Screening and Comment Threads

[merlinscribe]

The Merlinscribe in-box is now empty: if you have commented in the last several weeks and do not see an answer, drop me a line and I'll try to figure out what happened.

Comments

[sanders1800]

I really don't want to hassle you about Scourge of Fate. Any news? Just wandering, because it has been half a year since your last post. Hope it does not have the same wait that Blade had. I will like to think that you are just working hard on the third book and don't have time to post updates. Hope everything is is all right with you, though.

[merlinscribe]

Good lord--has it been that long? Alas, there's no particular news other than that the wordcount on SCOURGE increases--even though it is more than a little depressing to think that so many of them will be thrown out by Tor. I wish I had better news for you.

[sanders1800]

Maybe you will have better news soon. I am praying, crossing my fingers, knocking on wood and anything else I am told brings good luck that Tor would be generous with Scourge, and not feel the need to cut the book. Crown was a wonderful book, and still my favorite one in the series, but even when I got done with it for the first time I wanted it to be several hundred pages more. Blade, on the other hand, I wish it was another thousand. I love this series so much that I can not get enough of it. So I am being unreasonable.

[sanders1800]

Not to hound you or anything, but are you planning to post any scenes that were cut from Blade? I thought you said you were planning to about the time you turned in Blade. Or are you devoting all you time to Scourge and then may post some outtakes after it is turned into your editor.

Just wandering.

[merlinscribe]

Dear Friend:

I'm sorry to be giving you this form response, but so many of the posts in my inbox are asking pretty much the same question, and after my long absence, I cannot quite be certain you will see it otherwise. You certainly have every right to have given up expecting an answer, after all.

I am back, I am at work on the third book in the Dragon Prophecy Trilogy (the title has been changed from "Scourge of Fate" to "Wings of Fate" because after all: dragons), and will be posting the opening chapters on my blog's other site merlinscribe_library. The first chapter is already up.

I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to see you at merlinscribe soon. Thank you so much for your patience.

Very Truly Yours,
James

[merlinscribe]

Nothing is impossible to those who are impervious to reason, my friend. Battle on!

Writer’s cut

[(Anonymous)]

How long was Blade of Empire before Tor got their hands on it? I might be imagining things but it felt a lot shorter than.. well every book in the series.

Other than that, they should release a writer’s cut for books. Think director’s cut but for books.

Re: Writer’s cut

[merlinscribe]

Blade of Empire, as delivered to Tor, ran approximately 150,000 words. I think the published version had been cut by about 25,000. Tor does not want long books from me, even though they know and I know that's what my audience prefers. I am heartbroken at the number of subplots I had to NOT EVEN WRITE because I knew the length of book Tor wanted--when I cut a book, it isn't like just removing every other chapter: its cutting words out of sentences, sentences out of paragraphs, paragraphs out of scenes, and scenes out of chapters. I turned in Crown of Vengeance at 1600 pages, or roughly 400,000 words. Tor published about 150,000 of them. Unless Tor lets the series go out of copyright, there's no way I can publish a "Director's Cut", and I assure you they have absolutely zero interest in doing so.

The idea that publishers are in the business to support writers is nonsense. Publishers are in the business to make money, usually by publishing celebrity cookbooks, not novels. Alas!