Balance between novel lines: an observation

[Thrawn]

KRAD has made some lists like this before; I decided to make one including next year's schedule. Looking at Steve Roby's site, he lists omnibus reprints but not MMPB reprints of previous hardcovers. So that's what I did too. I also, for Destiny, instead of listing it as 3 "Crossover" books, I listed it as 1 TNG, 1 Titan, and 1 Aventine, to better give a general idea of how much we're seeing each crew. Terok Nor I listed as DS9.

So, if you look at the five years of Trek publishing '06-'10, these are the percentages:

TOS: 23%
TNG: 11%
DS9: 12%
VOY: 4%
ENT: 6%
NF: 4%
SCE: 5% (only counting the paper ones, not the ebook ones)
Klingon Empire: 1%
Titan: 6%
Vanguard: 5%
Aventine: 2%
Mirror/Myriad Universes: 9%
Abramsverse: 6%
Other/Crossover: 5%

First of all, TOS having 23% is what you'd expect; that also includes Pike, Sulu, Shatnerverse, Cox's Khan novels, etc etc. There's a lot there besides 5YM stories. Also, if you look at the 5 year average from 2005-2009, before the new TOS novels in 2010, it's still at 23%. 2010's new books balanced out 2005's books that no longer would be included in the average. Works out to exactly the same thing either way.

Ok. Now look at everything with less than 10%.

-New Frontier has had two books in two years. So it's doing fine.
-Gorkon / Klingon Empire is pretty much over.
-Aventine is brand new, and might not even be its own long-term series.
-Abramsverse is similarly brand new, but will probably reappear in 2011.
-Mirror & Myriad Universes each have a book in 2010.

And that leaves us with Voyager, Enterprise, SCE, Titan, and Vanguard. And I'll bet anyone $100 right now that we get at least one novel from each of those five series in 2011. (Not to mention the fact that, with the regrettable exception of SCE, we got two MMPBs or one trade from each of those series this year.)

Or, put another way: Even if you hate TOS and Abramsverse, if you take any kind of view longer than 18 months, next year's schedule is barely even a blip. Even doing a direct comparison, it is at best marginally less balanced than 2008. That year had 4 DS9 books all focused around the Terok Nor period, 4 books about a Borg invasion, and 1 each from 4 other series - sound like familiar proportions?

So, let's quit with the "Margaret Clark is running the Trek line into the ground" hyperbole and nonsense, ok?

 

[Paris]

^Thanks for the list Thrawn. In the current marketplace, especially for book publishers, they have to do what is best for business first, or the book lines will collapse completely. We're getting something like 16 trek books in 2010, and hopefully, at least another 16 or so in 2011. This is amazing considering the books don't sell in the 100,000's. If loading up in certain areas in certain years allows them to diversify in other years, then all the more power to Margaret/Pocket. I'm just glad that video games and movies haven't totally suplanted our favorite tie-in books. Villifying Margaret Clark is just silly. She's the life blood behind our obsession, and she guides the various novel lines in what she thinks is best possible way. And with all the continuity between the various lines, you can tell she's no Richard Arnold. She's definetly one of us .

 

[Lonemagpie]

Stop confusing the issue with rampant facts!

 

[Jbarney]

Nice to see the list examined and given some perspective.

 

[JD]

Thanks for that, it really does put things in perspective. I've been really frustrated by the people talking about how Margaret is destroying Trek or the books or whatever, so it's nice to see proof that she isn't. The thing to keep in mind when you are unhappy with one schedule is that there are hopefully plenty more to come.

 

[Rush Limborg]

^I concur.

Great food for thought, Thrawn!

If THIS doesn't silence the "no balance" haters...I dunno WHAT will....

 

[Corran Horn]

I still pine for the days when there'd be two new books a month...not including reprints, etc.

 

[Rush Limborg]

^Same here.

BUT--probably won't happen until we get the new kids interested in the "Prime Universe" en masse....

 

[Technobuilder]

So explain again why "Klingon Empire" is Dead?

Great stuff, those.

 

[Thrawn]

So explain again why "Klingon Empire" is Dead?

Great stuff, those.

I actually haven't read anything official, but other posters mentioned to me in another thread that KRAD said/hinted/implied/whatever that the sales weren't high enough to justify continuing.

And given that A Singular Destiny pretty much told us what happened in the lives of all those characters between A Burning House and Destiny, I have a feeling that A Burning House won't be getting any direct sequels.

 

[LutherSloan]

From what I've read on here, it does appear that the Gorkon series was not financially sustainable, which is understandable to me.

Unless things have changed, there isn't supposed to be an 'Aventine' running series. I believe Clark herself said specifically this recently. The ship isn't supposed to show up until its appearance in the 'Typhon Pact' miniseries. It will probably appear from time to time in major TNG/DS9 books, maybe even visiting in on Voyager out in the DQ. You never know. I mean, sooner or later we'll have to see Ezri reunite with her DS9 friends. She briefly met up with Worf during 'Destiny', but that didn't last that long.

 

[Thrawn]

It's also possible that the Aventine Typhon Pact book sells so well they decide to give it a chance on its own. Stranger things have happened. But, yeah, either way we won't know until at least a year or so after the Typhon Pact is done.

 

[Sxottlan]

Are there lists out there of what books came out in what months in years past?

It'd be interesting to look at them and compare.

 

[Tino]

It's also possible that the Aventine Typhon Pact book sells so well they decide to give it a chance on its own.

But do we really need ANOTHER book series? The more time for Aventine, the less time for the TV-series.

 

[Paris]

^The bottom line is, we need good books, period. The last few years of treklit have been awesome. Keeping up that level of quality is paramount. If an Aventine book is written (besides the TP book) and it's a good story, then i'll be all over it. Do we really need a new series? Why not. With the SCE books done, and the IKS Gorkon/Klingon books in limbo, another series wouldn't be all that bad. Especially when authors like David Mack are writing them .

...but let's not let this thread descend into another anti-Aventine thread people .

 

[MNM]

Or, put another way: Even if you hate TOS and Abramsverse, if you take any kind of view longer than 18 months, next year's schedule is barely even a blip.

Surely only the people involved in creating the line are the ones who take a long term view though?

If you are simply someone who likes reading the books, you look at the announced schedule for as far as it goes, nothing longer. And if on that schedule there is a load of books you are not interested in and only a couple you are, you're not wrong for feeling discontent at that.

In the long term it may balance out, but what consumer ever looks at or cares about the long term?

I'm not saying it's alright to denounce the editor for "running the books into the ground" as clearly she is not, but at the same time, there is nothing wrong in the view that the announced line is not a great one, if you hold that view.

 

[Defcon]

So, let's quit with the "Margaret Clark is running the Trek line into the ground" hyperbole and nonsense, ok?

I'm not saying it's alright to denounce the editor for "running the books into the ground" .

Any specific reason you all keep to refer to a statement by me that already was more or less taken back (although I stand by the fact that I think the structure of the schedule is crap), instead of refering to the guy who actually said Clark should be fired?

 

[MNM]

So, let's quit with the "Margaret Clark is running the Trek line into the ground" hyperbole and nonsense, ok?

I'm not saying it's alright to denounce the editor for "running the books into the ground" .

Any specific reason you all keep to refer to a statement by me that already was more or less taken back (although I stand by the fact that I think the structure of the schedule is crap), instead of refering to the guy who actually said Clark should be fired?

I used the line because the person I responded too used it, and I wanted to comment on how while the phrase they used was an extreme, having a negative view on the schedule itself was not wrong.

Nothing more.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I still pine for the days when there'd be two new books a month...

With half the average word count.

 

[Therin of Andor]

If you are simply someone who likes reading the books, you look at the announced schedule for as far as it goes, nothing longer. And if on that schedule there is a load of books you are not interested in and only a couple you are, you're not wrong for feeling discontent at that.

Having the list of all upcoming titles 18 months in advance is a fairly recent phenomenon. I remember when the only announcement of a single new ST title would be one-line announcement in "Locus". What we didn't know didn't hurt us.

If you were lucky, you even got the name of the author. I recall the author announced by "Locus" for the "Encounter at Farpoint" novelization was "Godonly Nose".