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Book Two of The Great God's War trilogy

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renny
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Post by renny »

I suspect youre right. This is very bad news. Is there a way we could crowdfund this? Ive self published two of my own books so i have a rough idea of production issues etc.
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Post by wayfriend »

I am sure Donaldson would like to make some money at being an author. So self-publishing is not an option.
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renny
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Post by renny »

wayfriend wrote:I am sure Donaldson would like to make some money at being an author. So self-publishing is not an option.
Now that is true!
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Post by samrw3 »

Alas, I am concerned you are correct wayfriend trying to force author out of contract.

To answer your question what difference does length make (besides trying to get author out of contract) Length is a marketable commodity. Sadly most consumers want a shorter book by and large. Especially for a author whose star (in publishers eyes) seems to be fading - to market a lenghty book provides just another hurdle.

Lets face it if this was fourth Chronicles and reception on prior books numbers was through the roof- length would almost be a non issue.
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Hunchback Jack
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Post by Hunchback Jack »

wayfriend wrote:My first take on this is this: unless something changes, this book won't be published.
Yes, this doesn't look good at all. If SRD does break the Berkeley contract, it's going to be a tough job shopping the third book of a series around to other publishers.

The one hope I have is that Orion/Gollancz will still pick it up. SRD has always had a strong showing in the UK market, and they may still be interested even if his US publisher isn't.

(I don't mind buying the book from the UK - I collect those editions anyway).

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Post by wayfriend »

I don't know that "still pick it up" is the right way to view it. I think that they already have, in that they signed on for all three at the beginning.

I think his US publisher Berkeley has in fact signed on for all three as well. They're just changing the deal at the last minute.
My new fantasy trilogy, THE GREAT GOD'S WAR, has been acquired for publication by Berkley in the US and Gollancz in the UK. The first book, SEVENTH DECIMATE, is scheduled for October 2017. My contracts give me 18 months per book; but I'm hoping to do better than that.
Maybe Gollancz will find a reason to balk on the third book, too. But so far there's been no word to this effect.

I feel like there's hope. But there's not a lot of information. (Nor would there be.)
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Post by Mr.Land »

Amazon.co.uk has a Oct. 14, 2021 publication date listed for The Killing God with Gollancz as the publisher. The page count listed is only 400, which seems a bit off from what SRD was telling us about the larger length of this novel. I'm still hopeful that SRD can find an American publisher, but I'm overjoyed that it looks like TKG will be available SOMEWHERE. Still no update from SRD. I wonder if that means Berkeley wouldn't budge, and he's busy trying to find someone else to pick it up.
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Post by wayfriend »

Mr.Land wrote:AThe page count listed is only 400, which seems a bit off from what SRD was telling us about the larger length of this novel.
Possibly only a placeholder?
Mr.Land wrote:Still no update from SRD.
I'm not quite at the "no news is bad news" stage yet.
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Post by wayfriend »

We finally have some news, and I guess the issue remains inconclusive.
In StephenRDonaldson News was wrote:"The Killing God": the long wait, phase two

People who would like to read "The Killing God," Book Three of "The Great God's War," have been waiting for a long time. Not me. I've been holding my feet to the fire continuously for at least six months, trying to mediate between my publisher's demands and my own standards. Now I've done what I can. My agent finally has the manuscript. When he's read it, he will deliver it to my publisher. At that point, the long wait will move on to phase three.

My publisher's issue has never been quality. Rather, it has been expense. To reduce the cost of publication, I've been told to cut 100,000 words. But my issue *is* quality. To that end, I've cut 59,000 words. An arduous task emotionally and artistically, but I'm prepared to stand by the results. Now we all wait to learn whether the quality is high enough to outweigh the expense.

My agent is remarkably effective when he believes in the book he represents, so his approval is important. But the final decision will be made "in house" at the publisher: a process which may involve some debate. Fortunately, my editor is likely to favor publication. After all, she loved the first two books--and refusing to publish the third book of a trilogy is a black mark for any publisher. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much clout.

Barring some unforeseen obstacle, I'll post more news when we move on to phase three.

7/23/21
Donaldson has met them 60% of the way. I hope that that's enough, and they don't come back with, well if you could cut 59,000 words you can cut 41,000 more.
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Post by Niftium »

wayfriend wrote:We finally have some news, and I guess the issue remains inconclusive.
In StephenRDonaldson News was wrote:"The Killing God": the long wait, phase two

People who would like to read "The Killing God," Book Three of "The Great God's War," have been waiting for a long time. Not me. I've been holding my feet to the fire continuously for at least six months, trying to mediate between my publisher's demands and my own standards. Now I've done what I can. My agent finally has the manuscript. When he's read it, he will deliver it to my publisher. At that point, the long wait will move on to phase three.

My publisher's issue has never been quality. Rather, it has been expense. To reduce the cost of publication, I've been told to cut 100,000 words. But my issue *is* quality. To that end, I've cut 59,000 words. An arduous task emotionally and artistically, but I'm prepared to stand by the results. Now we all wait to learn whether the quality is high enough to outweigh the expense.

My agent is remarkably effective when he believes in the book he represents, so his approval is important. But the final decision will be made "in house" at the publisher: a process which may involve some debate. Fortunately, my editor is likely to favor publication. After all, she loved the first two books--and refusing to publish the third book of a trilogy is a black mark for any publisher. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much clout.

Barring some unforeseen obstacle, I'll post more news when we move on to phase three.

7/23/21
Donaldson has met them 60% of the way. I hope that that's enough, and they don't come back with, well if you could cut 59,000 words you can cut 41,000 more.
I'm glad he's pared it down to something he's still happy with.

Final delivery to publication is upwards of a year unless it's fast-tracked, and there's definitely no suggestion that that's going to happen. So at this rate, 2022 is optimistic. Big sigh.
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Post by wayfriend »

More non-news news. But at least it's positive.
In StephenRDonaldson News was wrote:At long last, TKG is back in the hands of my editor. My agent is very happy with the new version. He made some useful suggestions (which, fortunately, required only a little extra work) and helped me clean up the text (typos, missing words, that sort of thing). Now my fate depends on whether the editor likes the book enough to push for it.

I have no idea how long I'll be forced to wait for a decision. In the short term, I need the rest. Beyond that, I'll go unquietly crazy.

8/5/21
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Post by wayfriend »

Resolution.
In StephenRDonaldson News was wrote:HOORAY! "The Killing God" has been accepted for US publication.

I've just received the good news from my editor. She describes my work on "The Killing God" as "heroic," "marvelous," and "very satisfying." (I swear I'm not making this up.) Berkley plans to publish in November '22. In audio (I assume), digital, and hardcover. I've also been given reason to believe that my UK publisher, Orion/Gollancz, will do the same. So spread the word! (I don't usually say things like that, but I'm feeling giddy.)

10/7/21
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