A Question for the writers. A Spoiler.

[dispatcher812]

Writers, when you decide that a character is going to get killed in your book, and this character happens to be a BIG part of a series, such as Janeway, do you need speacial permission to kill off a main character? What if, say, David Mack was writing a story in which Worf was killed. At the same time, Christopher Bennet was just starting another book with Worf in it. Obviously this would affect Chirstopher's book. What then? How does this affect every book in the future?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Writers, when you decide that a character is going to get killed in your book, and this character happens to be a BIG part of a series, such as Janeway, do you need speacial permission to kill off a main character?

Every proposal is approved by the Pocket editors and CBS Consumer Products. Ditto the final manuscript. It's not like an author can slip through a death. Either it's approved, requested, tweaked through negotiation, or it's not approved.

 

[Dayton Ward]

The editor(s) would also be in on any such notion, long before the outline even went to CBS for approval. By that time, the decision as well as how it might affect other books in development would be resolved.

 

[KRAD]

^ What they said. The situation you posit would never happen.

 

[Jinson]

Ahh, thanks krad! Clears it up for us fans.

Spoiler: Before Dishonour Grouses

Especially after reading Before Dishonour, where Janeaway got killed, Pluto got eaten up, and the Borg are apparently advanced enough to analyse and attempt to assimilate the Q. Despite providing quite an enjoyable read, the character depictions in the book still seemed abit weird. Thankfully some of the character development was salvaged somewhat by later books, eg. For Cmdr Kadohata.

May I then assume that those events, Janeaway killed and Pluto gone, are now officially set in the stage that the current and future novels are basing themselves on?

Off topic, but i gotta say this, I love the ST books you write krad! Yours, David Mack's and Peter David's.

 

[Defcon]

Spoiler: Before Dishonour Grouses

May I then assume that those events, Janeaway killed and Pluto gone, are now officially set in the stage that the current and future novels are basing themselves on?

Spoiler: Before Dishonor

Since the death of Janeway was something the editor told Peter David to do and the author of the upcoming Voyager books already has stated that Janeway will remain dead the answer would be yes.

 

[KRAD]

Spoiler: Before Dishonour Grouses

May I then assume that those events, Janeaway killed and Pluto gone, are now officially set in the stage that the current and future novels are basing themselves on?

The answer to your question is yes.

Off topic, but i gotta say this, I love the ST books you write krad! Yours, David Mack's and Peter David's.

Thanks so much!

 

[Marie1]

This is probably the same question as above, but how much extra flexibility is there for what happens to the non-canon characters? I mean, there would have to be a lot of discussion with CBS and the editors for people who were alive and kicking when their respective series ended. But what about people, even regular ones that only exist in novels? Same basic treatment, but maybe a bit more light?