Regarding scheduling and the "next REAL book"
Sunday, October 20th, 2013 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rolanniGood morning.
I hope everyone's weekend is going well.
Here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory, we're shredding and cleaning, and getting ready for the book tour -- you've heard about the Trade Secret Book Tour, right? Here's the link. Hope to see you at one or more of our stops!
So, last week the ebook edition of Trade Secret hit virtual bookshelves at Baen, BN, Amazon &c. This means that a number of people have read the novel; and that, of that number of people, a smaller, but very eager, number have written to me wondering when they can read (choose one) the sequel/the next Theo book/the next book in the REAL timeline/what happens to Daav/fill in the blank.
I'm answering those questions here in part because I don't want to have to answer every single one of those emails individually, and also in the hope that all the rest of the people who are wondering these same things will read this before they feel compelled to shoot off an email.
Regarding the title of the new next book to be published by an Author of the Confusion Factory -- that will be, to the best of my knowledge, Carousel Sun, in February 2014. (Yes, I do realize, as a couple folks have pointed out, that Carousel Sun is not listed on the Baen website as an upcoming book UPDATE: A kind friend points out that Carousel Sun is, indeed, on the Baen Publication Schedule. Here's the link. I take the word of the young man who told me that it was not listed as being part of any "bundle," since the ways and means of "bundles" are obscure to me. I don't know why any of these things are so -- or not so. My information is this: Carousel Sun is listed on Amazon and BN as a February book. Further, I'm told by Baen that the galleys will possibly be ready for me to read when we return home from the book tour. That's all I got.)
OK, so: Carousel Sun, February 2014 is the next "new" book; after that -- perhaps Carousel Seas (which was turned in in August, so it could possibly appear in the Spring of 2014 -- this is, please note, pure speculation on my part; I don't make the Baen publishing schedule.)
After that? I dunno. The next book set in the Liaden Universe® is due on Madame the Editor's desk in May 2014. Again, pure speculation, and assuming such variables as a very clean manuscript and space in the schedule, it could, maybe, appear at the very end of 2014. Could. Maybe. See above re my involvement in making the publishing schedule.
For those who are "turned off," as one correspondent put it this morning, by the Carousel books -- you've got, yes, a long wait before you. While I know you may be disappointed, I will ask that you please keep your disappointment to yourself -- done is done. The particular set of delivery schedules that created this inconvenience for yourselves was set years ago, 'k? And I happen to like the Carousel books, and hearing how they're minor, or disappointing, or whatever, makes me sad. It's far more difficult for me to write anything when I'm sad. Just sayin'.
So, moving onward, what can the longtime readers of the Liaden Universe® expect?
You can expect, eventually, five books. I can say with complete confidence at this point that NONE of those five books concerns the doings of Jethri Gobelyn ven'Deelin, so those of you who are jonesing for a third (!) Jethri novel are going to have to find solace elsewhere.
Will any of those five books be in the REAL storyline? Well, that's more difficult to say, there being a number of definitions of what, exactly, the REAL storyline is. Steve says all of them are in the REAL storyline (he can say so, if he likes; after all, he was there at the beginning), but some readers interpret the series differently than he (and I).
Let's put it this way: The books -- as pitched, and purchased -- concern the ongoing adventures encountered by members of Clan Korval as the Clan tries to settle into its new role, on Surebleak, and in the wider Galaxy. The next book -- the book we've started work on just recently, is not a Theo book, by which I mean that Theo is not the main character.
Those of you who have been with us since September 2012, at least, will recall that these five books -- The Five-Book Dash, as we've been calling it -- are, in their entirety, the "sequel" to Dragon Ship. I am made to realize, from email, and other comments, that this is, in essence, "pulling a Wheel of Time." Which is apparently a Bad Thing. Whatever*.
The way we look at is that the five books coming are sequels to all the books preceding them: Agent of Change, Crystal Soldier, Fledgling, and all the etceteras of them -- every one of the seventeen prior Liaden novels feed into the action of the melded storylines you'll be seeing. Remember how we say, over and over again, that the Liaden Universe® is not a straight-line series? We really mean that.
Think of it this way: The Books of Before are a short road that intersects and flows along with another little street, The Space Regencies. That combined street makes a slight bend and suddenly we're on the main thoroughfare of the Agent of Change Sequence, down which we proceed for quite a number of blocks until it crosses The Theo Waitley Sequence, with which it runs parallel for a time, eventually merging with it onto the interstate -- The Five-Book Dash.
If this seems unnecessarily complicated to you -- well. . .it's the way our shared mind-space works, so we're all sorta stuck with it.
Now! Not to belabor the point, but in the interests of Absolute Clarity, I offer here the publication schedule as it is known As Of This Moment:
November 2013: Trade Secret
January 2014: A Liaden Universe® Constellation Volume 2
January 15, 2014: "The Gift of Music," free short story, Baen website
February 2014: Carousel Sun; Necessity's Child mmp
March 2014: Necessity's Child mmp
Here is the delivery schedule for the next five Liaden Universe® novels (aka the date that each novel is due in Madame the Editor's hands):
May 15, 2014: First of Five
February 15, 2015: Second of Five
November 15, 2015: Third of Five
August 15, 2016: Fourth of Five
May 15, 2017: Fifth of Five
* * *
OK. Who has questions?
________________
*The published Liaden Universe® is almost exactly two years older than the Wheel of Time. Just so you know.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-10-20 11:33 pm (UTC)Other folks don't know what they are talking about.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 01:03 am (UTC)*tapping my claws in anticipation"
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 01:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 01:18 am (UTC)Looking forward to all your books.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 12:39 pm (UTC)OK; good to know that I'm not going to be up against a Liaden book. Those things just suck up the numbers.
And I think I see what happened -- to me and to those who've told me that the book isn't listed. I, at least, use the ebook search tab on the Baen site, assuming that upcoming books will be listed in that catalog, but...obviously not.
Thanks, Mike!
no subject
Date: 2013-10-22 12:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 03:25 am (UTC)Barbara
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 04:14 am (UTC)I am rather disappointed with the new numerical classification of the "Continuation" as I had a soft spot for the former designation of Bridgett, Fred et al.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 12:40 pm (UTC)Well, we had to pitch them somehow, and linear made the most sense, even though none of us expect them to stay that way. I'm sure they'll acquire Better Names as we get to know them.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 07:19 am (UTC)People can be tactless, especially in modes of communication that do not involve being face to face with the person they're talking to. Oddly, people who have no tact frequently have no couth either. Guess their overgrown sense of entitlement doesn't leave much room for such.
I haven't read any of the Carousel books yet because I'm waiting for Carousel Sun to hit the shelves, so I can read the whole shebang in one go, says the child of a man who could buy a "mystery gift" in July and keep it until Christmas before opening it. I hope there are people out there who will be impatient with you and demand to know when you are going to stop messing about with that Liaden junk and get back to that "real" story.
I came late to the Liaden party (last year) and I got pretty spoiled with having everything up to Ghost Ship's worth of "and then what happened?" However, my momma raised me right, and when I clammour for moar, I say "please."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bt11Kl7Mtg
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 12:43 pm (UTC)A note, if you're going to wait until you have the whole series in hand, there are three Carousel books: Carousel Tides (2010), Carousel Sun (2014), Carousel Seas (TBA).
And yeah. If you admire One Thing that someone's done, but not another? And you want to encourage them? All you really have to say is, "I love how you do X!" and don't mention That Other at All. Much to be said for Keeping It Postive.
Seriously?
Date: 2013-10-21 08:20 am (UTC)There's only so much time to read books .. . .
Date: 2013-10-21 09:19 am (UTC)As always an eager reader!!
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 12:15 pm (UTC)Also thanks for the heads-up about Trade Secret, which I just recently reread in eARC form. Someone on another blog mentioned that the authors do not get paid for ARCs, is that true of eARCs as well?
no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 12:55 pm (UTC)Oh, good question!
ARCs -- Advance Reading Copies -- were, back in the days of Pure Print, sent to reviewers, and store buyers, and Influential Readers, in advance of the printing of the actual book, to give them time to read the book and craft a review that would then appear very near the release date of the book. ARCs were publisher sales tools, and they were given away, so -- no, the authors received no royalties on them.
Publisher do still send free ARCs to reviewers, store buyers, Influential Readers and Bloggers; as I understand it, nowadays ARCs are a combination of paper and electronic.
Baen eARCs, however, are a slightly different beast. They came about when the denizens of Baen's Bar began clamoring to get hotly-anticipated books ahead of the publication date. They wanted, in essence, ARCs. It was pointed out that ARCs are very often error-ridden, because they haven't been through all of the editing passes that the finished book will have seen. This was judged, by the folks who wanted the ARCs, to be a Feature.
That being the case, Baen made eARCs available as part of their catalog; and charges much more than they charge for a regular eBook, reasoning that the author deserved a share of this special interest market.
So, Baen authors do receive royalties on eARCs.
Thanks for asking.
eARCS
Date: 2013-10-21 01:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 12:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 07:52 pm (UTC)Interestingly, in fact -- if you like this kind of stuff -- women tend to want to argue Kate's intelligence, worth, and lack of ladylike airs, with a short side of finding the worldbuilding of Archers Beach unbelievable. Men tend to say stuff like, "I can't read that, I'm an engineer," which I guess means that the engineers have all taken an oath not to read fantasy novels.
It's perfectly true that not every reader likes the same sort of book -- I, for instance, adored Heyer's Regencies, but really can't get behind her mysteries. My loss, but there you are.
I don't expect every reader to love everything I write, or even that every Liaden reader will automatically like the Carousel books -- some readers will overlap, but not by any means all. I understand that; it doesn't bother me.
What bothers me are the folks who feel compelled to send me emails scolding me for whatever it is that offended them. For one thing, by the time someone reads, and is annoyed by, something I've written -- it's set in stone; I can't change it, even if I wanted to (which most times? Nah, not so much.).
I think that some number of these correspondents honestly don't understand that this behavior is Not Helpful. I think that some do understand that their behavior is disruptive, and hope to cause grief. I think some number of people Just Don't Think -- or re-read what they've written -- before they hit *send*.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-22 04:24 am (UTC)Actually, I didn't even realise that she swears a lot... does she?
I can sort of understand readers who find offense in a book - I read a series which was recommended by Ilona Andrews (well actually only the first book and I doubt she'd have recommended it if she had gone one to read the other books) and it turned ever more into the sex-magnet superman who every woman fell for (the women had to be sexy AND intelligent, which is - I guess - an improvment?) and all other men were incompetent (with a surprising bonus of loving description of male couture and its effect on women). Now THAT series became offensive to me - but I didn't go out of my way to send the author an e-mail about it.
I have sent links to positive reviews to authors I have more contact with, though, because personally I think people get too little praise in real life. I have the feeling people think there's a limited supply of justified praise and you have to dole it out sparingly.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-22 12:44 pm (UTC)Not by my lights :)
Now THAT series became offensive to me - but I didn't go out of my way to send the author an e-mail about it.
I know, right? I can't find time to send letters to the writers who I think Did Good, much less scold the ones I think dropped the cake.
I have the feeling people think there's a limited supply of justified praise and you have to dole it out sparingly.
I think you're right.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-22 01:20 pm (UTC)Right! I might manage leaving a link on their LJ, but if I want to go for detailed praise, I write a review, heh.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-23 02:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-21 11:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-22 06:37 am (UTC)Carousel
Date: 2013-10-22 11:33 am (UTC)Will the carousels be available in eARCS?
Re: Carousel
Date: 2013-10-22 12:46 pm (UTC)Madame the Publisher did indicate, in another venue, that Carousel Sun would be available as an eARC.
I haven't gotten an edit letter for Carousel Seas, yet, so -- much too soon to know for that title.
Re: Carousel
Date: 2013-10-22 01:23 pm (UTC)Re: Carousel
Date: 2013-10-22 10:31 pm (UTC)Lee & Miller Books
Date: 2013-10-22 06:04 pm (UTC)Carousel books
Date: 2013-10-22 07:17 pm (UTC)Constance
no subject
Date: 2013-11-01 02:53 pm (UTC)So sorry you've gotten complaints - I adore the setting and the sea.