2018 Releases

[Damian]

There is still one more Voyager novel by Kirsten Beyer that she has in the pipeline. There is no word yet that I've found on it's possible release date. But that would be the last.

I know anything is pure speculation. It'd be nice to at least hear it's being worked on, though I'm sure the publisher doesn't care about our concerns (ironic in a way since we're customers).

You'd think the publisher might be somewhat concerned that the more time goes by with almost nothing, the more chance maybe some people move on and don't come back when they do eventually return. Maybe not. But I do know if something isn't moving in show biz, it's considered dead.

 

[ryan123450]

Couldn’t agree more with the last two posts.

 

[The Wormhole]

There is still one more Voyager novel by Kirsten Beyer that she has in the pipeline. There is no word yet that I've found on it's possible release date. But that would be the last.

Honestly, I'm really not holding my breath on that one at the moment.

 

[Damian]

I figure it will get done eventually. But I agree, I wouldn't hold my breath because I do think it may be a while

 

[borgboy]

I continue to be shocked and confused that this is taking so long.

 

[Leto_II]

I continue to be shocked and confused that this is taking so long.

 

[Thrawn]

Honestly, I'm really not holding my breath on that one at the moment.

She's definitely writing it.

 

[ryan123450]

But we can pretty much expect that its not coming out until 2020.

 

[Damian]

But we can pretty much expect that its not coming out until 2020.

I'm starting to thing it may be 2020 before we see any novels. I think 2018 is a bust at this point. Reading some of the comments by the authors here, it sounds like even if they rushed things, it's be unlikely they'd be able to have something on the market in 6 to 9 months. Maybe if they had a manuscript ready to hand in---but I gather that's not the way they do things. It sounds like some of them have ideas where they want to go and so forth--but who's going to write a manuscript blindly without a contract?

 

[borgboy]

If they really cared they could do print books of some of the ebook exclusives to fill the gaps.

 

[Christopher]

If they really cared they could do print books of some of the ebook exclusives to fill the gaps.

Of course they care, but this is business, so decisions are not based exclusively on personal desires or caring. There are things that are feasible to do and things that aren't, for contractual or logistical or budgetary reasons or whatever. If it were solely a matter of the editors' wishes, we would've had print collections of the e-book originals years ago. But it's more complicated than that. So don't assume that people "don't care" just because you don't know all the factors that shape their decisions.

 

[ryan123450]

The growing negativity in this thread (which I’m feeling too) is an indicator of the fact that Pocket has (and has had for quite a while) seriously bad PR skills. That can’t be good for business.

 

[Christopher]

The growing negativity in this thread (which I’m feeling too) is an indicator of the fact that Pocket has (and has had for quite a while) seriously bad PR skills. That can’t be good for business.

As Keith DeCandido likes to say, don't mistake a few fans complaining on a bulletin board for any kind of wider trend. This thread is not a representative statistical sample.

Besides, why are you assuming this is up to Pocket? If the negotiations are delayed, then that probably ties their hands, limits what they can say or do. The parties in an ongoing negotiation do not have the freedom to talk about it before it's resolved. That's basic business.

Also, Pocket/Simon & Schuster is a large publisher with many, many fiction and nonfiction lines. Star Trek is just one property out of many. It's not like their whole business model depends on Trek tie-ins alone.

 

[ryan123450]

Pointing out that they are a big business and so aren’t really that concerned with their Star Trek line doesn’t much help negate my point that they are alienating Star Trek fans.

And I doubt that a simple ‘Negotiations are ongoing’ would be out of bounds, regardless of the situation. That’s the bare minimum that would ameliorate alot of peoples concerns. That’s far less than they gave us the last (and only) time any update to the situation was officially given, and we know these supposed ‘hand-tying’ negotiations were still taking place at that point.

 

[Damian]

Pointing out that they are a big business and so aren’t really that concerned with their Star Trek line doesn’t much help negate my point that they are alienating Star Trek fans.

And I doubt that a simple ‘Negotiations are ongoing’ would be out of bounds, regardless of the situation. That’s the bare minimum that would ameliorate alot of peoples concerns. That’s far less than they gave us the last (and only) time any update to the situation was officially given, and we know these supposed ‘hand-tying’ negotiations were still taking place at that point.

That's sort of my beef. I know with any negotiations, no matter what, confidentiality is a must. But even in union-management negotiations they usually will say negotiations are ongoing. But the silence is becoming deafening to me. When was the last 'official' update. Last summer. And this is the first time I can remember any sort of gap like this (except for the Abramsverse novels being cancelled--but the reasoning behind that was pretty clear cut I think at the time--and even then, there were books still in the pipeline--right now there's just the Discovery and Voyager novel under the old contract).

In a way, if I were the publisher, I hope more people do care then what you see on this board. I mean, if the rest of Trekkie fandom is like, meh, who cares, I would think that'd be concerning. People coming here and saying where are my new Star Trek books is what they should want to hear.

Christopher (and Dayton Ward, Greg Cox, and everyone else). We're anxious to see what's next. Do Shran and Archer come to an understanding about the Prime Directive? What happens to the Enterprise now that Admiral Akaar's trust in Picard has been shaken? Where does the Robinson go next? What happens the Typhon Pact when Romulus is destroyed? And of course there are always original series stories out there to be told.

 

[Christopher]

Pointing out that they are a big business and so aren’t really that concerned with their Star Trek line doesn’t much help negate my point that they are alienating Star Trek fans.

Again, you're still assuming they have some choice in the matter. It's an ongoing negotiation. They can't talk about it. They're probably as frustrated by the situation as you are. Maybe more, because this is their actual job and there's more at stake for them professionally and financially, whereas this is just a hobby for you. Hell, I'm flat broke right now because of this situation. This is hurting me enormously more than it's hurting you. But I'm not being a jerk about it and disparaging people's abilities when I don't know enough to judge the situation.

 

[David Weller]

I’ve stopped holding my breath waiting for an announcement but I’m an optimistic sort of guy so expect the novels to resume at some stage.

I’m sure that there will be an announcement when all parties are ready.

 

[Damian]

Again, you're still assuming they have some choice in the matter. It's an ongoing negotiation. They can't talk about it. They're probably as frustrated by the situation as you are. Maybe more, because this is their actual job and there's more at stake for them professionally and financially, whereas this is just a hobby for you. Hell, I'm flat broke right now because of this situation. This is hurting me enormously more than it's hurting you. But I'm not being a jerk about it and hurling reckless accusations when I don't know enough to judge the situation.

That's true. I certainly have no idea who's holding it up. But I tend to think the publisher would love nothing more then to get the novels going again. And I don't think anyone's angry at you guys. I know most of you are just itching to get to work again--some are lucky enough to have other things going on, but still, I imagine in general Star Trek was a pretty reliable place to work in the novel world since there are almost always 12 novels a year.

Whoever's holding it up should be subjected to Klingon pain sticks. We'd have books by the end of the year then--ok just kidding.

 

[ryan123450]

Again, you're still assuming they have some choice in the matter. It's an ongoing negotiation. They can't talk about it. They're probably as frustrated by the situation as you are. Maybe more, because this is their actual job and there's more at stake for them professionally and financially, whereas this is just a hobby for you. Hell, I'm flat broke right now because of this situation. This is hurting me enormously more than it's hurting you. But I'm not being a jerk about it and hurling reckless accusations when I don't know enough to judge the situation.

Christopher, I really do understand what you are saying. I do. And I fully acknowledge that this is of far more concern to you than it is to me. I’m sorry to hear that this is causing you financial troubles.

But at the same time you have to understand the concern and annoyance. Why wouldn’t people who have consistantly purchased these stories wonder what is going on when they suddenly dissapear with no explanation. Pocket and CBS (and you as an author) should expect and want this concern, like Damien said.

You can’t say that a simple ‘negotiations are ongoing’ is impossible when they’ve given us far more than that in the past. I’d appreciate the curtesy of you not insulting me personally just for pointing out that fact.

My annoyance with being kept in the dark goes back farther than this contract situation. Even two years ago, look at the difference between how Star Trek and Pocket’s Star Trek line interact with fans of the books compared to how Star Wars and Del Rey treat their fans. Star Trek Novels have no social media presence, and a very haphazard way of giving news to the community.

Sometimes I hear of a new book by an author announcement on their personal blog, sometimes by an author announcement on this random message board, sometimes by someone snooping around on Amazon and then coming here. Then weeks or months later theres an ‘announcement’ on startrek.com. Rarely there’s an excerpt.

It’s really a far cry from how Star Wars novels are celebrated, how they interact with their community, and how new Star Wars books are announced. It’s a huge change from how it was ten years ago, when Marco and KRAD had a great relationship with us here, and Shore Leave was sure to see a whole years worth of books announced or teased. I’ve never really accepted the loss of all that. Then this contract situation takes things even farther downhill. It’s no wonder people are curious what’s going on.

 

[Christopher]

^All I'm saying is, the stakes for you are much lower than they are for the people you're criticizing. You can find other stuff to read while you wait. This isn't really costing you anything important. And if I don't know enough about the situation to make assumptions about the decisions of the people involved, you certainly don't know enough. It's easy to look for someone to blame for your frustrations, but you have to be careful that you don't end up blaming people who are just as helpless and just as frustrated as you are, if not more so. A lot of the time, there isn't really anyone to blame. Sometimes things get screwed up even when everyone involved is trying their best.