Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: Spriggan on January 14, 2006, 10:27:57 PM
-
Amazon has the Elantris paperback listed, so if you were too cheap to pay full price for the hardback pick this up then give EUOL $2 for royalties.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765350378/ref=ed_oe_p/002-3571104-5737660?%5Fencoding=UTF8
-
Aha! A question I meant to ask yesterday, answered without me even needing to ask.
I find it interesting that EUOL's name now leads, and they've pumped up the font size for it. Nice. Means they're emphasizing his name and it's getting more recognizable.
-
Huh, I didn't notice the font change. That's quite a difference.
-
Woh, sweet. I should get that for someone.
-
Thanks! I just went to Borders yesterday. It was the first time in a long time that I've actually went with a book in mind. AND IT WAS SOLD OUT! So much for immediate satisfaction!
-
How can it be sold out if it's not out yet?
-
I think she meant the hardback.
-
Thank you for clarifying for me, Ookla. That really made me stop and think, Stacer. What? Elantris isn't even out yet? I'm such an idiot. How could I have been so confused? What in the heck is everybody talking about then? And then I started wondering what that Border's guy was talking about. He said that they had a run on the store because it was required reading for a class or something. I told him that sounded like a good strategy. ;) Was he playing with me? If so, that would be a funny joke, but a little unprofessional, hee hee.
Whoo! (wipe forehead) I love my life!
-
Don't worry, guitarbabe, even cool newbs are liable to do stuff like that. Trust me. ;)
Anyway, I think the size change for EUOL's name is nifty. I hope the PB really takes off and helps with the sale of Mistborn. Hey, is Tor putting in any kind of Mistborn ad in the back of the Elantris PB?? That'd be cool if they were!
-
The funny thing is, Elantris IS required reading for a college class. Hmm . . . I remember thinking that I recognized the professor's name . . . What could it have been? EOUL--do you have any idea?
-
What kind of egotist assigns his own novel for required class reading? ;)
-
Although I suppose it would help increase sales--especially if said author's book was yet to appear in paperback. That's an extra $2.50 per student. Say you had about 25 students . . . it could add up. After all, salt's getting pretty expensive these days. ::)
-
What kind of egotist assigns his own novel for required class reading? ;)
LOL. No way--did he really assign it for his students this semester?? Huh. Makes me wonder if he would've had our 318 class buy it if it'd been out yet when he was team-teaching w/ Sally...
At any rate, I'm somewhat surprised that he's still teaching. I mean, he seems to dislike grading just about as much I do. And he'd comment how it naturally leaves him less time for writing. After all, his writing career seems to be on a steady upswing. *shrug* Of course, day jobs -can- come in handy for writers.
Anyway, I'm terribly glad I'm not teaching (freshman comp) anymore at BYU--or at Emerson even though they tried to "recruit" me a couple times. No more lesson plans and agonizing over grading! Yay. But I hope EUOL's class goes well.
-
He's teaching for a few reasons.
One he likes to teach the sci-fi/fantasy creative writing class.
Two is a consistent pay cheque. As an author he only gets paid 2 or so time a year, having a normal pay period help with the bills.
-
As an author he only gets paid 2 or so time a year, having a normal pay period help with the bills.
Yep, I thought as much--hence my mention of the usefulness of day jobs for artist-types. :)
As for enjoying teaching, I can totally see that in his case. Our 318 class was cool. We could tell he enjoyed team-teaching it.
Personally, I loved teaching. Just wasn't too wild about the grading and other such out-of-class work. Anyway, I'm sure a lot of BYU students are glad EUOL has good reason to keep teaching!
-
The class voted on what book to use . . . but I think some of them were anonomously paid to stuff the ballot box. The amount was something like, I dunno, $2.50.
-
Yeah, um, what I said was a joke. I suppose it didn't seem like one unless you had context.
Yes, Brandon, did you hear that? I'm making fun of you. Mark the date.
-
I was kind of hoping to get EOUL in here crying his innocence and defending himself. Does he check the boards about once a week now, or every other?
-
He's forgotten about us all. I so called it.
-
*Archon hands MsFish a cookie*
-
Yeah, um, what I said was a joke. I suppose it didn't seem like one unless you had context.
Yeah, I was sort of context-less on this one. Anyhoo, it's nice to know democracy was involved in the text picks. ;)
He's forgotten about us all. I so called it.
*shrain sends MsFish a box of Every Flavor Goldfish Crackers (an exciting new snack introduced by Bertie Botts)*
-
I've never had a professor assign a novel he or she had written (probably because none of them were novelists), but about half of them assigned some kind of textbook they'd written. It's very common.
-
Yeah, Fell, I know it's not unheard of or something. But I sure haven't had any of my profs do that, even though many of the profs I had were in fact published authors. And I've had a lot of school so far. (Just got my MA in American lit at BYU). So it's not like I haven't been around the academic block a few times. (Gee, I am so sick of school!) Anyway, at least where I've attended, I never had that experience. The prof I worked for over the course of four years has written almost ten books, most of which could easily be incorporated into her classes, but she chose not to. huh.
Anyway, from hearing my friends' experiences, it seems more likely for a prof to assign his own work to the class if it's a text book rather than a work of creative fiction, that's all. (shrug) Don't know why that is, though. Naturally, I can't prove it or anything. At any rate, I can't help thinking it would be kind of funny/weird to teach your own novel to a class, you know. Ah, if only all of us were even fortunate enough to -have- that option!
-
I agree, it would be very weird to teach you're own novel. At least he's doing it in a writing class rather than a literature class--maybe that's why so few literature teachers assign their own creative works.
-
And for all the ribbing I give him, he did argue against his class over this idea. But he had told them they could choose, and that's what they chose. It isn't really like he assigned them his novel--they assigned themselves it. Probably because they're a bunch of underclassmen fanbois--or fangirls, in this case. ;)
-
I did argue against it, and suggested (then voted for) Erickson instead.
However, I will admit that there is some validity to the choice. If they know ELANTRIS, I can use a lot of examples from my own writing to explain my process for creating works. It's a little embarassing to assign my own novel, but it probably will be very effective.
-
See, that's the first thing I thought of when i heard about the book assignment. What better text to use than your own when you're explaining how to develop characters, or pace the plot or whatever. You know exactly why you did what and it's gotta be easier explaining how you did it than trying to explain how somebody else did it. As long as it's not the ONLY text it seems like a brilliant move.
-
well geez - I wish I would have know about the "required reading" for your course before everyone went to Borders...I could have got a bunch in at Waldens for them. We did get some in, but apparently after everyone already had it (this is Steve by the way).
On the topic of the paperback, if I managed to sell over 140 copies of the hardback to people in just the last 3 or 4 months, imagine what I'll do with the paperback once it's out!
-
I'm glad EUOL is using Elantris. I told him he should over the summer--and he expressed the same concerns as above, in addition that he felt bad about "requiring" people to buy his book. Pfft. Professors do it all the time. And at least this is a good book. If the students are serious about writing good scifi/fan, then I doubt they'll regret the purchase or experience. And since it's in paperback, it's not even nearly as expensive as the huge $100 textbooks most professors require.
So I'm glad the class over-ruled him. It's a great book and a great tool to draw from to give specific examples of the things he teaches in the class. When we would discuss writing techniques, we often discussed what EUOL did in his own books. I found it helpful, and I think his class will as well.
-
Are you people telling me that there are professors that don't require student to buy the professor's book. If the students don't buy them, who would?
Now I may be ignorant about how it works in English and creative writing courses, but having over 300 college credits at 3 major universities and having taught college courses myself, I think EUOL can relax about assigning his own book to his students. If the students aren't use to buying the professor's book by now, they will be.
-
Wait, so you suggested a different book, and voted for it, but your students said, "No way, I want to read you book because you're so cool, Mr. Teacher!" and outvoted you?
Or is it that half the class already READ your book and that's why they signed up in the first place, so they voted for it so they wouldn't have to buy another book, forcing the other half of the class to go out and buy it?
-
I think that Spriggan was standing behind EUOL, holding a knife and a sign saying 'elantris or evisceration'.
-
Are you people telling me that there are professors that don't require student to buy the professor's book. If the students don't buy them, who would?
Now I may be ignorant about how it works in English and creative writing courses, but having over 300 college credits at 3 major universities and having taught college courses myself, I think EUOL can relax about assigning his own book to his students. If the students aren't use to buying the professor's book by now, they will be.
With textbooks, it's standard. With novels, it's not.
Um, besides that, I think lots of people buy EUOL's book who aren't his students.
-
With textbooks, it's standard. With novels, it's not.
Well put, as always. :) Both Fell and I shared the same conclusion, but maybe Lost One missed those posts?
At any rate, I think the minor embarrassment at teaching your own work is a small price to pay for being able to match lectures on writing with highly relevant, successful examples from your own writing. Besides, I'd always choose Elantris over evisceration every time, if given the choice . . . ;)
-
I don't think many students make the distinction between novel and textbook when they are being ask to buy materials for a class. Their dollars are being spent to enrich the professor either way. Just because the book is a novel doesn't change the arguements for or against a professor using his own book.
Personally, I think it is a lot easier to teach a class with material that I wrote then trying to figure out somebody else's materials. Therefore, I think EUOL will probably teach a better class and the student will probably learn more using Elantris then if EUOL tries to teach using some other novel and I think students will recognize this point. The fact the Elantris is a novel and not a textbook is irrelevant when discussing whether EUOL should use it to teach his class.
-
The fact the Elantris is a novel and not a textbook is irrelevant when discussing whether EUOL should use it to teach his class.
um, okaaay. See, I wasn't saying that because his book is a novel and not a textbook, that he shouldn't use it. Not in the slightest.
The relevancy? Well, if it -were- as highly routine for profs to use their own novels as it seems to be to use their own nonfiction textbooks, then EUOL probably wouldn't have felt so unsure about assigning it. But he mentioned not being totally "okay" with it. Heck, he even voted against using the book.
Of course, the consensus that profs assign more self-authored textbooks than novels doesn't mean that EUOL should've vetoed his class or something just because his work was, in fact, a novel. However, maybe this precedent of what profs do and don't assign -does- shed some light on -why- the decision was hard for EUOL to make in the first place. That's why I brought it up. And, actually, I wasn't the first one to do so.
-
Well put, as always. :) Both Fell and I shared the same conclusion.
Did no one here have Alan Manning for a professor? He teaches Ling 330, and his less-than-fantastic SciFi novel is part of the required reading.
Ugh.
-
eek. My sympathies.
-
Manning wrote a book? A sci-fi book? What's it called? I was a linguistics major, and I had him for syntax. Tough class, but he never assigned a sci-fi book for it. Now I'm interested.
-
The fact the Elantris is a novel and not a textbook is irrelevant when discussing whether EUOL should use it to teach his class.
Umm, good thing we weren't *having* a suggestion of whether or not he should use it. I was *making fun of him*, something I tend to do. Take a freaking joke.
-
I don't think many students make the distinction between novel and textbook when they are being ask to buy materials for a class. Their dollars are being spent to enrich the professor either way. Just because the book is a novel doesn't change the arguements for or against a professor using his own book.
I disagree thorougly. While your point about who gets the money is valid, the text book are the professor's ideas and theories about the subject that he's teaching, which is what you're paying tuition to get anyway. A novel, on the other hand, is only an example - not the actual content of the course, and implies considerably more egotism, imo.
So yeah, the distinction is there, and it's a very valid sticking point, and it does change the argument for or against.
-
I'd like to point out that I have yet to have a teach make me buy a book they wrote at UVSC, I've even had them suggest you buy the books at Amazon where they're about 50%-60% cheaper.
-
That's the way it was when I was at Santa Cruz too--as far as teachers suggesting that we shop with competitors and not the campus bookstore. I think BYU has some kind of policy against that though. Surprise surprise.
-
UVSC does too, so they say support the Bookstore but if they're out of used books get it at amazon. Though, I should note, that only one teacher has ever mentioned we do this but he did assign like 4 books for the class.
-
Most of my teachers at BYU--the cool ones--all suggested getting the books somewhere besides the BYU bookstore, because it is so expensive--as long as we had them in time to use for class. So, because Amazon can take a long time unless you want to speed deliver it, I usually just got them at the bookstore. It was just easier that way. But even my professors recognized that the BYU Bookstore is extremely expensive.
Heh. As a side note, one of my google ads is for "Brandon's Finest Florist." I didn't know EUOL had taken up flower arranging! Times must be rough. And I thought the book sales were doing pretty good... ;)
-
Yah, I hear he's especially keen of arrangments featuring nasturtiums and snapdragons. Indeed, I am most curious to see what other forays into commercial endorsement he has in mind. ;)
-
Manning wrote a book? A sci-fi book? What's it called? I was a linguistics major, and I had him for syntax. Tough class, but he never assigned a sci-fi book for it. Now I'm interested.
Yeah. Ling 430 was a scream. I made the mistake of taking it on my first semester back at school in seven years.
Manning wrote a sci-fi book called Supposition Error. IIRC, it's less about the story, and more about trying to teach the reader about his first love: the Peircean paradigm. It was required reading when I took Ling 330 from him about ten years ago.
Holy cow, I'm old.
-
Certainly sounds like snoresville. My condolences.
-
Hey! I remember that book. I "won" it at one of the first LTUEs I ever went to I think. I remember liking it but thinking it was a major ripoff of startrek, self-referential, but still a rip-off. Fortunately, I liked Star Trek.
-
Sounds about right. Manning is a major Trekkie. Of the original kind. He used to teach in class about how the characters in the original series fit into a two-tiered Peircean triangle. He's convinced that every group of characters that work will fit into this paradigm: LoTR, Harry Potter, Star Trek, etc . . .
-
yeah, I got the first season of Survivor explained that way. Also how Friends was incomplete because it only had 6 people and was lacking the crucial 7th.
-
Also how Friends was incomplete because it only had 6 people and was lacking the crucial 7th.
Ah, that explains why the show only lasted ten seasons near the top of the ratings.