The New Editors of the Star Trek Book Series

[NextGen123]

I haven't seen any new Deep Space Nine books being advertised of late. Is all the good continuuity developed by editor Marco Palmeri going to fall by the wayside? I loved the DS9 series of books since 2000 and all the projects he lead during his time as editor. Will there be any attempt from the new editors to keep that in place? Are we just going to see more done in one or stand alone novels from now on?

 

[Greg Cox]

There aren't really any "new" editors. Ed Schlesinger has been there for ages. He edited my third Khan novel, for one thing, and that was six years ago!

And, fyi, Marco is now an editor at Tor Books.

 

[Christopher]

Marco's contributions to the current novel continuity get the most attention, and deservedly so, but in reality it was a joint effort of multiple editors, including John Ordover, Marco, Keith R. A. DeCandido (as a freelance editor), Margaret Clark, and Ed Schlesinger. And it has continued in the three years since Marco was laid off by Simon & Schuster, and will continue into the future.

 

[cultcross]

This is more suited to Trek Lit - moving...

 

[JD]

I'm pretty sure that as long as the current batch of writers are still around we'll be seeing at least some of the interconnectivity.

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm pretty sure that as long as the current batch of writers are still around we'll be seeing at least some of the interconnectivity.

Exactly. This isn't all editor-driven. I made a few minor changes to my upcoming TOS novel just to avoid contradicting something in one of Christopher's future books. And that wasn't because of some grand editorial fiat from Pocket Books, but simply because Christopher and I were chatting via email.

And, truth be told, I still chat with John and Margaret and Marco on a regular basis, just because we're all friends and fans of STAR TREK . . . .

 

[toughlittleship]

Plaques of Night and Raise the Dawn (working titles) have been described here as possibly DS9 related novels. They're out next summer.

 

[Christopher]

Exactly. This isn't all editor-driven. I made a few minor changes to my upcoming TOS novel just to avoid contradicting something in one of Christopher's future books. And that wasn't because of some grand editorial fiat from Pocket Books, but simply because Christopher and I were chatting via email.

Yup. And as part of the same exchange, I asked Greg not to alter something in his book, because it let me improve a minor thread running through my book. So there was some useful synergy there.

 

[mindx2]

Exactly. This isn't all editor-driven. I made a few minor changes to my upcoming TOS novel just to avoid contradicting something in one of Christopher's future books. And that wasn't because of some grand editorial fiat from Pocket Books, but simply because Christopher and I were chatting via email.

Yup. And as part of the same exchange, I asked Greg not to alter something in his book, because it let me improve a minor thread running through my book. So there was some useful synergy there.

That's what I love about this group of authors and the inter-connectivity between your novels. It's these little touches that really set this "generation" of Trek novels apart from those in the past !!

 

[Lonemagpie]

That's what I love about this group of authors and the inter-connectivity between your novels. It's these little touches that really set this "generation" of Trek novels apart from those in the past !!

It's a good way to do things, I think - reminds me of how stuff worked in the Dr Who books in the NA/MA and EDA/PDA days. It's just a sensible way for an ongoing line to go.

 

[Christopher]

Actually this is the second era of interconnectivity in Trek novels. As we've discussed before on this forum, there was a loose continuity that gradually emerged among the novels in the mid- to late '80s, starting as other authors began referencing John M. Ford's Klingons and Diane Duane's Rihannsu, and expanding from there. Here's a post I made that tried to list all the books that were linked, however tenuously, into that continuity:

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?p=4880861

But these days, when we all have e-mail and such, it's a lot easier to maintain communication among authors/editors and coordinate our efforts.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Actually this is the second era of interconnectivity in Trek novels. As we've discussed before on this forum, there was a loose continuity that gradually emerged among the novels in the mid- to late '80s

And with DC Comics and FASA RPG materials.

 

[PaulSimpson]

But these days, when we all have e-mail and such, it's a lot easier to maintain communication among authors/editors and coordinate our efforts.

Or all sit in the bar at Shore Leave and discuss it...

 

[JD]

I'm pretty sure that as long as the current batch of writers are still around we'll be seeing at least some of the interconnectivity.

Exactly. This isn't all editor-driven. I made a few minor changes to my upcoming TOS novel just to avoid contradicting something in one of Christopher's future books. And that wasn't because of some grand editorial fiat from Pocket Books, but simply because Christopher and I were chatting via email.

And, truth be told, I still chat with John and Margaret and Marco on a regular basis, just because we're all friends and fans of STAR TREK . . . .

Exactly. This isn't all editor-driven. I made a few minor changes to my upcoming TOS novel just to avoid contradicting something in one of Christopher's future books. And that wasn't because of some grand editorial fiat from Pocket Books, but simply because Christopher and I were chatting via email.

Yup. And as part of the same exchange, I asked Greg not to alter something in his book, because it let me improve a minor thread running through my book. So there was some useful synergy there.

Was this book Forgotten History or something else you can't talk about?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Was this book Forgotten History or something else you can't talk about?

It's not called "Forgotten History" for nothing!

 

[NextGen123]

I respectfully disagree with all the authors. I remember there was a time when you you didn't have to wait six months to a year for the second part of a story (I.E. Romulan War) it was such a good book and I would have liked to have seen them released right after the first volume. The Typhon Pact series was released on a monthly basis. Why isn't this true of all the multi part stories?



As a long time follower of the Trek novels this is a deal breaker for me. I don't like buying a story where I have to wait a long period of time for part two. I am sure the authors are going to disagree with me. However in today's economic times, I'd like to finish a great story when I start it.

 

[PaulSimpson]

As a long time follower of the Trek novels this is a deal breaker for me. I don't like buying a story where I have to wait a long period of time for part two. I am sure the authors are going to disagree with me. However in today's economic times, I'd like to finish a great story when I start it.

But when you've got a story that's as huge in scope as The Romulan War, it's going to take some time to do the actual physical writing - and that's before Mike's original trilogy idea got dropped down to a duology. Contrary to occasional popular belief, the writers are human and have to do these boring things like - in many cases - day jobs, eat, spend time with their families etc. The first Romulan War book mmpb is over an inch thick - and I'm sure that Mike and his editors learned things from the writing and editing process on those that informed the second book.

Your alternative, of course, is to go the "boxed set" approach - and wait until all the books are out before starting the first one. Pre-editing STM, I have to say that I did that with certain of the early-2000s trilogies

Paul

 

[Sci]

I respectfully disagree with all the authors. I remember there was a time when you you didn't have to wait six months to a year for the second part of a story (I.E. Romulan War) it was such a good book and I would have liked to have seen them released right after the first volume.

This is just me guessing, since I'm by no means an expert. But given that we've heard indications that Michael A. Martin had to cut The Romulan Wars down from a trilogy to a two-parter, my guess would be that they honestly weren't sure how well the ENT Romulan War books would sell, and therefore decided to do the first one and then judge how well it sold before commissioning another. If this is the case, presumably it would have been because ENT novels would have sold less well than other books.

The Typhon Pact series was released on a monthly basis. Why isn't this true of all the multi part stories?

The Typhon Pact wasn't a multi-part story. It was four separate stories that happened to all deal with the Typhon Pact and its impact on the Federation.

As a long time follower of the Trek novels this is a deal breaker for me. I don't like buying a story where I have to wait a long period of time for part two.

That's a strange attitude to have -- waiting a few years between books is hardly uncommon. Hell, upwards of two or three years would sometimes go by between the Harry Potter books, for instance. By contrast, all of the post-finale ENT novels have been released within a span of about four years.

I am sure the authors are going to disagree with me. However in today's economic times, I'd like to finish a great story when I start it.

I'm not sure what the economy has to do with publishing multiple-part stories' installations together. If anything, I should think that putting some time in between entries would give your wallet a chance to recover!

 

[Therin of Andor]

I respectfully disagree with all the authors. I remember there was a time when you you didn't have to wait six months to a year for the second part of a story

This feels rather selfish to me.

Way back in John Ordover's time, they found that if they released two parts of a trilogy in the same month, and the final part the next month, the individual books sold more copies each than one big omnibus - even though it probably would have been more economical to release all three parts in the one book. To many fans, that felt like a complete rip off and, indeed, some ST books really did feel like one manuscript cut in half and released in two volumes. In fact, that's exactly what happened with Books 3 & 4 of the "Rihannsu Saga", because Diane Duane had difficulty finishing the series by the original deadline.

A wait between books is sensible. The wait between "Vulcan's Soul" trilogy instalments meant that the authors could integrate new information (about Remans, from NEM) into the books as they were written.

To force an author to wait several years before his/her books can be released together, and start earning back their royalties, is a bit much, too.

If you find the wait between books too long, you need to develop some self-discipline. Buy each book when it comes out and store them up to read in a batch. But realise that some authors don't know they'll one day be writing a sequel to a particular novel... until positive reviews and good sales come in, and the editor/author decide to take another run at it.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Sorry to dredge this shit up again, but my only problem with the editors --and it's a big one, dating from two years ago when a different editor was in charge anyway-- is that there are still no nuTrek novels and probably won't be until Bad Robot are through with the franchise. Other than that, they're doing a great job.

I do get a buzz when the icy Delta Vega's mentioned in Paths of Disharmony, or Geordi orders a Cardassian Sunrise in Indistingushable From Magic, or something that sounds just like Red Matter pops up briefly in Watching the Clock. Those were cool little references, and much appreciated by this nuTrek nut.