Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Brandon Sanderson => Topic started by: libraloco on February 20, 2010, 03:00:32 AM
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So...I saw a video on YouTube that was a Q&A with Brandon. In it he said that there would more than likely be NO Brandon Sanderson solo book in 2011 because of A Memory of Light. I've heard nothing to the contrary so far.
Granted, I'm a new Brandon Sanderson reader, but I'm already in love with his work. I'm very excited to read The Way of Kings when it comes out, as well as anything else he will publish in the future.
However, I'm curious: If Brandon wrote (or rewrote, I should say) The Way of Kings in 4 months, couldn't he theoretically do that with another one of his previous works, like White Sand, and publish that in 2011?
I understand that writing a novel takes a tremendous effort on the part of the author, and I am amazed at Brandon's skill and speed. I also respect his decision to focus on A Memory of Light. However, I'm just curious to know whether or not he plans to do that or publish something else in 2011.
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Working on two huge books for this year has taken a huge toll. Brandon needs to have a few months where he's working only 8-hour days instead of 12. Remember, Towers of Midnight was more than half done before he stopped it and worked on finishing polishing the Gathering Storm. This year, when he finishes ToM for press, he will have nothing done on AMoL, and will also be much closer to the publication date of ToM than was the case with TGS. Anyway, the upshot is, if he gets any book done in time for publication in 2011, AMoL is that book. There is just not time for anything else.
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It takes some authors years to write books. Sometimes stepping away from writing leads to new ideas. i think fellowship of the ring came out 15 years after The Hobbit. I get the impression that brandon lived in front of his keyboard for years. Now he has an income stream going so he doesn't have to, plus he has 2 kids.
This isn't surprising. Brandon wants to be a writer for a long time, so he gets the chance. He quits his job and has no money. So he lives in front of a keyboard for 6-7 years. Now he needs a break.
punching a book out in 4 months generally means the book won't be as good as it would be if it took longer.
what I have noticed (except for Steven King ) most really successful writers take longer to write new books. This often leads to higher quality. However, they can afford to take longer because they make enough money to live on. Less successful writers have to write more books, short stories, and do other stuff so they can pay their rent and eat.
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I mean, I understand all of that. He's an amazingly fast and dedicated author. I couldn't imagine popping a novel as good as Mistborn or Warbreaker out in just a couple of months. I was just curious to know if he had any plans to do that (and I am in no way criticizing him for whatever he does). Either way, no matter what he does, I wish him good luck!
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Also, just so you know, he's been working on some of the worldbuilding for WoK for years. It didn't just get written in four months from nothing.
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I know, I know. Ten years, according to his blog. I've read a lot about all of his things (so just because I joined the forum yesterday doesn't mean I don't know anything...). I was just asking a question is all. No harm in that, right? It's not like I'm criticizing him for anything. I honor him. I just didn't know if he planned on doing something like that (rewriting an older novel) again. Sorry if it came across the wrong way.
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As much as we'd love Brandon to put out a book as often as possible, that's really not how it goes. He can only take so much onto his plate at a time, and with WoT dropping on him so suddenly, throwing off everything else he's doing, he's going to need some time. It really comes down to time. But the good thing is is that he always has something else to go onto, he's got a lot of future projects that are in the works. Which is great for us as fans, cuz he won't have just one book and be done like some great authors do.
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Um...I think I was greatly misunderstood in my initial post. Is there any way to delete this whole thread? Or can someone do it for me?
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Sorry. To answer your actual question from the first post: This rewrite of Way of Kings, from beginning to end, has taken much longer than 4 months. Brandon just finished the 7th draft (of the new version) and will have one more major draft (to cut 35,000 words and fix the remaining issues) before it goes to copyediting.
So the answer is that Brandon could not rewrite White Sand in time for a 2011 release.
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And in reality one book a year is more than a LOT of other authors do.
It's absolutely WONDERFUL to have more than that, but one a year is still a great feat.
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how many drafts is common for an author before a work is publishable?
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how many drafts is common for an author before a work is publishable?
I don't know if there is an average. It depends entirely upon the book, the author, the publisher, the editor, and a host of other factors. I would have to say "however many it takes until everyone who needs to be happy with it is happy with it". This could be three, it could be forty.
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how many drafts is common for an author before a work is publishable?
I don't know if there is an average. It depends entirely upon the book, the author, the publisher, the editor, and a host of other factors. I would have to say "however many it takes until everyone who needs to be happy with it is happy with it". This could be three, it could be forty.
I'm determined to believe some authors throw a bunch of cut up words at a page, glue them down and publish it without any revision what so ever. (i.e. Paolini.) xD
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I seem to recall Brandon saying somewhere that Elantris was a 4 draft book. I think he was saying it as a comparison to the 16/17 drafts of tGS he did, and how big the project, which looked huge from the onset, was beginning to get.
And...
I'm determined to believe some authors throw a bunch of cut up words at a page, glue them down and publish it without any revision what so ever. (i.e. Paolini.) xD
/agree.
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I seem to recall Brandon saying somewhere that Elantris was a 4 draft book. I think he was saying it as a comparison to the 16/17 drafts of tGS he did, and how big the project, which looked huge from the onset, was beginning to get.
Actually, he said that Elantris had a total of ten drafts (with the tenth being the copyedit). You can check that here (http://brandonsanderson.com/book/Elantris/page/15/Elantris-Visual-Edits).
I'm determined to believe some authors throw a bunch of cut up words at a page, glue them down and publish it without any revision what so ever. (i.e. Paolini.) xD
Eragon was a hard book to read, in my opinion. Not comprehension-wise, but because of its wordiness. It read about how my first novel did--poorly.
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Eragon was a hard book to read, in my opinion. Not comprehension-wise, but because of its wordiness. It read about how my first novel did--poorly.
I am still stuck on the story though. It's kind of sad to say. I mean as poorly as he writes he puts together a nice story. =/
lol
When you think awbout average drafts though you also have to think that there comes a point where if you keep revising it you end up screwing it up by over fixing it.
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Eragon was a hard book to read, in my opinion. Not comprehension-wise, but because of its wordiness. It read about how my first novel did--poorly.
I am still stuck on the story though. It's kind of sad to say. I mean as poorly as he writes he puts together a nice story. =/
lol
When you think awbout average drafts though you also have to think that there comes a point where if you keep revising it you end up screwing it up by over fixing it.
Yeah. I'll keep reading them to find out what happens, but there are some sections that are just too...much. And I agree--there does come a point where you end up just mutilating your work instead of fixing it.
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I'm determined to believe some authors throw a bunch of cut up words at a page, glue them down and publish it without any revision what so ever. (i.e. Paolini.) xD
Eragon was a hard book to read, in my opinion. Not comprehension-wise, but because of its wordiness. It read about how my first novel did--poorly.
I agree. I found the story kind of entertaining, but I could not stand the prose. I was interested in the language-based magic system; I kind of liked the feel of it. Then I read the first Earthsea book, which had a superficially similar language system, but which was actually well-written and threw my hands up as far as finding anything really new to like in Eragon.
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Hey, I know this is a little random--especially to post on this thread--but what is The Silence Divine? I've heard it mentioned a couple of times here and there, but nothing specific. Is it a new book that Brandon intends to write/publish after he finishes The Wheel of Time?
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Silence Divine is a book he has outlined (I think it's at that point). It's a shard world, and from what I understand of the plot, the magic system is... well, it's based around sickness. The way it was explained to me once was you get a cold, but at the same time you would be able to breath fire. Or else you get an ear infection and you'll also be able to fly.
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Shards...is there a name for the one in Elantris, like the Mistborn trilogy's Ruin and Preservation and Warbreaker's Endowment? From what I can tell it has no name at this point, but I'm not sure if it's been mentioned here on the forums or not.
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Yes, those are shards. The point behind them... well, go check out the shard thread. It's too hard to summarize.
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Ha. Which one? Is it the "**SPOILERS** Shards of Adonalsium" one?
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Though, there is no name for any Shard other than Ruin, Preservation, or Endowment.
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Though, there is no name for any Shard other than Ruin, Preservation, or Endowment.
At least none that we, the general readers, have been told. I'm sure Brandon has them all named =P
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Well, I should hope so. ;)
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I think that what he's doing is so cool--with the worlds that could be their own, but are connected by the fact that they have Shards. I can't wait to see what he does with this.
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There are three confirmed shards and their names. He told the fans that stuck around at one of the signings about the shard that will be in WoK. And since I'm not sure if it is okay or not to share, I won't say what the shard is, or what attribute is attached to it, but I feel safe in saying that Brandon said it is the most dangerous shard we will meet. (Or at the very least have met so far. We are of two minds about which it is.)
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There are three confirmed shards and their names. He told the fans that stuck around at one of the signings about the shard that will be in WoK. And since I'm not sure if it is okay or not to share, I won't say what the shard is, or what attribute is attached to it, but I feel safe in saying that Brandon said it is the most dangerous shard we will meet. (Or at the very least have met so far. We are of two minds about which it is.)
Well, if Brandon shared it with you, you should be able to share it with us. ;)
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LOL. It should be pretty easy to tell once you can read it what the Shard is. The others were.
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I have a few ideas now... that I will be keeping to myself.
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I dunno if it will be obvious or not... But it will be interesting to see it in action.
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You know, if Preservation in Mistborn was the mists, then wouldn't it make sense for the Shard in The Way of Kings to be the storms that frequently hit Roshar?
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Any author who can keep up with a book a year is doing right by me. Only a handful of the authors I read regularly can keep that up and still produce great quality... Jim Butcher is one. Terry Pratchett is another (even with the Alzheimers to battle, he's still projected to release a book every year for the next three years out).
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The storms are supposed to be supernatural, but I don't think the shard has anything to do with them. At least, not the one I'm referring to.
I don't know for sure, but I'm betting this world has at least three or four shards.