Kevin's Watch

For the week ending October 16th (Runes was released October 14th in bookstores, althogh some were selling earlier), The Runes of the Earth entered the NYT bestseller list at #21.

Next week will be the true test of how well this is going to sell, as its ranking represents (technically) two days worth of sales.

Keep us posted!!

Cool!!!

We Watchers have certainly done our part. Now to continue to boost sales...hmm...where's my Christmas list....

Funny, I was just wondering about that today!

It moved up to 18 this week. Certainly not what I was hoping to see.

In a very sharp and sad contrast, The Two Swords by Salvatore leapt from 19 to 4, which only proves that you need not write well or be original to have a hit.

I hope a word of mouth thing gets going...maybe people don't know that it's been published??

burgs66 wrote:
I hope a word of mouth thing gets going...maybe people don't know that it's been published??

I would hope this to be the case...I first heard of the new series several months ago, but the publishing date was set to be the 1st quarter of 2005...imagine my shock on entering a bookshop to buy the final volume of Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' and seeing 'Runes' one shelf below.

I contemplated buying both; the heart was willing, but funds were tight...I THINK I made the right decision.

Just wish Donaldson had done a Stephen King.
ie: Have already completed all four books in this quartet and then released them at 3-4 month intervals as King did with his final 3 of the 'Dark Tower'

Frank Herbert already screwed me over by dying before his 7th and final chapter of the 'Dune' cycle. If Donaldson goes, I will track his ass down in the Land and FORCE him to complete the story (a la 'Misery').

Stephen, beware of rednecks driving trucks...one author has already been mown down, Hope that wasn't just a practice run.

I think that it is quite a good performance for this book already! You have to remember that SRD has not had a bestseller for a long, long time. So, RUNES entering the most prestigious bestseller list of the US just mere days after publication is guite an achievement, I think!

But you have to keep in mind that a lot of people need to reacquaint themselves with Thomas Covenant, so I expect that many people might wait for the pb to see if this book is any good. And the news that SRD is writing Covenant again has not yet reached everybody. So, give it time to build a following. Many positives review at amazon and bn.com might help!

I think that when the second book comes out, it will enter the bestseller lists much higher and I think that with each book we´ll see the demand increase.

Hello all.

Just throwing in my two cents...

I don't live in a cave or anything (or even in a basement, for that matter), but had I not spontaneously Googled to see if SRD had a website yet (hadn't done so in a couple years) I would not even *know* there was a third series. Of course, I did check, found the website, and now this wonderful forum!!

Point... I had a point, I'm *sure* of it... ah, yes! Putnam's really could have promoted this book a little better. Now, I'm not just saying this because I didn't see an ad, but rather neither has anyone I know who is familiar with TC et al.

The forum is awesome - I'm sure I would have burst after reading Runes if I had nobody to 'talk' to about it!

Thanks!

Jim

I absolutely agree with you. The marketing has been unfortunate - although there was a rather large mention of it in Entertainment Weekly's section on Books. That surprised me somewhat.

Maybe there were floor displays in other places, I don't know. But I was expecting to see a floor display in at least one of the bookstores around here.

This is not going to make many of you happy around here, but I have a different point of view, and one that Steve probably would never own up to.

Lester del Rey, with all of his ideas on how Steve should have written THE ONE TREE, did get at least ONE thing right during that entire discussion:

An author should never leave their series alone for too long. If it is done, an entire generation of readers misses it.

Lester wanted more Covenant after THE POWER THAT PRESERVES because it drove the business at Del Rey. Steve made the reluctnant decision to write the second Chronicles at del Rey's behest. Once del Rey was no longer the editor, Steve went on to write other things, leaving his most famous creation behind.

That's fine - as an author I respect that completely. He had other stories to tell, and that is what an author is all about.

But don't expect the numbers to be there after 20 years of not having a Covenant book on the stands. It just doesn't work that way. The people in the 80's and early 90's who were reading fantasy have moved on to other things. They had nothing to keep them reading Donaldson. A whole new generation has to discover Covenant again, and that may take some time.

The sad thing is this: Steve's publishing deal doesn't put a book out every year. So although that is a good thing for the book and it's contents, it isn't good to grip people early and keep them with your work when they have to wait so long for the payoff.

I doubt the book will go higher than it is right now. Customers in bookstores just don't know what it is, and therefore won't pick it up. So even if there were more floor dumps and things out there, it still wouldn't matter.

Why do I know this? Because I work in a bookstore, have done so for five years in one of the largest B&Ns in the country, and all of this is a sad truth.

Shawn

Here's my opinion.

It may do a little better than it has as word of mouth spreads, and as wanderers in the fantasy aisles looking through the new releases see The Runes of the Earth there, or see a new hardcover by Donaldson's name. While it's true that the fantasy readers of the 70s and 80s may not necessarily still be reading fantasy - and some of them may not be doing much reading for pleasure at all - generally once a reader, always a reader. If the people that made it through the first two chronicles get wind that there's a third, they will buy this book.

I think that the paperback might do better than the hardcover - simply because of the word of mouth scenario. If that's the case, then we will see Fatal Revenant far outperform Runes.

Still, it's a pity that Putnam didn't do more marketing. What will likely be a top fifteen book could have been a top 10 book.

One final note - for a book that's had so little marketing (The Real Story, in comparison, had a full page ad in the NYT Book section prior to its publication), for it to be #18 is really a remarkable feat.

I agree with above post 100%.

Quite. I don't think the "missing a generation" issue is a problem - just look at the spread of ages among Watch members. As for publicity: I didn't really expect any, since I've never met anyone outside the Watch who has heard of SRD or Covenant.

Putnam has done nothing to promote this book. If I hadn't stumbled on SRD's website I would not have known aboiut it. I checked 3 bookstores to find it. It's marketing could be called inconspicuous.

It is no. 89 on USA Tofay's top 150, but that includes all books.

Spread of ages here on this Forum is NOT a representation of fantasy readers. It merely shows that some people have stayed in touch with Donaldson. I'm talking about the BREADTH of fantasy readers out there in the NOW losing touch with the Covenant books - or not evne knowing what they are! This is bookstore logic, and common sense logic - if people lose touch with something long enough they will never go back to it. Lester knew this, publishers NOW know this, and that's why they want authors to write what they are known for. For sales.

It's a business.

On that note, why do you think Steve has moved through so many publishers. Think about it.

The second book doing more business than the first just proves my point further. It will again be on shelves after being off of them for 20 years. A new paperback will be on the shelf to attract readers, and that does great things. Now imagine if there was a new Covenant book on the shelf each year for the last 20 years - hell, let's suggest every other year to be safe - can you imagine how many fans he'd have and the legions of people that would go out and buy his book then? This is just numbers, folks, from someone in the book business.

What didn't Putnam do for marketing? They had spreads and articles in Locus, they had spreads and marketing in Publisher's Weekly, it had spreads in ordering catalogs, they had a cardboard dump that bookstores could order (which many didn't). Trust me, they made the effort. But people come into the bookstore now, see a book on the octagon or in the section, and all they say to themselves is, "Oh, a nicely covered book by a Stephen Donaldson? Who is that guy?" It's hard to compete when ALL people know Dan Brown, J.K. Rowling, Susanna Clarke, and Stephen King.

Sales is all about building something. After Steve left the series to sit for 20 years, it died. This is fact, and you are seeing it in sales right now. This book should have easily been in the top 7 on the New York Times list at the very least.

By the end of the series, he will probably see some medium to significant movement on his backlist Covenant books, and he will see his new hardcovers selling more than the previous books. But this first book was doomed from the start almost.

Shawn

Same here. I stumbled upon the website. Found out about the book after reading the chronicles 8 years ago. It was just a complete fluke, and I was just curious to see what other books he may have written that I had not yet finished. The timing couldnt have been perfect, but hell nobody else could have such luck. Now I'm a member here and all worked up again. I probably would have walked right past it at a B&N or Borders and never knew the wiser.

While I see and understand the "bookstore logic" regarding placating the masses with your product; I disagree about fantasy readers losing interest. I am an avid reader. I have several "must read" authors. I make it a point of routinely checking for new books. I go to Amazon and Barnes and Noble every month. Internet access makes it a little difficult for true readers to not know. Doesn't matter if it is ____ character or not. If I like an author, then I look for his book. Sure, really would prefer it to be about _____, but if not, the choice of purchase is up to me.

Books are a business and many authors succomb to the "churn out any old thing" viewpoint of publishers seeking primarily $$$$$ (and lots of it). While Stephen King may be prolific in his writing, churning out tomes of words yearly; it must also be noted SK no longer has to truly attempt to write anything decent. In my opinion, he has ceased to be an Author, but rather transformed into a Writer. He could release his grocery list and watch it skyrocket to the top. True Authors earn it thru struggling up the list based on qualityof content, rather than name recognition.

Yes, Authors are in it to make a living. Have to do that. Authors are also trying to tell a story. Authors respond to the story within that has to be told, regardless of monetary renumeration. Authors (aggravatingly so) tend to sweat and toil over the "birth", sometimes taking a couple of years, rather than going the mass production route of so many Writers.

I wish the wait was shorter. I wish all series books were released simultaneously. But they're not. And the story is better for it.

Ard Rhys wrote: that's why they want authors to write what they are known for. For sales. Now imagine if there was a new Covenant book on the shelf each year for the last 20 years - hell, let's suggest every other year to be safe - can you imagine how many fans he'd have and the legions of people that would go out and buy his book then? This is just numbers, folks, from someone in the book business.

Shawn

Very true. However, this can totally stifle creativity of an Author. Look at Brooks SHANARRA series. While I do enjoy them (library only) after reading a couple of trilogies, it has become the same story over and over. The only difference is each are set X thousands of years apart. Nothng new or challenging in them. But, they sell! They load the coffers of the publishers with $$$$$. John Sandfords PREY books. Love em but ...getting stale. Same ole same ole. Even DUNE. Finish the thing where Frank left off. The prequels are ok...but repititious.

There is a GREAT DANGER of any Author locking himself in only 1 character. I would rather impatiently wait for a good book, rather than have said Author churn out rubbish simply to please the publisher.

While I was not aware of everything that Putnam did, I do know that I had to search for the book and that if I hadn't, I never would have known that it was out there. In one Barnes & Noble, it was not even in the Sf &F section! (I did find a couple in corner on a "new" table), but that was it.

I do agree that SRD has hurt his own sales by not publishing more, especially in fantasy. SRD is not like the fingable fantasy authors of today (who will be nameless) because he is the only one that I am aware of that has recieved some serious literary criticism.

Since he is at least on the NYT Bestseller list the above is probably a moot point.