tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post110820361036020371..comments2023-07-18T08:02:47.266-04:00Comments on The Megasometherium Club: adventures in publishingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-36771269072635648992016-08-19T09:16:41.860-04:002016-08-19T09:16:41.860-04:00(New reader, so apologies in advance if this has b...(New reader, so apologies in advance if this has been answered elsewhere)<br />Is there someplace I can see your preferred cover image?Lis Ribahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10810875707845320918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-43820606658473827632012-01-27T05:02:57.228-05:002012-01-27T05:02:57.228-05:00I'm sorry you had to go through that hellish e...I'm sorry you had to go through that hellish experience with your publisher and agent. But sometimes it doesn't pay to be nice to these kinds of people. I hope you will never fall into that naive thinking again. I wish to read more of your writing. Good Luck.Mike88https://www.blogger.com/profile/12381324514183912947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-4727901497610627242011-02-10T12:18:03.887-05:002011-02-10T12:18:03.887-05:00Is there a spam filter? I'll try posting again...Is there a spam filter? I'll try posting again. Here's a quick choose your own adventure book I made out of the Stories of your Life cover: http://i.imgur.com/sdFEp.jpgstevennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-5712171157837297082011-02-10T09:52:56.150-05:002011-02-10T09:52:56.150-05:00The cover in question is the one with the muscular...The cover in question is the one with the muscular guy whose guts are made of... things, right? It looks like a choose your own adventure book. In fact, I'm sure I've seen that reddish moon/sun on a choose your own adventure book in exactly that same color and position. All it needs is a seventies gold and brown border.stevennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-20752433086298352802010-12-28T13:19:15.492-05:002010-12-28T13:19:15.492-05:00I think a writer has every right to *want* to mana...I think a writer has every right to *want* to manage their work to whatever extent they choose. The vast majority of writers aren't going to have any power to actually do so, though. I think the reason some writers react negatively to Ted's anger is that he has so much more control than most writers that his nitpicks strike some of us as ridiculous overprivileged whining.<br /><br />Personally, I love Ted's work and I also feel his pain. But I have to admit that I'm somewhat jealous that he has enough self-assurance, enough name recognition, and enough control over his work to be getting upset over the cover of a book distributed by an internationally recognized New York press, rather than (say) edits forced upon his words by a minor company against his preference. I'd love to be in his shoes.Clarisse Thornhttp://clarissethorn.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-20127731562413919672008-02-24T09:47:00.000-05:002008-02-24T09:47:00.000-05:00grumble grumble grunt grunt grrr grrrr rage rage...grumble grumble grunt grunt grrr grrrr rage rage hate<BR/><BR/>Now when you search for a book title on amazon, the "Kindle" result is always returned as Number One.<BR/><BR/>FUCKERS!!!EXX SVVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13566741372328516214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109784525932680152005-03-02T12:28:00.000-05:002005-03-02T12:28:00.000-05:00Er, you're out of your mind to care so much about ...Er, you're out of your mind to care so much about the cosmetics of your book. Your words are what's important. The stories, remember? The inside? To offer to buy back the rights to the book just because you don't like the cover is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. I mean, really. And as a published author who HATED the cover of his first book (and had a similar experience with his publisher over it; they said, "Send over some ideas," and then didn't use them and published the cover they wanted to all along), I feel your pain, but really, it's the wrong battle to have. You can't keep badgering your major league publisher with issues over your not liking the cover. It's really not important whether or not you like the cover. The most important thing is whether the buyer at Barnes & Noble likes the cover. Publishers know their marketplaces and their distributors and buyers; that's who they're trying to keep happy, not the author. And it's really you and your agent's fault for not having it put into your contract that you had approval over the cover; don't blame the publisher when they were just exercising rights you'd already given up. Remember signing on the dotted line and getting that cash? That meant that book was no longer yours...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109544382027291252005-02-27T17:46:00.000-05:002005-02-27T17:46:00.000-05:00Sam, in my opinion, the original art had nothing i...Sam, in my opinion, the original art had nothing in common with my work, in either subject matter or tone. Some people like it, but I've also had people tell me that it's one of the most inappropriate covers they've ever seen. <br /><br />Everyone has different tastes; there's probably a cover image out there you think is atrocious, but it too has its fans. I just hope the author of the book is one of them.Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00799259633965559067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109473544333398242005-02-26T22:05:00.000-05:002005-02-26T22:05:00.000-05:00Hello there,
Ted, why did you hate that cover so ...Hello there,<br /><br />Ted, why did you hate that cover so much? I actually like it (I'm assuming the cover in question is the one with the gigantic man with buildings and other stuff intermixed with him). Definitely it doesn't seem so horrific as to go through all that trouble for.<br /><br />regards,<br /><br />SamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109449361153702232005-02-26T15:22:00.000-05:002005-02-26T15:22:00.000-05:00Ted,
I'm with you on the high irrelevancy (and du...Ted,<br /><br />I'm with you on the high irrelevancy (and dubious taste) of the original cover art. More, the common arrogance and lack of responsiveness within the publishing industry appears breathtaking. I can't think of many other industries which could stay afloat if they adopted the practices which appear so common in the world of publishing. <br /><br />A good friend of mine whose (nonfiction) book I recently copyedited encountered a very similar problem, and had a book on stress management saddled with low-grade, generic cover that makes it look like a software manual. I don't for a minute doubt that it hurt his sales, and am sure that the hardback cover you were stuck with hurt yours. The irony is that in his case, the publisher had thrown an unusually hefty advance at him, so one would expect some attention to detail throughout. <br /><br />It seems to me entirely appropriate that an artist should be allowed some input -- or at least be politely listened to -- where the marketing of their work is concerned. Why you met with such a wall of a brick wall, we can only speculate -- poor listening skills, arrogance, entrenched corporate attitudes? Likely you ran up against some insecure little tin god in the marketing or design department.<br /><br />Jonathan's suggestion is good. And I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work.<br /><br />DarioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109294210502484822005-02-24T20:16:00.000-05:002005-02-24T20:16:00.000-05:00A possible solution to this might be to add some n...A possible solution to this might be to add some new material to the collection and resell it to a small press - I'd imagine someone like Night Shade or Golden Gryphon might be interested. You'd almost certainly get cover approval, and maybe internal art etc, and it would be something you'd be a lot happier with. If it were some kind of expanded or deluxe edition people would want it, and if you were reselling limited edition rights it probably wouldn't conflict with your mass market contracts.Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08455441827381312535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109101198661213852005-02-22T14:39:00.000-05:002005-02-22T14:39:00.000-05:00Sean: as I said, I was naive.
Niall: the UK cover...Sean: as I said, I was naive.<br /><br />Niall: the UK cover is actually based on the art I commissioned. It's a close-up view of the original, so the face is a bit harder to make out, and the color scheme is different, but that's essentially the image I wanted. I was very happy with Pan Macmillan's willingness to work with me.Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00799259633965559067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109065157572326672005-02-22T04:39:00.000-05:002005-02-22T04:39:00.000-05:00Sorry to hear about this, Ted. Did you get any mor...Sorry to hear about this, Ted. Did you get any more say when you came to the UK edition? For what it's worth, I think the UK cover suits the book quite a bit better than the US one.<br /><br />-- NiallAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109049982461209042005-02-22T00:26:00.000-05:002005-02-22T00:26:00.000-05:00It seems like you tried to micro-manage your edito...It seems like you tried to micro-manage your editor and publisher—why are you particularly surprised by anything that followed?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1109042877916328722005-02-21T22:27:00.000-05:002005-02-21T22:27:00.000-05:00I'm sorry. For people without any expectation abo...I'm sorry. For people without any expectation about how the book should have looked, it was just a dumb cover, like most covers. For Ted it was much worse and also the shenanigans around the cover sound as ugly or uglier than the cover itself.Responsible Artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15112934903800206324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1108282114537229752005-02-13T03:08:00.000-05:002005-02-13T03:08:00.000-05:00That's a really terrible thing to have happened to...That's a really terrible thing to have happened to you, Ted. I don't know what I'd do in the same situation. What's really horrible is how many things you did on your book's own behalf, without asking the publisher to pay for any changes, and how it was still refused. I will keep one of my mom's superstitions and say, "What goes around, comes around," and one day that editor will get back threefold the same treatment he used with you.Christopher Barzakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05317256912942472481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1108229134228810252005-02-12T12:25:00.000-05:002005-02-12T12:25:00.000-05:00ugh.
thanks for sharing the learning experience w...ugh.<br /><br />thanks for sharing the learning experience with us.chancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02032786278968344205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666825.post-1108223298655726012005-02-12T10:48:00.000-05:002005-02-12T10:48:00.000-05:00What Richard said. But I really don't think you we...What Richard said. But I really don't think you were being naive, I think you were being a good human being and trusting that your editor would return the favor.Gwendahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05774768214058868450noreply@blogger.com