At which point it's as likely that when Jaime says "right Dave, about that Rise Like Lions..." he says "Nah, that was crap, I've got a*better* idea now..."
It's really too bad that there are licensing issues involved because it would be cool if the authors could self-publish in ebook form. I'm ready for the middle man to die a long slow lingering death! Kevin
Well, as soon as individual readers like you are willing to pony up the thousands of dollars for the advance payment, you can make it happen.
Not at all. Self-publishing runs the risk of self-indulgence -- assuming you're also self-editing. Nothing beats a good editor to temper your flaws and challenge you to raise your game.
Damn straight. And, in general, editors and publishers have a better idea of what the audience is and what they want. Though, unfortunately, the marketing chimps think they know better.
A good editor, or rather their review staff, also makes sure the writer's bio contains only factual information. I think it's nice for DM to take the blame, but it's actually the job of the editor. (At least, in tech writing that's how we do it.)
I could be wrong, but I think things like Dedications, Acknowledgments and About the Authors (basically everything where the author expresses him/herself) don't get edited.
^No, author bios can get edited for accuracy. At least, I've had some title punctuation corrected in my About the Author sections.
Actually Chris I never had in mind self-editing and I think it would be foolish for any author to self-edit. I was assuming that the editing would be contracted out. I'm sure there are some good editors who would not mind moonlighting. Kevin
So, now we're in a situation where a writer, an editor, and the rights-holder all need to get paid before the book can be self-published. It almost sounds like you need a whole company to put this deal together and make sure the book is made available to the reader...
Memories of the lost TOS episode, "Requiem for a Martian"... Sigh. Dare I also mention novels such as "The War Virus" and "Orion's Belt", the long-forgotten Zar trilogy, and many other "lost books" - some no more than brief proposals, some whole manuscripts canceled before birth.
Well, if you have ever been to sights like Smashwords.com you would quickly realize that there are already a lot of VERY good and talented authors self-publishing. Kevin
Besides, Mack's "hastiness" may actually be a blessing in disguise for him. As we have given a basically positive reaction, we will probably be on his side to pressure/convince Pocket to ACCEPT THE DANG PROPOSAL!!!
Because some times, despite the best of intentions, shit happens. Editors are overworked, underpaid, and -- as has been demonstrated twice in the space of a year with respect to the Trek line in particular -- subject to abrupt replacement. Given first what Margaret had to deal with in the wake of Marco's departure (much of which was still in flux when SHE was let go), and what Jaime now has to shoulder with respect to trying to deal with the various projects that were in play by BOTH of them, some times, a mistake or two is gonna happen.