Kevin's Watch

I know that SRD submitted the 1st Chrons to about 40 odd publishers before being published (or something like that) but what I don't know is whether or not the 40 odd rejections were as a result of them not liking it and SRD refusing to change it - or did SRD change them as he went from publisher to publisher?

Did a publisher actually suggest the rape scene or was that the cause of most of the rejections?

Anybody know? And Mr D, you may answer

if i had to guess, i'd say he might have refined it after the rejections, but i doubt he would have sacrificed it.

it'd be too easy to sell out and change the story to something more palatable while keeping the endearing characters. it's not likely they rejected the book based on his writing.

Donaldson is not Anthony.

When you get a rejection letter, it's probably in response to your submission of either a proposal letter with a summary of the book, or the first few chapters (not the whole book). And although a helpful editor might include some constructive feedback on what they've read, they have tons of manuscripts to read through (or their assistant does), and more often than not won't have much time to get into many details. So I would guess that all (or at least most) of the rejections letters for Lord Foul's Bane were probably along the lines of "we're sorry, but we're not looking for that kind of book at the moment."

I'm sure Donaldson tightened up his writing as he was collecting rejection letters, but I would bet that he didn't make any serious structual changes until he signed with Lester Del Rey. That's when the editor goes over the whole book - and in a lot more detail.

But something like the rape of Lena isn't something that could just be dropped into the book, or taken out (as is discussed in the thread about making a film of the Chronicles). That's such an integral part of everything, that I'm sure it was in from the start and could never be removed.

I believe the the original manuscript of Lord Foul's Bane is in the rare book room at Kent State (they list the following on their web site, and I think I read before that it's because they are available to read in their library: "Three versions, 606 pages (1973), 789 pages (May 1972-September 1973), 636 pages, with the title "Foul's Ritual" (January 1976), and the copy edited manuscript, 645 pages (1973)."). I've always wanted to take a road trip up and look it over, but it's hard to justify a road trip to the wife to "sit in a library and read".

sounds like the perfect road trip!!


I would love to read the original manuscript!! wow .. just thinking of it!!

I cant actually imagine SRD sacrificing his art for anyone or anything .. but thats on the basis of his interviews as a successful and renowned author .. but still I imagine he was the same before too ..

and indeed that may be why it took so long to get a publisher with the guts to publish it for SRD .. who knows??

SRD would have had to make some changes but presumably not relating to the substance of his work .. but moreover changes to format ..

He would never have removed the rape of Lena as it is integral to the story itself .. as is TC being a leper ..

It's awesome having such learned fellas around here Surely that's a justifiable trip? It really would be great to know how the originals differed from the final product - either in style, substance, detail or whatever.

heh. Maybe when the kids are a bit older I just might have to make a raod trip down to Ohio!

SRD has touched on this subject in past interviews. He says that he had written all of the first chronicles by the time that LFB was published, suggesting that he didn't spend that much time on rewrites. Maybe he hadn't finished it when he started approaching publishers though, it must have taken some time to accumulate 40 rejections.

The reason for the different length manuscripts I would put down to things that Del Rey wanted him to change before the book went into print rather than major changes to the story to try and get it published.

I don't believe SRD sacrificed his art.

Hey, if I ever got over to the States, I'd make the journey to Kent State to read the manuscript!

I think his language may have been the cause of quite a few rejections. He writes well, but quite complicated, and in every other passage he describes something like this: He looked as frail AS IF he had been a match. Or something like that.
But since it doesnt seem like he has changed his language, I guess he finally found a publisher who liked it. He doesn`t seem like the guy who would make major changes to his manuscript to get it published.

Did he try to get the entire thing published, or just LFB? I imagine it would be difficult for a new novelist to convince a publisher to publish an entire trilogy.

I agree that SRD probably went through a routine editing process but didn't budge on his artistic convictions.

The echoes of Lena's rape are too deep for that to have been written in later. It had to have been in there from the beginning.

I agree dAN. The plot threads of the incident spread out not only to the path that Covenant took but also to everyone his actions touched. Far too complex to insert as an afterthought.

Romeo wrote:
I believe the the original manuscript of Lord Foul's Bane is in the rare book room at Kent State (they list the following on their web site, and I think I read before that it's because they are available to read in their library: "Three versions, 606 pages (1973), 789 pages (May 1972-September 1973), 636 pages, with the title "Foul's Ritual" (January 1976), and the copy edited manuscript, 645 pages (1973)."). I've always wanted to take a road trip up and look it over, but it's hard to justify a road trip to the wife to "sit in a library and read".

Hooray for me !!!! A short Raod Trip to read the manu's ????? I'm There !!!!
After I go I will share What I find Out.

TOM C wrote:I agree that SRD probably went through a routine editing process but didn't budge on his artistic convictions.

I've read that while the 1st Chrons were being prepared for publication, his battles with his editor were "legendary".

dukkha wrote:Did he try to get the entire thing published, or just LFB? I imagine it would be difficult for a new novelist to convince a publisher to publish an entire trilogy.

I also read that he didn't manage to make the sale until he had the whole trilogy written. I got the impression, though I can't remember if that was also in the interview, that it was necessary to have the whole story available before a publisher was willing to take it on.

I would really love to read the original LFB, and study it compared with the final product. But that not being possible: TRC, if you make the trip, we would like to hear about it in as much detail as you can tell.