TOS novel length

[iarann]

That's exactly the case. Novels take a long time to get done, so the first several novels in each of the TNG through ENT novel lines were written before the shows had premiered or even completed filming, and thus the novelists had to make do with what early material was available -- which in the case of Ghost Ship was just the bible and the pilot script, IIRC. And TNG changed a lot from the initial bible due to all the chaos and turnover on the writing staff.

Part of me wants to bring up the Broken Bow novelization again...

One occasionally hears rumors of an author getting to see an early cut of a movie or episode, but I've never actually known that to happen in all my years of writing and editing novelizations.

The only exceptions I can think of are the Ramsey Campbell novelizations of some of the Universal Horror films, the second novelization of The Terminator that was done right before T2 came out, and the most recent Star Wars novelizations that are coming out months after the films. All of these are unique situations I don't expect to see duplicated elsewhere, especially since adult novelizations are such an endangered species these days.

 

[Tosk]

the second novelization of The Terminator that was done right before T2 came out

Both of the novelizations of The Terminator came out in 1985.

 

[FreddyE]

But all TOS era novels are these HUGE tomes dedicated to one adventure that could probably fit an entire season worth of adventures.

Oh...I loved those thick volumes. Especially when a story was over multiple volumes of those, like that one 4-Part story...can´t remember the name. Its a TOS/TNG/VOY/DS9 Crossover (although the different crews don´t interact). The basic story is that Aliens from the other side of the galaxy come thru some kind of gate or wormhole and attack using a kind of "fear beam".

 

[Smiley]

Oh...I loved those thick volumes. Especially when a story was over multiple volumes of those, like that one 4-Part story...can´t remember the name. Its a TOS/TNG/VOY/DS9 Crossover (although the different crews don´t interact). The basic story is that Aliens from the other side of the galaxy come thru some kind of gate or wormhole and attack using a kind of "fear beam".

That would be Invasion!

 

[Greg Cox]

Part of me wants to bring up the Broken Bow novelization again...



The only exceptions I can think of are the Ramsey Campbell novelizations of some of the Universal Horror films, the second novelization of The Terminator that was done right before T2 came out, and the most recent Star Wars novelizations that are coming out months after the films. All of these are unique situations I don't expect to see duplicated elsewhere, especially since adult novelizations are such an endangered species these days.

I believe that the MERLIN miniseries with Sam Neill was also novelized months after the miniseries first aired, but, yes, that is indeed an exception to the rule. In general, the whole point of publishing a novelization is to cash in on all the hype and excitement about the hot new movie or TV show--which means you have to rush to get the book out at the same time as the premiere.

There are limits, of course. One of my recurring frustrations back in the day was studios that didn't realize just how long it took to produce a book--and who would get in touch with me way too late in the game:


"Hey, Greg, we've got this great new movie coming out. Tor interested in doing a novelization?"
"Sounds great! When's it coming out?"
"Next month."
"And you're coming to us with this just now? Eight months ago, six months ago, I would have been very interested, but now? It's just too late--unless we want to spend a fortune in rush fees and overtime."

Passed on a lot of interesting projects for this very reason.

 

[Christopher]

In general, the whole point of publishing a novelization is to cash in on all the hype and excitement about the hot new movie or TV show--which means you have to rush to get the book out at the same time as the premiere.

In earlier decades, novelizations were often released before a film's release in order to build advance interest in it through word of mouth. This was done with Isaac Asimov's Fantastic Voyage novelization (leading many to believe the film was based on the book instead of the other way around) and with the first two Star Wars movies (yes, Empire's ending was freely spoiled before the movie's release), and no doubt many others.

After all, movies based on popular novels had a lot of advance publicity and pre-existing audiences, so it made sense for original movies to try to capture some of that by releasing their novelizations in advance. There are some producers today who do similar things, getting their series or movie premises published as comic books or novels first to build interest and help them sell the TV or movie rights.

 

[Greg Cox]

Oh, yeah. Back in the day, you wanted to put out the novelization at least a couple of weeks before the movie opened, in part to grab all the impatient readers who couldn't wait for the movie, and also because, to be honest, all movies are "hits" until they actually open--at which point the movie could turn out to be a flop.

(Says the guy who bought the novelization rights to CUTTHROAT ISLAND, one of the biggest financial disasters in movie history.)

Now that spoilers have practically become a cottage industry on the internet, studios are understandably less willing to have the plots of their $200 million blockbusters revealed (and critiqued) weeks before the movies open, so it's more common for the novelization to come out a few days after the release date. Not as good for the publishers, to be honest, but one can't really blame the studios for prioritizing the actual movie over the novelization.

 

[EnriqueH]

Oooof, Cut Throat Island? Haven’t seen it since it was released on video. Please tell me you bought Pirates of the Caribbean as well?

 

[Greg Cox]

Oooof, Cut Throat Island? Haven’t seen it since it was released on video. Please tell me you bought Pirates of the Caribbean as well?

That was Disney. They have their own publishing companies.

For what it's worth, I bought the Cutthroat Island rights for pretty cheap and we may have even broken even since we ended up selling the translation rights to Germany and Japan. And, of course, unlike the movie studio, we didn't spend a hundred million dollars producing the paperback version. (Trek author John Betancourt actually wrote the novelization, btw.)

In my defense, CUTTHROAT ISLAND looked good on paper. Geena Davis had just won an Academy Award, the director was coming off CLIFFHANGER and DIE HARD 2, Frank Langella was playing the villain, and Carolco was spending a bloody fortune on the movie, so it certainly looked as though it was going to be a Major Event.

That's the thing about movie novelizations in general. You can't wait to see the actual movie before you commit to putting out a novelization. You have to dive in early on, based on an early script, the cast and credits and so on, if you want to get the book out in time for the movie. You're always rolling the dice and hoping for a hit.

I did, however, pass on publishing a deluxe coffee-table book on "The Making of CUTTHROAT ISLAND," so I dodged that bullet.

 

[EnriqueH]

Well, I was excited because there hadn’t been any cool, modern pirate movies. The trailer was cool the cast was good.

I just remember word of mouth being bad.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

One of my recurring frustrations back in the day was studios that didn't realize just how long it took to produce a book--and who would get in touch with me way too late in the game:

"Hey, Greg, we've got this great new movie coming out. Tor interested in doing a novelization?"
"Sounds great! When's it coming out?"
"Next month."
"And you're coming to us with this just now? Eight months ago, six months ago, I would have been very interested, but now? It's just too late--unless we want to spend a fortune in rush fees and overtime."

Passed on a lot of interesting projects for this very reason.

But I don't understand. Everyone knows that books just happen, right?

In earlier decades, novelizations were often released before a film's release in order to build advance interest in it through word of mouth. This was done with Isaac Asimov's Fantastic Voyage novelization (leading many to believe the film was based on the book instead of the other way around) and with the first two Star Wars movies (yes, Empire's ending was freely spoiled before the movie's release), and no doubt many others.

The same thing used to be true of comic book adaptations. Two or three issues of Marvels' six-issue adaptation of Star Wars came out before the movie premiered.

 

[Dayton Ward]

I still have an edition of the original Star Wars novelization that came out months before the film was released, with Ralph McQuarrie concept art for the cover and the tagline on the back : "SOON TO BE A SPECTACULAR MOTION PICTURE FROM TWENTIETH-CENTURY FOX!"

A lot they knew.

 

[Leto_II]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Greg Cox]

Well, I was excited because there hadn’t been any cool, modern pirate movies. The trailer was cool the cast was good.

I just remember word of mouth being bad.

Exactly. I'm a sucker for a good pirate movie, so naturally I thought a big, swashbuckling pirate movie sounded like fun. And I even got the studio to send me a copy of the trailer so I could show it to our sales reps.

I'm biased, of course, but I remember the movie being entertaining enough. And the soundtrack album (which, yes, I still have) is just as rousing as you might expect. Great writing music.

The movie is a famous flop not so much because it's a particularly bad movie, but because it lost so much money (over a hundred million dollars) that it drove the studio into bankruptcy.

And, yes, I'm perversely proud of editing the novelization of one of The Biggest Flops of All Time.

 

[Dayton Ward]

Cutthroat Island: At least it's not Gargantua.

 

[Greg Cox]

Cutthroat Island: At least it's not Gargantua.

Could I pick 'em or could I pick 'em?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Cutthroat Island: At least it's not Gargantua.

I've an ex-girlfriend who loves that film. She's a sucker for swords and pirates.

 

[Greg Cox]

I've an ex-girlfriend who loves that film. She's a sucker for swords and pirates.

Has she read THE SWEET TRADE by Elizabeth Garrett? One of my favorite pirate novels.

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Trade-Elizabeth-Garrett/dp/0312875185

And I would be remiss I didn't mention QUEEN OF SWORDS by SNW author R.S. Belcher. (Full disclosure: I edited that one.)

https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Swords...by+r.s.+belcher&qid=1582167089&s=books&sr=1-1

 

[Nerys Myk]

Has she read THE SWEET TRADE by Elizabeth Garrett? One of my favorite pirate novels.

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Trade-Elizabeth-Garrett/dp/0312875185

And I would be remiss I didn't mention QUEEN OF SWORDS by SNW author R.S. Belcher. (Full disclosure: I edited that one.)

https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Swords...by+r.s.+belcher&qid=1582167089&s=books&sr=1-1

She used to cosplay as a pirate at the local Ren Faire and also gave fencing lessons there.

 

[DonIago]

Has she read THE SWEET TRADE by Elizabeth Garrett? One of my favorite pirate novels.

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Trade-Elizabeth-Garrett/dp/0312875185

And I would be remiss I didn't mention QUEEN OF SWORDS by SNW author R.S. Belcher. (Full disclosure: I edited that one.)

https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Swords...by+r.s.+belcher&qid=1582167089&s=books&sr=1-1

Hey Greg, since we're talking literature, are you aware of any good pirate novels that feature non-heterosexual characters?