The Last Repository
Moderator: Savor Dam
The Last Repository
I've run across several sites that list a June 20 2020 publication date for The Last Repository. That seems at least a year too early, although I would love it to be true.
Something there is in beauty.
- Hunchback Jack
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SRD at one point said that he was allowing for - or perhaps even contracted for - 18 months between books, but "may not need that long".
It was 17 months between SD (Nov '17) and TWW (Apr '19). 18 months from April '19 puts us at October '20.
So if he's making good progress on book 3, June might be accurate.
Edited to add: I found the quote where SRD said this. It's in the News section on his website, in a post dated 8/17/16:
"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."
HBJ
It was 17 months between SD (Nov '17) and TWW (Apr '19). 18 months from April '19 puts us at October '20.
So if he's making good progress on book 3, June might be accurate.
Edited to add: I found the quote where SRD said this. It's in the News section on his website, in a post dated 8/17/16:
"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."
HBJ
- Hunchback Jack
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- Hunchback Jack
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From stephenrdonaldson.com:
"I probably should have mentioned this some time ago, but I've been embarrassed. I used to pride myself on meeting my deadlines. But for reasons of ill health (my wife's as well as my own), I've been forced to get a considerable extension. Sadly, I won't meet that deadline either. But in this case, the reason is the sheer heft of the story I'm trying to tell in THE LAST REPOSITORY. The book is already almost 50,000 words longer than THE WAR WITHIN, and I still have (just guessing) 25% of the story to tell. In addition, I never let my agent and editors see my first draft. My need to do a second draft (primarily for internal consistency and style) will further delay the book by 3-4 months.
I regret all of this more than I can say. But I have to live my actual life while I'm writing."
"I probably should have mentioned this some time ago, but I've been embarrassed. I used to pride myself on meeting my deadlines. But for reasons of ill health (my wife's as well as my own), I've been forced to get a considerable extension. Sadly, I won't meet that deadline either. But in this case, the reason is the sheer heft of the story I'm trying to tell in THE LAST REPOSITORY. The book is already almost 50,000 words longer than THE WAR WITHIN, and I still have (just guessing) 25% of the story to tell. In addition, I never let my agent and editors see my first draft. My need to do a second draft (primarily for internal consistency and style) will further delay the book by 3-4 months.
I regret all of this more than I can say. But I have to live my actual life while I'm writing."
From SRD news
Against all the odds, I've finally finished the first draft of "The Last Repository," Book Three of The Great God's War. 1180 pages, roughly 290,000 words. Readers familiar with my process (perhaps from the Gradual Interview) will know that I always do at least three drafts (one for the story, one for me, one for my agent and editor). Unless, of course, something goes wrong, in which case more drafts become inevitable. So publication is still a long ways off. But at least the book exists now. In the event of my untimely demise, no one will have to guess where I intended to go with this story.
8/23/20
- Hunchback Jack
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Stephen R Donalson, Fan of Marketing.Stephen R. Donaldson News wrote:"The Last Repository": change of title
Many years ago, I was fortunate to have a mentor of sorts who introduced me to the realities of publishing. One of the first things he told me was, "It's a rare author who gets to choose his/her own title." Since "Lord Foul's Bane" (not my title), I've had my share of success naming my own books. But not this time. Marketing (the boss of everything, and the doer of nothing) has forbidden my title. So the new title for Book Three of THE GREAT GOD'S WAR is The Killing God. Which, from my point of view, is less than ideal, but not bad.
9/29/20
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I'm sorry SRD isn't getting the title he wanted. I'm sure there were good reasons for his original choice, but I like the new title better. It's more active and few know what a repository is in any event. It also sounds too much like another word. Perhaps I'll have a different opinion after I read the third and final volume. In the meantime, be well SRD.
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- Savor Dam
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We've been there before. Shall Pass Utterly --> Against All Things Ending or Auger's Gambit --> The King's Justice are a couple examples.
An SRD book reads the same, regardless of the title. We fans are going to buy in any case; the last volume of this cycle is going to be a must-read.
Those not yet fans may be influenced by a title to delve deeper. Realistically, publishers are more driven by sales than by the quality of the literature or the faithfulness of the title to author intent. If they think this new title will move more copies, that is a good thing for them, for SRD, and perhaps for the fanbase.
An SRD book reads the same, regardless of the title. We fans are going to buy in any case; the last volume of this cycle is going to be a must-read.
Those not yet fans may be influenced by a title to delve deeper. Realistically, publishers are more driven by sales than by the quality of the literature or the faithfulness of the title to author intent. If they think this new title will move more copies, that is a good thing for them, for SRD, and perhaps for the fanbase.
Love prevails.
~ Tracie Mckinney-Hammon
Change is not a process for the impatient.
~ Barbara Reinhold
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.
~ George Bernard Shaw
~ Tracie Mckinney-Hammon
Change is not a process for the impatient.
~ Barbara Reinhold
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.
~ George Bernard Shaw
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THAT shocked me! My wife and I were just discussing this. The Last Repository was a GREAT title. The Killing God seems lame. As far as marketing, if you did not read the first two in the series, I do not think you can start with the third, and the title does not much matter...Mr.Land wrote:I'm sorry SRD isn't getting the title he wanted. I'm sure there were good reasons for his original choice, but I like the new title better. It's more active and few know what a repository is in any event. It also sounds too much like another word. Perhaps I'll have a different opinion after I read the third and final volume. In the meantime, be well SRD.
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Uh oh.
We can always hope that the publisher changes their mind, of course. Or compromises.
And Donaldson has resorted to changing publishers before. Many times in fact.
And I cannot help but wonder what difference does the size make in the e-book market? Is the hardcover/softcover market still that significant that number of pages matters that much?
Then there is my nagging suspicion that this is the publisher's way of getting out of their obligation to publish. Be impossible, and make the author be the one to break the contract.
So call me worried.
My first take on this is this: unless something changes, this book won't be published."The Killing God": bad news
My agent has submitted the book to my editor at Berkley. Without reading it (!), my editor informed me that Berkley will not consider publishing the book until I cut 100,000 words. Roughly 35% of the text. On the assumption that I will not do such violence to my own work, Berkley has removed the book from their publication schedule.
Their assumption is correct. At this stage, I routinely prune my manuscripts by 10%. I may conceivably be able to go as far as 15%. But whether or not anyone likes my characters and how I handle them, my stories are very tightly plotted. Each piece relies on--and is implied by--what came before it. I can't mutilate Book Three without making the entire trilogy incoherent.
My agent believes that where we stand now is not the end of "The Killing God." (Never mind of my career.) He has persuaded my editor to go ahead and read the book. He hopes that seeing how strongly Book Three caps Books One and Two (which she loved) will persuade her to rethink her position. I have my doubts. I suspect that her position is corporate rather than editorial: my books no longer earn enough to make them worth publishing regardless of their intrinsic merits. Naturally, I hope I'm wrong.
When I have more news, I'll post it here. I don't expect to hear anything until sometime in January.
12/6/20
We can always hope that the publisher changes their mind, of course. Or compromises.
And Donaldson has resorted to changing publishers before. Many times in fact.
And I cannot help but wonder what difference does the size make in the e-book market? Is the hardcover/softcover market still that significant that number of pages matters that much?
Then there is my nagging suspicion that this is the publisher's way of getting out of their obligation to publish. Be impossible, and make the author be the one to break the contract.
So call me worried.
.