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merlinscribeDear Friends:
This is not an email I wanted to write. But I have always promised I would keep you "in the loop", as it were, and not simply retreat into a mystifying silence when things happened.
So.
About a month ago, around the time I was expecting my revision letter for The Art of War, what I got instead was an email from my agent that Tor was rejecting the book. This is a fairly rare occurrence, especially for the ninth book in a series. They said they required major changes before they would consider accepting the book.
Since they would not specify what these changes should be, aside from "a better ending", there is a bit of a scramble going on, especially when working within the constraints of eight previous books of lore and canon.
I have one in mind, and it should certainly work, since Ancaladar told Vestakia about it all the way back in the first trilogy, but right now you know as much as I do about the state of play. Negotiations, as they say, are ongoing.
I am currently, and off my own bat, revising the manuscript so that I can add on the sort of ending Tor may be thinking of. As it stands right now, The Art of War is more like a book report on the book I actually wanted to write—and I have to find room for another rather large chunk of story. Somehow.
I am very sorry. I did not expect anything like this to happen, and I apologize.
TL;DR: The Art of War will not be out this year because editor.
This is not an email I wanted to write. But I have always promised I would keep you "in the loop", as it were, and not simply retreat into a mystifying silence when things happened.
So.
About a month ago, around the time I was expecting my revision letter for The Art of War, what I got instead was an email from my agent that Tor was rejecting the book. This is a fairly rare occurrence, especially for the ninth book in a series. They said they required major changes before they would consider accepting the book.
Since they would not specify what these changes should be, aside from "a better ending", there is a bit of a scramble going on, especially when working within the constraints of eight previous books of lore and canon.
I have one in mind, and it should certainly work, since Ancaladar told Vestakia about it all the way back in the first trilogy, but right now you know as much as I do about the state of play. Negotiations, as they say, are ongoing.
I am currently, and off my own bat, revising the manuscript so that I can add on the sort of ending Tor may be thinking of. As it stands right now, The Art of War is more like a book report on the book I actually wanted to write—and I have to find room for another rather large chunk of story. Somehow.
I am very sorry. I did not expect anything like this to happen, and I apologize.
TL;DR: The Art of War will not be out this year because editor.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-12 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-13 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-12 01:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-13 03:50 am (UTC)As for pressuring the company, that's only going to work if I had mega-clout like GRRM. And *his* publishing clout comes from his TV work, something to which I, alas, cannot aspire. So there's really not much to be done except wait for Tor to tell me what they will find acceptable. Meanwhile, I continue to soldier onward. Next up on my revision: Rune faces the most terrifying thing he can imagine: an Elven tea ceremony...
no subject
Date: 2024-08-12 06:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-21 12:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-15 03:49 pm (UTC)Anyway, thanks for the update, but no need to apologize for the bad news. As you said this is very rare and I hope you don't struggle to figure out a new ending that works for the editor too much.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-21 04:02 am (UTC)I haven't heard from her since the end of June, and I'm getting the slightest bit apprehensive here.
no subject
Date: 2021-07-21 08:14 pm (UTC)I can see her not liking "Wings of Fate" since it's very similar to one of her older books titles ("Winds of Fate"). I keep thinking Sun Tzu with the title "Art of War", but don't know if I have any better suggestions. Maybe something with throne or scepter in it given the last two titles have a kingship theme to them?
Title
Date: 2022-04-01 03:05 am (UTC)Re: Title
Date: 2022-04-01 03:14 am (UTC)Stay safe,
Re: Title
Date: 2022-04-26 01:31 am (UTC)Re: Title
Date: 2022-04-27 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-27 06:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-07-27 06:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-01 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-18 07:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 12:05 pm (UTC).....and as a rule; I don't donate to kickstarters.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-09 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-03 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-04 05:37 pm (UTC)Just remember we love your work and are eager to read the story in whatever form it ends up.
And seriously, publishers stink.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-13 06:39 pm (UTC)Hang in there - your works have a special kind of flavor to them that makes them unique, and I have always enjoyed them immensely.
Book name
Date: 2021-08-21 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-26 10:25 pm (UTC)Megan May
Don’t change the best version of the book!!
Date: 2021-10-05 08:52 pm (UTC)Re: Don’t change the best version of the book!!
Date: 2021-10-05 11:08 pm (UTC)But while I was brooding over the fact that what will be published is pretty much a bullet-point list of the scenes I wanted to write, I thought of writing those missing chapters anyway and letting readers know where they fall within the narrative. Not only can I resurrect what will be cut (including a Midwinter celebration I would hate to miss), but Tor won't exactly own those parts, so I can post them here. (Or on AO3. Hsst! My account's a secret!)
Bad news is, any stuff like that has to wait until I am done (officially and production-cycle-wise) with The Art of War: A Deliverance of Dragons, so you have the prospect of a very long wait before you see those scenes. But I was a fan before I became a writer, and I completely understand how you feel.
Any progress?
Date: 2021-12-15 01:15 am (UTC)Re: Any progress?
Date: 2021-12-19 11:45 pm (UTC)Re: Any progress?
Date: 2022-02-13 08:41 pm (UTC)I just reread the first two Dragon Prophecy books and am all the more anxious for book 3. Is there any news?
Publishing Issues
Date: 2022-02-18 09:34 pm (UTC)Thanks
Date: 2022-02-27 06:44 am (UTC)Here’s to many more!
no subject
Date: 2022-04-08 02:21 pm (UTC)