"Wheel of Time" author Robert Jordan passed away

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Ervserver

With all the voice recordings and notes left I wonder why his wife didn't decide to write it herself. I guess someone has to be editor and someone has to be writer.

Correct. Writing and editing are very different skills. I know folks who do both, but they are the exception, not the rule. (I believe I know all of the Tor editors on the SF side of the house. None of them write books.)
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Dennis

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Correct. Writing and editing are very different skills. I know folks who do both, but they are the exception, not the rule. (I believe I know all of the Tor editors on the SF side of the house. None of them write books.)
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Dennis

Absolutely. One of the things I find fascinating in the changes brought by the advent of ebooks is the new role of the editor. For so long that has been subsumed by the power of the gatekeeper, the publisher. With the relevance of that role dwindling the editor could become a professional service on its own with a powerful brand identity to its author customers. With the printing and distribution expenses being less of a factor, the jump from writer to editor is entirely different. That gatekeeper that vetted the raw works may not be needed quite so much by an editor since there aren't as many other expenses to deal with. If there's more to gain for them from a good partnership between them and the author without the other expenses, the traditional publishing house needs to start justifying their existence. There's a whole level of people in the publishing industry that could subvert the current market if ebooks take hold.

[Starfish]

Hi,

I noticed this thread and thought I'd chime in. Jim Rigney (pen name Robert Jordan) was a personal friend and his wife Harriet McDougal edited two of my books.

I spoke to Harriet a couple of weeks ago, and she says that an author has been chosen to finish the series, but she wasn't at liberty to say who it was until the contract was signed. Harriet is going to be doing an "encyclopedia" about the series.

Starfish (Sharon Webb)

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Starfish

I spoke to Harriet a couple of weeks ago, and she says that an author has been chosen to finish the series, but she wasn't at liberty to say who it was until the contract was signed.

FYI, TOR announced a couple weeks ago that Brandon Sanderson (Elantris) will complete A Memory of Light, the final WOT book.

http://www.dragonmount.com/News/?p=326

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Starfish

Hi,

I noticed this thread and thought I'd chime in. Jim Rigney (pen name Robert Jordan) was a personal friend and his wife Harriet McDougal edited two of my books.

I spoke to Harriet a couple of weeks ago, and she says that an author has been chosen to finish the series, but she wasn't at liberty to say who it was until the contract was signed.

Starfish (Sharon Webb)

Tor officially announced the choice of Brian Sanderson as the author selected to complete the last book back on December 7th: http://www.tor-forge.com/NewsArticle.aspx?articleId=647

It sounds like the contracts were signed shortly after you spoke to Harriet.

Harriet is going to be doing an "encyclopedia" about the series.

There already is one: http://www.tor-forge.com/book.aspx?isbn=9780312862190

It will be interesting to see what Harriet does.
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Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Absolutely. One of the things I find fascinating in the changes brought by the advent of ebooks is the new role of the editor. For so long that has been subsumed by the power of the gatekeeper, the publisher. With the relevance of that role dwindling the editor could become a professional service on its own with a powerful brand identity to its author customers. With the printing and distribution expenses being less of a factor, the jump from writer to editor is entirely different. That gatekeeper that vetted the raw works may not be needed quite so much by an editor since there aren't as many other expenses to deal with. If there's more to gain for them from a good partnership between them and the author without the other expenses, the traditional publishing house needs to start justifying their existence. There's a whole level of people in the publishing industry that could subvert the current market if ebooks take hold.

That gatekeeper still plays an important role: marketing.

Ebooks have reduced costs of production, manufacturing, and distribution, but you still face the challenge of letting your intended audience know your books exist.

Back in the late '60s, SF write Norman Spinrad opined that there ought to be enough magazines that everyone could get published. My feeling was "That's very nice, but who will read it?" Now we have websites, blogs, ebooks and Print On Demand publishing, and everyone can get published. I still have the same question.

Being published by a major publisher still makes it more likely your books will be noticed and read.
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Dennis

[Starfish]

That makes sense. She said he had the contract.

Starfish

[cherdman]

Hehe...He's a fellow Cougar too...I bet the fans in Provo are going to mob him.

[philodox]

I'm sorry to hear about his passing, but I never could stomach his books.