SGA - Scribe Awards - Stargate Atlantis: Casualties of War Wins!

[LiquidSky]

According to Stargate Novels's website Stargate Atlantis "Exogenesis" is temporary out of print. I assume that the novel is being reprinted. I also phone a local bookstore about the novel and he is going to contact Fandemonium on Monday and, he will get back to me. I also e-mail the company too. I like to add this novel to my collection.

LS

[Elizabeth Christensen]

Now, the publishing models for tie-ins like this run on a very different economic set up to normal novels - hence once they are out of print they tend to stay out of print - indeed they are more like magazines in nature than novels in terms of a relatively fast burn - which means they come out and sell in large quantities in the first 4 weeks because they are anticipated by the fans who all tend to order early or visit the stores on the first week of release... but after week 10-12 the demand slows down dramatically making it a simple question of economics - we can reprint 2,000 copies of an old novel, or 35,000 copies of a new one.... we know we'll sell 20,000 copies of the new one inside 6 weeks, over the same period we may well sell 2,000 of the old one - but if it has been reprinted outside the 90 day window and we've forgotten to notify the suppliers and make sure the stores in turn know it is available again, we could be sat on the majority of those 2,000 and trying to sell direct from our website etc... so effort against return...

Can you tell I've worked on the other side of the fence ?

Spoken like someone who knows significantly more than I do ... which is not a shock, as I'm pretty new to the game.

Further complicating the issue is the fact that the earlier novels (up through about Alliances for SG-1 and Exo for Atlantis) were not available in stores in the United States until quite a while after their original release. For the first couple of years of the Fandy series, American readers had to order the books online. It seems to me, then, that the potential for "casual" fans -- the ones who go no further than simply browsing shelves -- to pick up the older books was limited during the initial run, and thus there might still be some interest.

When the U.S. distribution deal came together, many Barnes and Noble stores stocked one copy of each of the older books next to four or five copies of the most recent title. That's how they handle most series, I think. Seems hard (to me, at least) to gauge whether or not they could have sold more, so I sympathize with the decision-makers.

My rose-colored glasses are firmly in place, so I'm hopeful that a small second run of the older books would perform well if given a chance on U.S. shelves -- assuming we could somehow make the suppliers and stores aware of their existence, as Steve said.

P.S. Thanks a bunch for the kind words about Blood Ties, silvercomet. I've only read part of Sabine's Mirror Mirror (due out next month) so far, but trust me, it's well worth the wait! For anyone who was unaware of us author-lurkers, there's plenty more discussion over on the Ask the Authors thread ...

[StevenSavile]

Yeah, I used to live with a buyer for a major distributor... it takes away the rose tinted shades pretty quickly

There are things that can be done - notably, as Games Workshop do, issuing omnibus editions of back catalogue material so it is given a new isbn etc and appears as a fresh release helps

[morjana]

SGA - Scribe Awards '08 - SGA Novel Wins in its category:

From A Writer's Life Blog:

(Please follow the link for the complete blog update.)

Comic Con and the Scribe Awards

BEST SPECULATIVE ORIGINAL ** indicated winner

LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON by Kevin J. Anderson
**STARGATE ATLANTIS: CASUALTIES OF WAR by Elizabeth Christensen
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Q&A by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Scribe Awards Official Site

(Site hasn't been updated yet to reflect the award ceremony that was held at San Diego Comic Con '08 on July 26.)

[StevenSavile]

I just like to officially congratulate the rather fabulously talented Elizabeth - I very much enjoyed reading her novel... you know speaking as one of the judges who served it's been tough keeping it quiet

[Elizabeth Christensen]

I just like to officially congratulate the rather fabulously talented Elizabeth - I very much enjoyed reading her novel... you know speaking as one of the judges who served it's been tough keeping it quiet

Thanks, Morjana, for posting the awards results -- you're always on top of the news!

And Steve ... if you're in the market for a fan club president, or maybe, y'know, a First Prime or some such, I'm applying for the position right now.

[StevenSavile]

Heh, I am trying to work out if I am meant to bow or you are Either way, fantastic job, you should be very proud indeed. One of the key criterion used was if we as judges would be proud to hold up the book as an example of what fine media writing can and should be. Unanimously we could. You did a wonderful job, and anyone who has yet to read Casualties of War really ought to do themselves a favour and get on it.

Now about that beer...

[Gategusher]

Heh, I am trying to work out if I am meant to bow or you are Either way, fantastic job, you should be very proud indeed. One of the key criterion used was if we as judges would be proud to hold up the book as an example of what fine media writing can and should be. Unanimously we could. You did a wonderful job, and anyone who has yet to read Casualties of War really ought to do themselves a favour and get on it.

Now about that beer...

Couldn't agree more, Steve. It's a great book. You judges did an excellent job! And, well, Elizabeth wasn't too shabby either ...