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Tad Williams To Release To Web
H.I. McDonnough writes "Tad Williams, author of the near future sci-fi series Otherland and the fantasy series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn will be releasing a new fantasy series on the web. From the site:
"Shadowmarch is not going to be simply a novel to download. It will be a serial story -- episodic, presented in regular installments more like a television show, that can either be downloaded and perused at leisure (even printed out) or read right on the site. There will be art, maps, and background history of the world, all available as part of the package."
I don't know if any other major author has tried this. You can read the free prelude on the site at http://www.shadowmarch.com." The whole she-bang is supposed to launch June 1. But I will say that this looks more like what I think the online publishing will be like - less like King's "The Plant" idea, which was still dumb, IMHO.
On a different note, I wish Williams would hurry up and finish the Otherland series so I can stop buying the damn things. I don't like them anymore, but I feel that I've already invested so much time and money in the first 3 books that I have to see it through to the end.
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
One of the strongest facets to the Gutenberg project, in my mind, was that you could read all of Ulysses by gophering to the site, in one sitting.
Unless there's real monitary reasons, I'd be much more willing to release whole stories instead of episodes.
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
I think the concept of serialization is interesting though, get you hooked and then jack up the price (as it were). But, it has been done before in 19th century newspapers with Dickens or Conan-Doyle, and I predict that this may prove to be as popular today as it was then. (Whether or not these stories are of any quality will prove how enduring they are, though.)
But thats the internet in a nutshell isn't it? Try anything once...
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crazy dynamite monkey
...was that it didn't really take into account the realities of digital media. The two big problems are cost vs. value, and the potentially ephemeral nature of digital documents.
Sure, I paid for the first installment, and enjoyed it. The projected final cost of the novel was between $15 and $25 though--far too much, in my opinion, when you don't recieve a nice hardcover volume. If you expected to print out the work, even at the modest cost of a nickel a page your total would be between $30 and $40.
Reading online is all good and well, but I think almost everyone can agree that it is easier and nicer to have hardcopy for literature. This means that the cost, at minimum, must be lowered to the point where people can realistically print it out for the same cost as the hardcover.
Second, The Plant didn't take into account the fact that people download files, then accidently delete them, or change computers and forget to transfer little things between them, or simply are lazy and want to download again for each location they access from. Should people who have paid for a copy and lost it (much easier to do than with a book) be forced to pay again? This fact was not taken in account when the pay-through percentage was calculated.
Hopefully Williams is addressing both these problems-no word yet on cost, but it appears that there will be a login system to access the online version, rather than a pay-for-play download of the serials. This, at least, is a major improvement in my mind.
WHAT??
How did what you post make any sense at all???
Writing needs to be open source??? Yeah, right! I think that kind of underminds the purpose of most authors - if you have a creative vision, then it is your creative vision - not anyone else's. If you so choose to share that vision with the world, so be it, I think that's great.
Perhaps you mean to "open" the publishing schemes, but there is no way in hell that writing should be "open" - that's not quite the way to write a coherent story.
On the other hand, nice troll. Look, you even got us to respond...
Hi! This is the Sig, blatantly attached to the end of this comment.
FWIW, for the past 8 months I've done almost all my reading on my Handspring Visor and I have to say that for me, it beats the hell out of paper books. The screen simply hasn't been an issue and I love the convenience of:
1. Being able to finish one book at 3 a.m., go to Baen.com or Fictionwise, and immediatley get something new to read.
2. Not having to hold a book open and continuously turn pages.
3. Being able to read in the dark with a backlit display.
4. Not using up any more of my (already packed) shelf space.
Before I tried it I didn't really think it would work very well either, but, having tried it I don't think I'll ever go back.
"Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
bryguy
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
Or, perhaps, you mean that all writing should be "free" (as in beer). Because if the literary work is the "compiled product," the real "source" of one's writing, insofar as I can tell, is the collection of experiences of an author. I've already seen some responses here saying, "yeah, imagine if we had to pay for Shakespeare" or whatnot-- First point-- shakespeare was PAID for what he wrote, just not by you. Secondly, Shakespeare's plays and poems were not written in a write-something-and-pass-it-on fashion (unless you're one of those people that believe he didn't actually write anything). The "collaborative" elements that inspired his work came from other plays and writings that had come before him, world mythology and the history of civilization, and from his own personal experiences and trials and experimentations.
They did not come from a committee submitting literary "patches" for his sonnets.
If writing is to become a truly creative medium on a par with programming
Is this a joke? Are you also advocating open-source painting? If so, maybe you can help me get a paintbrush into MOMA-- I'd like to make a few improvements to some of the Picassos.
In short, if you really believe all writing should be definition be collaborative, please forward your Slashdot password so i can submit better informed opinions.
I kinda feel like this is a troll or I'm just missing the sarcasm.
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This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
The gist of MSoT is, what happens after "they lived happily ever after"? The novel starts with the death via old age of Prester John, the land's beloved king who, in legend, slayed a dragon and built his throne from its bones. The king's sons start a struggle for the throne, but the real story follows a scullery boy named Simon as he flees the castle and "dark forces" (oooh) that are pulling the strings.
It's all pretty basic Joseph Campbell stuff, except that there is no blind "here's the archetypal hero, here's the archetypal bad guy" stuff. The characters of MSoT (and there are a LOT of them) are all very deep and complex; Tad Williams is clearly aware that from each character's perspective, the story being told is their own.
In fact, this storytelling tendency even gets Williams into a little trouble. The first volume of the "trilogy" is enormous. The second (and fastest-paced of the set) isn't quite as large; the third is twice the size of the first. In paperback, the third is simply sold as two gigantic paperbacks. There's an amazing amount of story stuffed into this simple premise.
There have been rumors of Tad Williams doing another set of novels in the MSoT "universe," and I know of one additional short story set as a prelude to MSoT. Shadowmarch might be this additional set of novels -- "Qul-na-Qar" sounds like a city right out of MSoT, and the Twilight People are probably the Sithi. Maybe.
A couple other things: I haven't been able to get into the sci-fi epic he's spent most of the 90's working on. Sorry. VR fiction just doesn't do much for me after Snow Crash. But I really want to give it another chance.
also: Serial fiction rules. For six months I was absolutely GLUED to Barnes & Noble waiting for the chapters of Green Mile to come out. It is so great to have something to look forward to so much every month. Remember when X-Files was at its height and you couldn't wait to see each new episode? It's like that, but literary. This is gonna be FUN.
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automatictaxistopelectriccigarettelovebaby
The only way to determine what will work and what won't is to have the testicular fortitude to try it. I think that King's "experiment" had less to do with "testicular fortitude" and more to do with "making a quick buck". I'm sorry, but taking an outdated (20 years) throw-away short story (it was originally given as a Christmas gift to a few friends) and stretching it out until the money stops coming in is NOT what I would consider a serious attempt at publishing. Rumor among the publishing circles, by the way, is that he got bored with the story, not that the revenue model wasn't working. Regardless of the reasons, the fact remains that he stopped. Now all the people that did pay ended up with nothing but a few CHAPTERS of an incomplete story. An experiment in electronic publishing indeed. King's previous attempt at serialized fiction (The Green Mile) worked because the consumer KNEW that all 6 books would be available right on schedule. By stopping The Plant, King showed himself to be an untrustworthy businessman. Would you ever buy a book by-the-chapter from him again?
No it certainly wan't a dumb idea (the story wasn't so hot, but what else could he use for an experiment outside of his publishing contracts?).
If you go to his web site you can see the expense report for The Plant. He made a fairly nice profit (half a million) considering 1) it was a first-time experiment, 2) it was overpriced, 3) he botched up the mailing list that was supposed to announce new installments, so nobody knew to get the next installment, and 4) the story was a leftover.
He even wrote letters (used to be on his website someplace) to major publications that called it a "failure" saying that it actually wasn't a failure, he made half a million on a book that never even existed on paper! But of course the publishers declined to publish those letters. Wonder why?
I would definitely call it a successful first attempt. Imagine if he works out the wrinkles, gets some better marketing, and tries it with a better book (or in parallel with a regular paper book).