Something wrong with BL books...?

[wtwhizz]

If you felt my tone was rude then i apologise, but i would suggest growing some thicker skin.

I made my comments based on what i understand of the industry, tied in with what evidence i see in terms of what is on the shelves and also listed on the website. It just so happens to be that my opinion seemed to chime with ADB's, which is a relief, if only for the fact it indicates that i wasn't completely off kilter.

My main point of contention with your opinion was that you were mistaking "Black library are producing content in forms of media i dislike", with "Black Library is putting out less content".

My skin is thicker than Dreadnought plate, buster!

Seriously, I didn't lose my $hit on you, did I? No. I gave you a sarcastic line and ADB came riding in like a White Knight to save his little buddy. Again, like I said, I think that was a bit overkill, but w/e.

And I wasn't mistaking content I don't like with less content. The content is worse and it is less. You can slap 50 2-page short stories on the website and make it look like things are going gangbusters. Doesn't change the fact that it adds up to only 100 pages of stuff.

"But dude! They aren't sacrificing novels for this other stuff!" Foolishness. I spent the past 20 seconds going to the BL site, clicking on audio books, and randomly choosing one. It was done by Nick Kyme. Another one was done by Gav Thorpe. I'm guessing that if I'd kept looking through them I'd have found that a lot of authors are spending time doing these audio books. Which inherently means they're spending less time writing actual novels. My guess is GW decided they weren't seeing a big enough profit margin with their books so they decided to move their business into cheaper and easier to produce content.

But hey, toe the party line, kid. I'm cool with it.

[Conn Eremon]

Logic is staring ya in the face, bro. Accept it or don't, whatevs, but this whole "I'm gonna call them srs bsns because they're not agreeing with me" argument you got going is just tiresome.

[wtwhizz]

Logic is staring ya in the face, bro. Accept it or don't, whatevs, but this whole "I'm gonna call them srs bsns because they're not agreeing with me" argument you got going is just tiresome.

 

Your face is tiresome.  Bam!

 

Your trolling is weak.  Keep practicing.  Just not here.  

[Conn Eremon]

. . . . I've been gone from /tg/ too long. You had to hit me over the face with trolling before I got that you were. Well, you got me. See ya.

[Kurgan the Lurker]

Posts hidden, warnings issued. Any further shenanigans and the airlock will be engaged.

[wtwhizz]

I think that some people may have unrealistic expectations of the time it takes to write a book...

 

Tell that to R.A. Salvatore. :D

 

Again, more time for writing legit, lore/canon advancing books if you haven't shifted your business strategy to 80% short stories and audio books.

[Kol Saresk]

But there isn't a whole lot of "lore advancing". The only setting that can currently advance is the Heresy. 40K is, was and forever will be stuck at 40K.

 

As for R.A. Salvatore, he didn't have to follow as many background rules as BL authors do and he's been writing since 1988 with the fastest publication of three books in a year.

 

And when he was overseeing a group series with multiple authors, that series only put out two books a year max.

 

BL has never been fast printing novels. That's actually about the same pace. The only thing they've done is added extra forms of media, which actually results in producing more stories. Just because they aren't in a format everyone enjoys does not change that, regardless of how much we may want it to.

[Conn Eremon]

It all comes back to AD-B.

 

The argument is that the other form of media are decreasing the output of standard novels, using the logic that the authors are spending time creating these other stuff rather than the novels.

 

However, one of those very people who write these things, who would be one of those slowing down his production of novels, says that the logic is flawed. That there is no decrease.

 

That's case closed. We have every reason to believe him and no reason to distrust him.

 

And if anyone really cares about proving him wrong, the means to do so are all online. We have publication dates. Look them up. Were there more publications of novels before the increase in audio- and e-books?

[Kol Saresk]

And what is the average rate of novels per author per annum and so on so forth.

[Antarius]

 

You can refuse to believe all you want, but if someone who is more aware of the reality of it tells us it is so, don't expect anyone else to believe you or take you seriously.

 

Way too many Serious Business Marines on these fan forums. 

ehm, not to be rude, but you are the guy writing up page-long rants in this thread and asserting that the media other people like are "dumbing down" the content (for the record I love audio books, always have, always will), facepalming at other posters for not agreeing with you and so forth.

You seem to be taking these disagreements quite seriously, in other words.

 

Plus, you're asserting that the output of novels has decreased, but since everyone else (including the guy with the inside view) says this isn't so, I'd respectfully ask that you either reasses your assumption or show us the numbers to prove that there are less novels coming out now than in earlier years.

It's not a matter of opinion after all; either less novels are coming out or there aren't. If you're right the numbers will back you up.

After all, it's not like everyone are ganging up on you just to be big meanies because you have a different opinion. It's because you're making a statement of fact and that statement seems to go against the actual facts of the matter, as we know them.

We might be wrong, of course. In which case your research would be a valuable tool in setting the record straight. I'd welcome that, as I always like having my erroneous assumptions corrected.

 

However, untill you can show us that the numbers actually do back you up, I'm inclined to believe you're just blowing off steam at the perceived degeneration of the hobby, like most people do every once in a while, rather than coming at us with actual knowledge.

It's no big deal and it happens to everyone, but it still seems like you're in the wrong here.

[daveNYC]

The audio books (and to some extent the ebook novellas) are pretty obviously an attempt to double dip.  Big fans will buy them as audio/ebook when they first come out, then most likely purchase them again when they're issued as part of an anthology at a later date.  "Widen the brand" doesn't even pass the smell test.  

 

The limited edition books are what really piss me off about BL.  It's great that Aurelian is going to be pushed out as a generally available book, but it sucks that I've had to spend the last umpteen months trying to dodge spoilers from those people who were able to get the limited edition release.  If they want to do a limited collector's edition, great, but make the story available to everyone who wants to buy it.

[daveNYC]

That's case closed. We have every reason to believe him and no reason to distrust him.

 

Woah.  Not to disparage ADB here, but you can't think of some reason an author might want to go to bat for the publishing house that signs his paycheck, then you're not putting a lot of effort into it.

 

That said, I personally don't think the audio stuff is having a major impact on the release schedule for the physical books.  I dislike them because they have content that I want in a format that I have zero interest in.  Like having Ultima I - III released on a 5.25 floppy for the C64.

[A D-B]

 

That's case closed. We have every reason to believe him and no reason to distrust him.

 

Woah.  Not to disparage ADB here, but you can't think of some reason an author might want to go to bat for the publishing house that signs his paycheck, then you're not putting a lot of effort into it.

 

I'd just stay quiet. I don't need to shill, or bat for anything or anyone. There're plenty of things I can't stand, or misunderstandings I know I can't comment on, and I just stay silent about them.

 

Just explaining how releases work, that's all. No need to defend anything, because the initial supposition was wrong. I don't comment on quality or whatever, just that there aren't fewer novels right now, or novels being sacrificed for other production.

[daveNYC]

 

 

That's case closed. We have every reason to believe him and no reason to distrust him.

 

Woah.  Not to disparage ADB here, but you can't think of some reason an author might want to go to bat for the publishing house that signs his paycheck, then you're not putting a lot of effort into it.

 

I'd just stay quiet. I don't need to shill, or bat for anything or anyone. There're plenty of things I can't stand, or misunderstandings I know I can't comment on, and I just stay silent about them.

 

Yeah.  I didn't mean to imply that you were shilling or out on PR patrol or anything.  I was more calling out the idea that there's no reason not to trust your opinion, when instead while there's reason to distrust your opinion, there's more reasons to trust it.

[Redtoof]

According to the internet, there have been 27 novels and novel sized short story collections in the series so far. If you go by paperback or hardback release date, there were:

• 3 in 2006
• 3 in 2007
• 3 in 2008
• 2 in 2009
• 3 in 2010
• 3 in 2011
• 5 in 2012
• 5 in 2013 (so far.)

Make of that what you will.

[helterskelter]

I think we just need to accept that novels are not going to come out the same way ac/dc put out albums circa bon scott. Which im cool with because it keeps my wallet happy.

[Kol Saresk]

According to the internet, there have been 27 novels and novel sized short story collections in the series so far. If you go by paperback or hardback release date, there were:

• 3 in 2006
• 3 in 2007
• 3 in 2008
• 2 in 2009
• 3 in 2010
• 3 in 2011
• 5 in 2012
• 5 in 2013 (so far.)

Make of that what you will.

 

 

And that's just counting the HH novels correct, not the regular 40K novels like the Path of the Eldar novels by Gav Thorpe and Andy Chamber or the WHF novels, correct?

[Redtoof]

 

According to the internet, there have been 27 novels and novel sized short story collections in the series so far. If you go by paperback or hardback release date, there were:

• 3 in 2006
• 3 in 2007
• 3 in 2008
• 2 in 2009
• 3 in 2010
• 3 in 2011
• 5 in 2012
• 5 in 2013 (so far.)

Make of that what you will.

 

And that's just counting the HH novels correct, not the regular 40K novels like the Path of the Eldar novels by Gav Thorpe and Andy Chamber or the WHF novels, correct?

 

Correct.

[Kol Saresk]

 

 

 

 

According to the internet, there have been 27 novels and novel sized short story collections in the series so far. If you go by paperback or hardback release date, there were:

• 3 in 2006
• 3 in 2007
• 3 in 2008
• 2 in 2009
• 3 in 2010
• 3 in 2011
• 5 in 2012
• 5 in 2013 (so far.)

Make of that what you will.

 

 

And that's just counting the HH novels correct, not the regular 40K novels like the Path of the Eldar novels by Gav Thorpe and Andy Chamber or the WHF novels, correct?

 

 

 

Correct.

 

 

Nice. So actually that's a pretty decent novel production rate.

[Antarius]

So, it would seem more stuff is coming out, not less.

[Kol Saresk]

 

So, it would seem more stuff is coming out, not less.

Ssssssh! That's the conspiracy talking man!

[Scribe]

More. Less.

 

The important question is, Is it Enough?

 

When it comes to HH, the answer good sirs, is nay.

[Kol Saresk]

More. Less.

 

The important question is, Is it Enough?

 

When it comes to HH, the answer good sirs, is nay.

How did that one song go? "It's never enough"? That could be said of pretty much everything. Books, minis, money to buy said books and minis. And pizza. There's never enough pizza.

[Conn Eremon]

Ain't that the truth, brother.

 

Never enough pizza.

[Kol Saresk]

All hail the Za Lord!