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This news just in. ECW Press is dropping its plans for a LEXX book. ECW Press had previously had an agreement in principle with Salter Street Films as of July, 2001. However, the deal was subject to approval by Alliance/Atlantis, the media company which had purchased Salter Street. In the last several months, ECW Press and Alliance/ Atlantis had attempted to negotiate a mutually satisfactory agreement, but were not successful. This development may affect whether there will be a LEXX book or not, and will certainly effect the timing, format and possibly even the author of such a future book.
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This news just in. ECW Press is dropping its plans for a LEXX book. ECW Press had previously had an agreement in principle with Salter Street Films as of July, 2001. However, the deal was subject to approval by Alliance/Atlantis, the media company which had purchased Salter Street. In the last several months, ECW Press and Alliance/ Atlantis had attempted to negotiate a mutually satisfactory agreement, but were not successful. This development may affect whether there will be a LEXX book or not, and will certainly effect the timing, format and possibly even the author of such a future book.
Den, let me just say that this is incredibly saddening news. I know that you’ve put an incredible amount of time and research into this project, and this must be a hard blow, especially coming at this time of year. Here’s hoping that if any other book deal gets wrangled, that you’ll be the one behind it.
–Aleck
Oh well Val at least you can still complete a manuscript and thats pretty cool in of its self. I’v been lazy the last few months and really need to make a hard copy on paper of my Lexx dictionary and start trolling for a publisher.
-SM
ACK!!
Val, that’s awful! I know you’ve put so much into that book and there’s no one better to write it. I hope AA comes to their senses and realizes what a treasure they’ve got.
I hope you manage to have a happy holiday in spite of this bad news.
MM
Well, I do intend to finish it, it’s over
2/3rds written now, and there’s only a handful of interviews left that would be really important. Beyond that…I said it before, and I’ll say it again. I believe that Lexx has the legs to become a long-lasting cult phenomenon, just like Star Trek (well, not just *like* Star Trek, but you know what I mean). If that’s the case, then there’s still hope for the book. Count me among the fans who would like nothing better than to buy and read it, Val.
valdron; i too was looking forward to seeing your work, and i am sorry for this setback…here’s to a merry christmas for you and yours, and may the new year bring you a publisher for your opus! love, fx
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Well, I do intend to finish it, it’s over
2/3rds written now, and there’s only a handful of interviews left that would be really important. Beyond that…
Maybe I’m just missing something but why does this book deal hinge on one publisher? Can’t you just shop it around to publishing houses that have a good track record with Sci-Fi books.
-SM
The issue is timing, Slop. Basically, here’s how it works.
A book just doesn’t appear in the stores. Essentially, after its written, it has to be edited and reviewed by an editor, which can sometimes take a month or two depending on how busy the editor is.
Sometimes revisions are required, which will take more time. Sometimes not. But if so, it takes time.
The book is then scanned by a legal department for errors and omissions, defamation, copyright or trademark violations, etc. At least a month.
After that, we go to design. Usually, this simply involves commissioning a cover artist and design, approving the work, etc.
In a case like this, where there may be extensive internal design, it may be an even more involved process. At least a few more months to obtain, select, and lay out visual images, half tones and text.
After all that, the publisher has to reserve time for a printer. Most publishers contract out their printing services, rather than maintaining their own printing presses. The independent printers do a lot of publishers books, so you have to schedule well in advance, and you have to be ready for delivery.
The book has to go into the publishers quarterly catalogue of offerings.
After that, the publisher takes the book along with all the other recent publications to the industry trade shows, where they set up booths, put on displays, and try to interest book distributors and book retailers in their products.
After the trade shows, the publishers reps go to the retailers and distributors and whoever else they got contacts for, sit down and try to sell them as many copies of each book in their catalogue.
Finally, the book winds up on the bookstore shelves.
That’s kind of an edited summary, but the moral of the story is that before a book reaches the bookstore, there are a lot of intermediate steps that it has to go through, from editing, to design, to scheduling printing, getting printed, getting into catalogues and trade shows, getting orders and finally showing up in the store. These things don’t happen quickly in most cases.
The general rule is that a book will usually take a couple of years to reach the market. There are short cuts of course, but those are almost always special circumstances.
At this point, it’s not just the publisher, but the simple truth is that there probably isn’t enough time for a publisher to do a book and get it onto the market. The series will be stale by the time the book hits the market, the audience begins to evaporate the moment the last episode airs.
Look at this Bulletin Board, or others, and just see how discussion has died, among hard core fans, while the series is on hiatus.
Imagine what it will be like in April, when the series is finally, conclusively, over and there’s nothing more to anticipate. Most of the hard core fans are already drifting to other series, like Andromeda.
What do you think the uncommitted audience is doing.A book out in March or April might have a ghost of a chance. It’s got much less of a chance in June or September. Practically no
chance in December, or March 2004.Most media tie in books actually come out while the series is going on. So they tend
to be incomplete. But they come out when the series is ongoing to take advantage of that continuing and live audience.For these reasons, I suspect it will be difficult for Alliance/Atlantis to find a new publisher at all. Much less one that will give them better terms than ECW was prepared to offer.
If there is a new publisher, they face pretty profound scheduling problems, which may cause them to cut corners all over the place. Some of these corners will be cut just to try and get the book into the stores in time. Other corners get cut because the perception will be that revenue potential is minimal, so they’re not going to spring for a big expensive book with lots of content and production value.
In fact, a publisher might simply buy the license as an investment, and either never publish, or simply dump a low cost low quality orphan book on the market to preserve their license rights. They may do this to make sure no one else publishes a competing work, or because they hope there is long term potential.
The best hope is that as a cult series, it develops legs. But those legs take years to prove themselves. After five years of successful syndication and video and DVD sales, a publisher might be willing to take a chance. But even then, they’ll probably
perceive a much more limited market, they’ll be willing to spend less on such a book and
a lot of the resources and images simply won’t be available any more. In such a case, the book will probably get written way down the road by a Joe Nazzaro or a James Van Hise, most of it will simply be taken from previously released publicity materials and magazine articles.Sorry if this depresses you, Slop.
Hang in there, Val. I think LEXX will go on to cult status as big as Star Trek. When publishers are finally ready for a LEXX book, you’ll be in place to give them one.
I’d like to reserve my copy, signed by the author, right now.
MM
Really sorry to hear that Val.
Can you not find another publisher/publish it under your own steam?
Currently the ball is in Alliance/Atlantis’ court. It would be improper and immoral for me to go looking for my own publisher while their irons are in the fire. I would only feel at liberty to do so if they designated someone else as the official writer, or if they specifically either by explicit statement or by passage of time, abandon the book concept, releasing me from any unwritten obligations.
In any event, the same or worse problems of scheduling apply to an ‘unauthorized’ book as apply to the licensed book.
It’s a scheduling problem. Any potential publisher of an unauthorized book is going to be looking at a release date six to eighteen months after the series dies. That’s not commercially viable.
The best hope is that the series demonstrates long term viability in syndication reruns and in dvd/VHS sales.
In which case, in a few years time, a prospective publisher may see some merit.
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