[ikonetic]

Okay,here goes.I made a comment in the Jordan general discussion and i wuld like some feedback from members of this forum.With the advent of large,multivolume epics(WoT,aSoFaI,etc.)do the authors owe anything to thier readers such as a fully outlined story before the first book goes to print,not including things just so someone can make a game or video of it, etc.?Should publishing companies demand a full outline before they buy a story?Where and who draw the line between profit and art?Where should the integrity lie?I know many on this site are writers as well as fans and it would be nice to get some feedback.

[kahnovitch]

I'm a bit of a cynic (as some people well know) and I think that some writers (like some film directors) have a tendancy to leave things open-ended for sequels sake.
I also believe that once a writer has established a reputation as a good saleable commodity, the publishers will be more than happy to encourage said writer to create long multi-volume stories for obvious reasons of guaranteed sales thanks to the loyal fans.
Publishers do demand full outlines and synopses from (especially previously unpublished) writers but I doubt if you wrote a nine book series as your first work, too many of them would be keen to look at it.

[kegasaurus]

I'll answer this with a 'no', but also with a 'I wish they would.'

The simple fact of the matter is that the WOT is a saleable commodity and it will be stretched out as long as RJ wishes it to be (Not to my disappointment.) If you say yes to this, then you probably also want quality in every thing else you buy and thats something the world has pretty much given up on.

There's also the answer of a writer maturing as they write their work adn thus the outline would change as they went ie Steven Spielberg saying that the Dreyfuss' character in Close encounters wouldn't leave his family if the movie was made today, but I still subscribe to my first answer.

[JohnH]

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[Rob B]

I don't know that the authors really "owe" anything to the readers, but the question is understandable.

On the one hand, the author is making quite a bit of money from the sale of their books, i.e. the readers, so the reader has cause for concern. However, it is ultimately the reader/buyers choice whether to buy the books or not.

However, with a number of series, specifically those mentioned above, becoming seemingly unending, it would be nice to know if a series is planned to be complete in a certain amount of volumes. I can only point to Jordan's series and his comments from at least the third or fourth book that it would be at least two more books. Paraphrasing here, so don't quite hold me to the letter, but the point is this--it is frustrating to be told the same thing 7 or 8 books later.

But people do keep buying the books....

[OgreWolf]

Not to continue the WoT discussion here, but I would just like to point out that Jordan already has written the end of the WoT series. And for a very long time he has said that it will be 12 books. I read an interwiev with him, and he said he was getting tired of WoT and was longing to start a new project. He said he would not write one word more than he felt absolutely necessary.

[fortytwo]

Originally posted by FitzFlagg
I don't know that the authors really "owe" anything to the readers, but the question is understandable.

On the one hand, the author is making quite a bit of money from the sale of their books, i.e. the readers, so the reader has cause for concern. However, it is ultimately the reader/buyers choice whether to buy the books or not.

However, with a number of series, specifically those mentioned above, becoming seemingly unending, it would be nice to know if a series is planned to be complete in a certain amount of volumes. I can only point to Jordan's series and his comments from at least the third or fourth book that it would be at least two more books. Paraphrasing here, so don't quite hold me to the letter, but the point is this--it is frustrating to be told the same thing 7 or 8 books later.

But people do keep buying the books....


I couldn’t agree more, FitzFlagg.

Although not an author myself, I have on many occasions read how authors plan and research a book ( and presumably a series). Consequently I have always been under the impression that one doesn’t just sit down and start to write a story without having done all the groundwork beforehand. Bearing that in mind, is it really too much to ask that the paying public has some idea what they’re letting themselves in for when they are trying to decide whether to buy into the author’s latest offering?
As an example, my mother bought the first book of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Series in 1983, according to the publicity at the time, this was his current project and would be his priority undertaking. As far as I’m aware he’s written four books in that series in 20 years. My mother died last year, I’m sure she wouldn’t have bothered if she’d had any inkling of how long the series would take to be completed.

Perhaps an author may not “owe” his readers anything, but it would be the “ethical “ thing to do in my opinion.
However, like kahnovitch I’m a cynic too, and ethics is a dirty word in business.

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[ikonetic]

Allright,owe is kind of a harsh word,but think about it.I have bought all 10 Jordan books in hardbound at 25$ to 30$ apiece so I have 250$ to 300$ invested in this series.I loved this series at first so I bought in hardbound and as I am a collector would like to finish it in this medium but now I feel somewhat betrayed.Do not think i am picking on Jordan,though.I have a copy of The Redemption of Athulus by Eddings given to me by a friend wich I will not put in my collection or even read.I bought the Belgariad as it came out in paperback and loved it.Then the Mallorean came out in hardbound so I bought it.As I read it though I went "Hey,this is the same plot and characters in different order,how cheap"so I have not bought an Eddings book since.Another series I(Wandor by Roland Green)had 4 books in it.A 5 was promised(the name was even published )but it never appeared.I have tried to contact both author and the publishing company with no response from either.To end this I brought this subject up partially to rant and also I think thier should be some dialouge about this between readers,writers,and publishers.

[ChrisW]

not including things just so someone can make a game or video of it, etc.? Umm can you please provide an example of this from either WoT or aSoIaF please.

[ikonetic]

Sure, thats easy.WoT has been made into a role playing game since about book 5 or 6.Alot of the symbols and phrases have been trade marked.Also look at the companion book that came out wich he basicly had ghostwritten.Ka-Ching!Can you say extra profit.Raymond Fiests books are the same way.Next thing you know we will have"Nynaeve vs. Cersei Lannister;Mudwrestling:The Videogame.