Babylon 5 Script Books lottery - get in quick!

[Sindatur]

Also as one of those RPG companies discovered when they tried their hand at some B5 novels, "taking pains to adhere to canon" isn't as straight forward as it sounds. To be B5 canon it need JMS to says it's canon. For that, he needs ot be on board as a consultant in the very least and be willing to basically do as he says.

With Big Finish, I have no doubt whatsoever that they'd do exactly that. They'd work with JMS every step of the way.

You know, I don't think JMS has any problem with others playing in the B5 universe, as long as he's there and consulted ... You know, working with him instead of against him.

A new Londo Mollari audio drama, outline by JMS, performed by Peter ...

Oh, sorry. I'll be in my bunk.

Yea, from what I've heard/remember, the RPG copmpany spoke with JMS and he was willing to work with them, but, they didn't want to pay him, but 5 cents an hour for the amount of work that'd be involved with him working with them.

 

[Jan]

The problem I think is the same as getting any new novels done, which is that JMS has ZERO influence in making such projects happen. Admittedly my knowledge of how these things work is very limited, but from what I gather it'd either be up to WB to commission such a project off their own backs (not very likely) or Big Finish to approach WB for a licence to do it. While the latter would probably be be more likely, they'd still require someone at BF to 1) Be aware of Babylon 5 2) Like it 3) Have reason to believe they'd make a profit on the endeavour and 4) Have a gap in their budget and schedule in which to do the thing.

The only thing fans can really influence in this matter is points 1 & 3 and only then by writing to the company to request it in sufficient numbers.

As I understand it, WB doesn't go out and sell things like the novels, they allow others to come to them to license things.

Also as one of those RPG companies discovered when they tried their hand at some B5 novels, "taking pains to adhere to canon" isn't as straight forward as it sounds. To be B5 canon it need JMS to says it's canon. For that, he needs ot be on board as a consultant in the very least and be willing to basically do as he says.

And have writers who can write. I actually read parts of two (three?) of the novels that were completed and they were horrible! To be fair, I didn't actually finish any of them but that was because they were basically unreadable. I mean, really, one of them began with a six page description of a sparring match.

One thing I do wonder about though is what it'd take for the B5 books to be released on Kindle...

Once again, a publisher would have to license them from WB. Or to go into it a bit further, this is what JMS wrote on his Facebook page last night when the exact same question came up:

WB doesn't put things in print, they make deals with publishers. That's my point. And it's not just a matter of printing them, you have to have a way to handle royalties and other business matters.

The only way for those novels to get into... print in any form is for a publishing company to license the rights to B5 novels from WB. The cost factor or venue doesn't enter into it in any way, manner, shape or form.

The entire thread is about getting the books back into print.

Jan

 

[Reverend]

Also as one of those RPG companies discovered when they tried their hand at some B5 novels, "taking pains to adhere to canon" isn't as straight forward as it sounds. To be B5 canon it need JMS to says it's canon. For that, he needs ot be on board as a consultant in the very least and be willing to basically do as he says.

With Big Finish, I have no doubt whatsoever that they'd do exactly that. They'd work with JMS every step of the way.

You know, I don't think JMS has any problem with others playing in the B5 universe, as long as he's there and consulted ... You know, working with him instead of against him.

A new Londo Mollari audio drama, outline by JMS, performed by Peter ...

Oh, sorry. I'll be in my bunk.

Of course he doesn't have a problem with it, none of the novels were after all written by him. I think the sticking point is more about quality control. From what I gather he more or less let the authors of the early novels do what they liked and more often than not the results spoke for themselves. It was only later that he started to clamp down and start writing outlines and issuing assignments. It wasn't simply a matter of continuity or of accuracy but of tone and quality. So it's understandable for him to be protective of his intellectual property, given past experience.

I suppose what I'm driving at here is that if a company like Big Finish or Audible want to develop some original material, they'd have to pay him for his time and, let's be honest, probably commission the outlines from him. That's quite a more substantial job than just reading someone else's manuscript and making notes or rubber stamping it and these days he's quite a busy man.

As I understand it, WB doesn't go out and sell things like the novels, they allow others to come to them to license things.

That's pretty much what I thought. So if the fanbase *really* wants more B5 in print, audio or eBook then they have to make some noise and make the publishers aware of the property and believe in it's potential for profit. Whether such a belief has any relation to reality is another matter.

And have writers who can write. I actually read parts of two (three?) of the novels that were completed and they were horrible! To be fair, I didn't actually finish any of them but that was because they were basically unreadable. I mean, really, one of them began with a six page description of a sparring match.

You made it a whole six pages? You're a braver person than I! Had a similar experience when I tried reading some of the early non-canon novels, those were bloody awful and I didn't finish a single one. Same goes for that G'Kar & Garibaldi comic book from DC...never did figure out if that one was canon or not. I sodding well hope not.

Once again, a publisher would have to license them from WB. Or to go into it a bit further, this is what JMS wrote on his Facebook page last night when the exact same question came up:

This is probably about five kinds of stupid, but is there any reason why JMS's own company can't licence the books and sell through Amazon or a similar service? Would the licence fee be so high that only a major publishing firm can afford to take it on? I've no doubt that if that was possible it'd be done already, but from the outside it seems odd. I mean I can understand a company that prints paperbacks being wary, as there's always a risk in tying up money and resources doing a print run, persuading retailers to put it on their shelves and hoping it sells. One would think (perhaps ignorantly) that all an eBook publisher needs to worry about is paying the licence fee, royalties to the author(s) and whatever cut and/or fee Amazon would demand.

 

[Sindatur]

Regarding the 9 Del Ray Books, 2 of them are actually great

#9 - To Dream in the City of Sorrows written by JMS wife Kathryn Drennan. Story about Sinclair showing his time on Minbar betwen leaving Babylon 5 and returning in War Without End.

#7 - The Shadow Within written by Jeanne Cavelos. Story about Anna Sheridan going to Z'Ha'Dum and waking up the Shadows.

But, yea, the rest of them, range from bad to worse.

 

[Jan]

This is probably about five kinds of stupid, but is there any reason why JMS's own company can't licence the books and sell through Amazon or a similar service? Would the licence fee be so high that only a major publishing firm can afford to take it on? I've no doubt that if that was possible it'd be done already, but from the outside it seems odd. I mean I can understand a company that prints paperbacks being wary, as there's always a risk in tying up money and resources doing a print run, persuading retailers to put it on their shelves and hoping it sells. One would think (perhaps ignorantly) that all an eBook publisher needs to worry about is paying the licence fee, royalties to the author(s) and whatever cut and/or fee Amazon would demand.

Not stupid at all. I'm a little amazed that I may have some light to shed on it. Note that JMS doesn't have a publishing company. Publishing 180 is the company that does all of the 'heavy lifting' to publish the script books, making them ready to print. The only part that Cafe Press does is print and ship. All layout, etc. has to be done by Captain Jaclyn and her elves.

Keep in mind that this isn't an aspect of the B5 Books team that I'm involved with and that some of what I'm about to say is based on stuff I read during the Mongoose debacle and/or email exchange with the Mongoose president (?) Matthew Sprange or other places/times, okay? So there are probably built-in inaccuracies. That said...

First hurdle would be finding out who holds the rights to the books and/or short stories. Did they revert back to the writers? To the publisher? To WB? At this late date it might not be a trivial task to find out since the two magazines the short stories were published in don't exist anymore. One thing I do know is that it's among the most constant requests to the B5 Books Team email.

Next, if JMS is regularly telling people to check back with him after April regarding something coming along in the B5 universe, chances are that WB would be holding the license fee at a premium. I have a vague memory of somebody dropping a B5 product line...cards, maybe, when WB kept the fee too high or raised it when the Rangers series was a possibility.

Next up would be royalties payable to the original writers. I have no idea what that would entail but again, it might have to refer back to the original contract. There might be royalties due to JMS and Doug Netter, too.

And then, and this might be crucial, there was some kind of revenue guarantee that Mongoose was supposed to meet for the novels that they were going to publish. Whether this was in addition to or part of the licensing fee, I don't know. All I remember is that Mr. Sprange wasn't happy that WB wouldn't accept a lesser guarantee.

Quite a bit of this is relevant to re-issuing the novels as well to any new material. Hope it helps some.

Jan

 

[Candlelight]

^Exactly. He'd probably be still doing more Lost Tales DVDs if WB hadn't refused to give him the budget increase he wanted.

As for the books...I really want to but (assuming I'd even get drawn) I simply don't have that much money to spend on *anything* non-essential.

Since they absolutely stank the place out, I think that's a good thing.

I disagree on Lost Tales. There seemed to be tremendous potential there technically, with a more polished special effects and a nicely upgraded musical score. While the stories may not have been up to par, I still felt there was potential there as well. Then again I was happy to have anything back, so maybe I'm more forgiving. Still I am happy to have them on DVD and enjoy watching them every so often. Not the best, but farm from "stinking" imho

I didn't like them. Lochley's story was bland, and the near-empty Babylon 5 was silly. The virtual sets were poorly designed.

Sheridan's story was frustrating too. It featured Galen, my least favourite character in B5. That alone gives it a below par rating.

Both stories didn't add anything to the mythos of B5. JMS also seesm to have trouble writing stand alone stories. Within B5 he HAS to have something arc related.

I would've prefered it if they hadn't been made. Sometimes a universe can have too much exposure.

Are you listening AvP franchise!?!