Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: The Jade Knight on November 24, 2005, 03:22:42 PM
-
Hey, EUOL. I have a few questions that I'm really curious about.
1. How many words is Elantris?
2. If you're willing to divulge, how much have you made off of the book to date, and what was your initial signing for?
-
200,000 words. (1000 page manuscript, 500 page hardback.)
20k advance. I've gotten all of that. About 20k in foreign sales. No royalties yet, though I've pretty much earned out the advance.
-
Where is it currently in print?
-
Okay, I'm a dork.
When I read that first question in the initial post, "How many words is Elantris," my first thought was, "One. Duh. Is he serious?"
Then I read the response and it occured to me you were asking about word *count*.
Hello, Janci. Get a clue.
-
Hello, Janci. Get a clue.
You're adorable.
-
I've noticed that when Tage posts it's almost always to say how much he likes one of us. I think he's really just a softie.
/me orders a teddy bear for Tage from Argos
-
So how'd the signing go today? Were there tons of people? Did you sign a lot of books? I would think that today would be a good day for a book signing. Was it?
-
It went really well. We sold upwards of 70 copies of the book, which makes this the best signing I've ever done. The folks at Waldenbooks there were really helpful--they say they're making a determined effort to be known as THE store for sf/f in the area.
As for languages it's in print...well, so far only English. It'll be another six to eight months before we see foreign copies. So far, here's the list:
North American English
North American English Book Club
British English Book Club
French
Spanish
Italian
German
Dutch
Thai
Japanese
Polish
Czech
Russian
-
Darn It!
That makes me even more grumpy that I wasn't able to come!
-
We sold upwards of 70 copies of the book, which makes this the best signing I've ever done.
Very cool. Hurray for book signings on Black Friday!
-
70 copies?!?! They actually had that many books on hand?
That's fantastic. Bet that will bump bookscan. Except of course I told Jonathan that was the last time I'd ask until June...
-
I've been curious about the print runs of ELANTRIS now that it's in its third go-round (which is spectacular, by the way!). So... given that Tor is such a large publisher, I've been wondering how many initial copies they ordered? I mean, do you think that was a typical initial run for a first-time writer at Tor? (I just wanted to get some perspective on this stuff. I've read the numbers Ookla puts up, but I'm epically miserable at trying to interpret numbers....???)
Okay, so that leads me to ask how many copies did Tor order for the second and the third press runs?
I'm also really curious about the return rate, percentage-wise. (My book pub prof keeps saying how 30% is the going rate for books that're shipped back to publishers.) Do you get any info on this?
Oh, and has Tor told you how many copies they'll order of MISTBORN? I wonder if that projected number increased after they've watched your first book gain momentum?
Well... I think I'd better leave my questions at that for now! Thanks! :D
-
Wow, sounds like you had a great turnout for the signing.
-
I'm curious about the French version. Who picked it up over there? Release date? Are they going to go directly to paperback or come out with hardback too? That sort of thing. Also, are they going to redo the art for the cover? I really hope they don't redo the cover art. The cover here is gorgeous, but my main reason for hoping they don't is that I haven't seen too many French covers on translations of fantasy that aren't absolutely hideous, completely unrelated to the book, or both.
-
Hi Brandon! I just finished the book last week. I liked it! Peter had told me that you were good at creating complex magic systems and explaining how everything works. It was interesting to see it in action. I also detected some Korean inspiration, which I got a kick out of. :)
-
I'm curious about the French version. Who picked it up over there? Release date? Are they going to go directly to paperback or come out with hardback too? That sort of thing. Also, are they going to redo the art for the cover? I really hope they don't redo the cover art. The cover here is gorgeous, but my main reason for hoping they don't is that I haven't seen too many French covers on translations of fantasy that aren't absolutely hideous, completely unrelated to the book, or both.
Well for one think I know the French version Raoden is being re-written as a Jerry Lewis style character, the crazy french and their Jerry Lewis fetish.
-
And costarring Charles Bronson as Hrathen.
-
Ookla: Yes, they had 80 copies on hand, fortunately. They had people calling them the day before, people who had read the article, worried that the store would sell out. It almost did!
Shrain: Elantris initial was between 11k and 12k. I've been told that's a tad above average. The second and third printings were between 1k and 2k each. I won't actually know about returns for some time yet. Ookla's numbers are a good judge, but they don't include a lot of markets, so it's tough to tell, even knowing the bookscan numbers. I'll have figures on returns sometime early next summer. (But, yes, 30% is the mark of an average book. Get more returns than that, and it's not a good sign. Get fewer than that, and it's a good sign.)
Oh, and the number they've been using for MISTBORN is 25k. They were talking 15k for ELANTRIS around this time, and did 11.5, if that gives you a frame of reference.
Vaj: Calmann-Lévy has the French rights. I honestly don't know what they'll do for the cover. Some of the smaller markets (Thai, for instance) have contacted Stephen and asked to use his cover. The larger markets, however, tend to like to do their own art. So, who knows what the French cover will look like. I wish I could tell you when it will be out, but I honestly don't know. Hopefully sometime next year.
-
Yay! It's not Poche! I've refused to read some of the books they've translated simply because the covers were so disturbing. I know you should judge a book by its cover, but really, abstract nude people on the covers of LeGuin's Earthsea series really didn't make me want to read their translations of it... Thank goodness that Calmann-Lévy tends to do good covers.
-
Thanks for all the info, Brandon. Very interesting!
Wow, 25K for MISTBORN. That's definitely impressive. :D I can't wait to see the cover art...
And, speaking of cover art, given Vaj's comments, I'm awfully curious to see how the French cover will turn out.
-
OK i am still working on finishing the book. So far it is good. I bought at the signing in Provo. Thx Brandon. Anyways...
1. How in the world did you come up with the names for all the characters and language?
2. As a writer how long did it take you to get the idea right for Elantris?
-
The names for ELANTRIS came from a desire to have something that looked and felt original. I started with the concept of three-letter, two syllable words. (IE, two long vowel sounds put together with consonants.) I ended up with things like:
Rao
Teo
Ashe
Ene
And such.
Then, I built names around them. You can read more at:
http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book.php?id=1§ion=6
There's a pronunciation guide at the top. The second section, however, contains some major spoilers--so I'd ask that you finish the book before reading that part.
As for the idea...that's a harder one to answer. The first ideas for ELANTRIS germinated when I was in my teens. I didn't get around to writing the book until 1999, however. The book came together when I had a combination of the right ideas in my head--that's how I write books. I can't just have one good idea, I have to have a half-dozen or so of them that work together. It all has to feel right.
With ELANTRIS, everything clicked in 99, and after that it took me about eight months to write. Add in a half-dozen rewrites (mostly to tweak Sarene's character, cut the Mad Prince, and fix some worldbuidling elements) and you have the book you're now holding.
-
Thx a lot. I am have discovered from Terry Brook's Sometimes the Magic Works, that idea can just be something simple, or complex. If an idea stays with me for at least 24 hours than i go with it. But most of them don't. Thx again for the help and the signed book. I should have went and listend to you read. We were in the mall for another 2 hours before hour movie started. Darn.