Destiny trilogy - speculations

[David Mack]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

^ About the review, I feel great. Physically, so-so.

 

[LivingDeadGuy]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

After reading all the reviews, excerpts, and other tidbits, I don't think I could be any more pumped up about this series than I currently am now.

I've got a backlog of stuff to read, but as soon as these come out, they're going first in my "Books-to-Read" queue.

 

[JWolf]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

I do think that if the CoE series was to come back, they would sll more. Epseiclaly if the pBook reprints were stopped. Part of the eBook problem is that we know that someday they will be released on paper. So those that want the books but not as an eBook wiull just wait. If there were no reprints, then I do think the sales would have increased for the eBooks.

I don't think the proportion of people who so desperately crave their S.C.E. fix that they would make the switch to electronic formats is greater than those who would just shrug and stop buying it. No point in killing your profits just to promote a format. That said, I'd actually be curious to know whether any given story has sold more per unit electronically or within the compilation.

As for the Destiny Trilogy, you'll find people that want to read it as soon as they can and did want the eBook editions won't be content to wait some unknown amount of time. They just get the paperback and read that. That's the problem with the eBooks coming out so late. Heck, get Pocket to hire me and I'll do the eBooks for the trek books and do them on time.

As for the Destiny Trilogy, more eBooks would sell there too if the eBook came out on time.

Now that's certainly true. You'd think with most manuscripts being electronic, it would be quicker to get the formatting done for the e-book than the physical copy. Just a question of priorities for the publisher, I suppose.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

The issue being that people that prefer paper books to eBooks know that all they have to do is wait and they'll eventually be able to purchase the paper editions. But if they only choice they had was the eBook editions, then I do think we'd have more eBooks sold. How much more, I cannot say. But the idea of eBook only lines is spoiled by eventually printing them. That takes away from the eBooks. I have a feeling, a lot of people who might be ok witht he eBooks will never know as they'll just wait and get them once printed. So if we are going to have eBook only Star Trek, let's go all out and have eBook only with no paper copies.

 

[JAG]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Cool, are you offering to buy all of us e-readers?

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Oh noes, not the eBook argument!1111!

Don't make me whip out my Trek Lit "On Notice" picture featuring Stephen Colbert. You don't really want that, do you?

 

[captcalhoun]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

yes, it could stand being updated.

i motion for the addition of 'what do i need to read before Destiny?'...

 

[JAG]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Oh noes, not the eBook argument!1111!

Don't make me whip out my Trek Lit "On Notice" picture featuring Stephen Colbert. You don't really want that, do you?

No I don't but I am getting bored of having ebooks shoved in my face in every single thread. I will more than likely say anything agin about it.

 

[Dayton Ward]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Don't make me whip out my Trek Lit "On Notice" picture featuring Stephen Colbert. You don't really want that, do you?

 

[captcalhoun]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

YAY!!!

 

[DimesDan]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Don't make me whip out my Trek Lit "On Notice" picture featuring Stephen Colbert. You don't really want that, do you?

Did this actually happen or did someone photoshop it?

 

[Dayton Ward]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

 

[Baerbel Haddrell]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

The issue being that people that prefer paper books to eBooks know that all they have to do is wait and they'll eventually be able to purchase the paper editions. But if they only choice they had was the eBook editions, then I do think we'd have more eBooks sold. How much more, I cannot say. But the idea of eBook only lines is spoiled by eventually printing them. That takes away from the eBooks. I have a feeling, a lot of people who might be ok witht he eBooks will never know as they'll just wait and get them once printed. So if we are going to have eBook only Star Trek, let's go all out and have eBook only with no paper copies.

We had a similar discussion a while ago when hardcovers were still more common. Why bother reprinting hardcovers? If people don`t like the format, too bad. It only takes precious slots away that could be used for something new. If they are not reprinted, more of them would be sold.

Of course the answers are obvious: Not everyone can afford hardcovers. Reprinting them benefits both: Fans AND the authors who earn extra money. With eBooks, not everyone can afford and is willing to pay a fortune for an electronic reader. On top of that there are other problems that have been discussed before like availability of books, technical questions, various formats etc. The answer is not trying to force people to buy eBooks (or hadcovers) but to offer these stories to a wider audience and that are still printed books. I heard it quite often that people who were sceptics liked the reprints so much that they bought eBooks as well. My impression was, without any reprints available, less people would have bought them, not more.

 

[David Mack]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Here's the "official" On Notice graphic for the Destiny trilogy:

You have all been duly warned...

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

What have I unleashed?

Ward and Mack, that was awesome.

 

[Deano2099]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Crap, I've got the TNG, Titan and Enterprise lead-ins to Destiny but haven't heard about this 'X' novel before. Where can I get hold of it? It's not one of those eBook exclusives is it?


(Insert smilie of your choice here because the sarcasm will go over some peoples heads...)

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Crap, I've got the TNG, Titan and Enterprise lead-ins to Destiny but haven't heard about this 'X' novel before. Where can I get hold of it? It's not one of those eBook exclusives is it?


(Insert smilie of your choice here because the sarcasm will go over some peoples heads...)

It's buried inside of Articles of the Federation.

<_<
>_>

 

[Therin of Andor]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

The issue being that people that prefer paper books to eBooks know that all they have to do is wait and they'll eventually be able to purchase the paper editions. But if they only choice they had was the eBook editions, then I do think we'd have more eBooks sold.

But that was the case, for quite a while. "S.C.E." was promoted as an eBook-only series and it drove me crazy. I had a PowerMac at home, hopelessly outdated and unable to download Books. I had a PC at work, but a firewall prevented the downloading of eBooks.

I was angry. Livid. I felt I was being denied new ST unless I could find the money to upgrade my home computer system immediately. Naturally, I was very excited when the first SCE stories finally did come to a series of PB omnibus reprints.

When I bought my iMac, one of the first things I did with it was download some ST eBooks: "The Magic of Tribbles: The Making of DS9's Trials and Tribble-ations"; an SCE entry that was an amazing TAS sequel; and the short stories of "New Frontier: No Limits", which meant I had read it weeks before the hardcopy arrived in Australia; and a free promotional copy of the first "Titan" title.

However, the release schedule of SCE into hardcopy versions probably did mean that I allowed the series to fall off my eagerly-anticipated-each-month radar. Really, I just have too many things on my "must read next" pile that I never got back to SCE/CoE. (Although I understand TerriO did something distressing in one instalment. )

But yeah, if the "Destiny" trilogy was available simultaneously with the release of the PBs, that would be helpful to the eBook division. It's the impatient waiting and wondering that causes many people to seek out alternatives. Or sometimes to shrug and attempt to be disinterested.

 

[JWolf]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

The issue being that people that prefer paper books to eBooks know that all they have to do is wait and they'll eventually be able to purchase the paper editions. But if they only choice they had was the eBook editions, then I do think we'd have more eBooks sold. How much more, I cannot say. But the idea of eBook only lines is spoiled by eventually printing them. That takes away from the eBooks. I have a feeling, a lot of people who might be ok witht he eBooks will never know as they'll just wait and get them once printed. So if we are going to have eBook only Star Trek, let's go all out and have eBook only with no paper copies.

We had a similar discussion a while ago when hardcovers were still more common. Why bother reprinting hardcovers? If people don`t like the format, too bad. It only takes precious slots away that could be used for something new. If they are not reprinted, more of them would be sold.

Of course the answers are obvious: Not everyone can afford hardcovers. Reprinting them benefits both: Fans AND the authors who earn extra money. With eBooks, not everyone can afford and is willing to pay a fortune for an electronic reader. On top of that there are other problems that have been discussed before like availability of books, technical questions, various formats etc. The answer is not trying to force people to buy eBooks (or hardcovers) but to offer these stories to a wider audience and that are still printed books. I heard it quite often that people who were skeptics liked the reprints so much that they bought eBooks as well. My impression was, without any reprints available, less people would have bought them, not more.

The issue is that the eBooks are an original line of fiction. That line of fiction has been put on hold due to poor sales. Why poor sales? Because those that prefer the paper edtion know that all they do is wait and they'll be able to purchase the paper editions. If there were no plans for a paper edition, the SCE/CoE series might have sold better in eBook form and thus, might not have been put on hold. But we'll never know this because of the paper copies. Most people here have a computer capable of running some program that can view some format of Star Trek eBooks. We get people sitting at their computers reading the forum complaining that they don't like sitting at there computers reading eBooks becuase well, it gives eye strain. Then how can they sit and read the forum without eyestrain? We get all kinds of excuses why eBooks are no good and a lot of them ar just silly. The only way to solve this issue is to continue the CoE line saying that there are not going to be any paper copies made available and then see how sales go. See if the SCE/Coe that have not yet been printed pick up in sales. I did enjoy having the SCE/CoE in addition to the monthly books. It gave us more Trek then we oherwise would have had.

Now regardless who likes eBooks or paper books better, it would do sales of the eBooks for the Destiny Trilogy better if the eBooks came out on time. That way, those that want it ASAP can have it in the format of choice.

 

[KRAD]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

^ Honestly, the bump in sales we might get from doing an eBook-only-never-in-print-ever is negligible. The difference in sales between the eBooks and the printed books is massive. The eBooks sell in numbers that are a mere fraction of what the print books sell. In fact, honestly, the only reason the series continued as long as it did is because of the print books....

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Re: Destiny trilogy - pretty heavy spoilers

Okay, so I have a question about Destiny, to drag this back on topic.

We know that the 24th-century portions of Destiny take place shortly after Greater than the Sum and Sword of Damocles and grow out of character and plot arcs in those (and previous) books.

Are the 22nd-century portions of the story (since Father Rob's review said there are 22nd-century sections) as closely related in time and character/plot arcs to Kobayashi Maru as the 24th-century plotlines are connected to GttS and Sword? Or is it a span of years?

In short, I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should (not "need") read KM immediately.