My only real point of disagreement is that somehow outsiders / Pocket Books thought it was okay to off Janeway because her fans weren't so active on boards. I doubt it would have really entered their thoughts, but I do have my business hat on when I say this. I think some of the writers in the TrekLit boards may have explained this point so I won't continue in case I recall incorrectly.
How could that not be a factor when Kirsten Beyer said to me in a PM that she had no idea that there were any organized Janeway fans and that she also thought that no one cared about Voyager.
And just when I was about to clean out my TrekBBS mailbox...
Brit,
I am quoting below, typos and all, some of the exact words from my side of our PM exchange. Not all of them, because not all of them are applicable. I would cut and paste this from the actual messages if I knew how.
This is the only text from our correspondence that I can find from which you might have extrapolated the words "..and that she also thought no one cared about Voyager."
What you have said and what I have said, however, are two very different things.
All you have to do is read any of dozens of threads on this board and other boards about
Voyager to know that many fans were excited about the premise and consistently disappointed with the execution of the TV Series. But "least loved" is not the same as "no one cared." "Least loved" means...if you include all of the Star Trek stories...TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, New Frontier, etc...which one is generally liked the most? And which one is generally liked the least? This is not a poll and I dont' have anything to base this one other than an accumulation of reading fan comments over the years but I don't think it's a huge stretch to suggest that of the series, Voyager was among the "least loved" if not the "least loved" depending upon who you are talking to.
But I never said that "no one cared." Obviously people care. And it doesn't matter how large or small that number is.
So....for the record....I do not believe, nor have I ever believed, that "no one" cares about
Voyager. I know I do. I know the people at Pocket do. I know many of my fellow writers do. And even if we don't count anyone else, that's enough to demonstrate the falsehood of your statement.
Kirsten said:
I don't believe Pocket isn't concerned...As far as the boards go, you should chalk that up to my personal ignorance rather than some sort of policy at Pocket. I didn't know what an internet bulletin board was a couple of years ago. I just learned a few months ago how to do the multi-quote thing. The only board I know of are the TrekBBS, Psiphi, Startrek.com and Simonsays.com. If there is another board you think I should read and might like to join, particularly if it is filled with fans of Voyager fiction, please let me know where they are and I will seek them out. I'm always interested in connecting with fans. My time is limited. But honestly, those I listed above wre the only ones I knew about.
How you get from that statement to "Kirsten Beyer said to me in a PM that she had no idea that there were any organized Janeway fans," eludes me. Not having any idea that there were other message boards where Trek literature was discussed is nowhere near not knowing there were organized Janeway fans around. I google. I see the lists of fan sites and fanfic sites. Kate Mulgrew has always had a following. Not long ago I read an interview in which she talked about a play she was doing at the time but how the majority of fans who ask afterwards for her autograph are still asking her to sign Janeway memorabilia.
Just because I didn't know that you and VAMB existed doesn't mean I didn't know organized Janeway fans existed.
The point here, however, is not to quibble about words. The point is that your incorrect interpretation of my words has led you to make statements which are more than factually incorrect. To suggest, as you have repeatedly here and elsewhere, that the reason Kathryn Janeway was killed is because no one at Pocket knew how big her fanbase was or even cared to find out before they made that choice, is ludicrous. To then twist my words to support your argument is unacceptable.
Hear this, please:
Janeway was not killed because her fans did not do a good enough job before this choice was made of advising Pocket Books that they existed. Nor was she killed because no one at Pocket thought she had any fans anymore. Her status with the fans was not a consideration.
All that was considered...beginning to end...
ALL that was considered was how to create the best story that we could. You and many others are never going to agree that this was the best story to tell. You believe such things can be objectively quantified. I don't, but whatever. Point is, this was the most interesting and compelling direction that the writers and editors discovered as these stories were being developed. That alone-nothing else-is why it's the story that was told.
As for what the writers say, well these days writers have to be in the fore front promoting their books. That is true across the board through every genre. Trek writers are here to promote their books so of course they are going to have a particular slant to what they say.
I dare say that Trek writers, including myself, have a wide variety of reasons for frequenting message boards about their works, not the least of which, in my case, has become correcting multple repeated out and out lies that have been told since this conversation began. It's amazing how fast this stuff spreads. You have one post here asserting something I have just demonstrated is false and the very next post, Lynx has accepted your words as fact.
I know I can't correct all of this nonsense, nor do I have the time to try. Today, this thread was pointed out to me by a concerned individual and again, to him or her, I express my thanks.
Kirsten Beyer
