:59 AM »
Brandon,

Another question occurs to me...how did you break in?  ;)

Apologies if you've already answered that one somewhere on your site.

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Just finished Elantris
« on: August 01, 2006, 06:29:44 PM »
I'll keep that in mind at my next con...and I'll definitely give Mr. Bilmes a shot. :).

Thank you!

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Brandon Sanderson / Re: Just finished Elantris
« on: August 01, 2006, 01:02:55 PM »
Thanks, Brandon!  This particular book is a space opera of the gunfights-and-blades variety, using the same character from my short story collection (it's a stand-alone, though).  I may have an opening with Roc, so I'll probably follow that up first and see if it leads anywhere--they tend to publish relatively short books (100k-120k), and are definitely fans of series characters.

After that, I'm thinking Baen is indeed my best bet--plus, I've got a couple stories on Eric Flint's desk for the final round of consideration for Baen's Universe, so if he buys those, it might make them more open to buying a novel from me.

I actually did go to World Fantasy Con last year (in Madison, my hometown), but I mainly met people I already knew online or from previous conventions.  I guess I wasn't exactly sure how to approach editors--I guess "Hello, Mr. X.  What sort of work are you looking for?" is probably a good bet.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained  ;).

Say...if you don't mind me asking, what kind of stuff do you think your agent is looking for?  If he's at all a fan of space opera, I'll definitely send him a query.

I really like the sound of Mistborn (I was involved with Deep Magic, and I read your interview there), but $28 is pretty steep for one book, given that I'm a college student and all...I might track down a used copy, but then you wouldn't get any royalties :(.  Or maybe I'll sell a story (six cents a word at Universe!) and have an influx of cash to burn ;D.

Thanks again for your time and advice!

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Brandon Sanderson / Just finished Elantris
« on: August 01, 2006, 12:06:08 AM »
I just finished Elantris a few minutes ago, and I paid a visit to your website seeking for a way to congragulate you on a novel well-crafted.  I hope I've found it.

Anyway, I enjoyed Elantris immensely.  The characters were particularly impressive--Galladon and Hrathen leading the pack for me--and I enjoyed watching the various conflicts and character relationships develop.  The resolutions didn't disappoint.

(SPOILERS)

When I started reading, one of my main worries was that Hrathen/Shu-Dereth was going to be a big slam on traditional religion--that's something which always irritates me.  It was great to see that Hrathen was a complex character who, in the end, made perhaps the book's most powerful choice for good without sacrificing his faith in God--his last thought is of standing before Jaddeth.  Even Dilaf rose about the usual stereotype of the religious fantatic.  All I can say is, bravo!  And thanks for an awesome read, Brandon (Mr. Sanderson?)

I write science-fiction/fantasy myself--I've probably written about 800,000 words in the past five years, including four novel rough drafts and a whole mess of short stories.  I've had some success in small-presses with my shorts--Silver Lake Publishing released my first short story collection, entitled Six with Flinteye, a year or so back (six space opera tales about Jalazar Flinteye, mercenary, bounty hunter, and body guard, available on Amazon.com, B&N.com, Fictionwise.com, and the publisher's website).  I've also made a couple sales to Pitch-Black Publishing (www.pitchblackbooks.com) and various e-zines and small-print magazines.

Anyway...I've got a publishing question for you, if you have a little time to burn: I'm a couple weeks away from completing a novel (with revision and all--it's the first book I've actually revised and prepared for publication).  My question is: Do you recommend sending the book straight to publishers who accept unsolicited subs (Baen, DAW, and Tor), or would you advise starting off with query letters to agents?  Or is there a third option?

Thanks!  I'll definitely be reading Mistborn, although financial and storage space limitations will probably force me to wait for the paperback...

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