MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Interesting article on the income of two Fantasy authors

Katsunami · 09-12-2013, 09:18 PM

Paul S. Kemp is an okay fantasy writer who did some Dungeons and Dragons novels, but as far as I can see, he hasn't done anything major, like Terry Brooks, George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling...

When talking about D&D stuff or even fantasy in general, he doesn't even come close to a lean, mean writing machine like R.A. Salvatore.

Does anyone, really? That guy seems to write like 6 books a year nowadays, and not only D&D. He claimed that his son has "just started writing", but I suspect his son has been "practicing", with the books being edited by Salvatore himself, and published under his name. That guy writes SO much that it's even hard to keep up with him alone, if you're just a casual fantasy reader.

I think that *he* has quit his day job like 15 years ago, at least.

Other fantasy authors that grind Paul S. Kemp into the ground (with regard to volume) are Terry Brooks, Terry Pratchett, Mercedes Lackey... sometimes it actually looks like as if in fantasy, volume is the only thing that counts. Series, more series, and longer series.

One thing I have noticed in fantasy is that, if an author writes a book that becomes popular, then many people want all the series he has written before. Suddenly, even the mediocre books are great sellers. It seems that, if you read a fantasy author, it's impossible to just read parts of his work. At least, I can't. Even though I like Salvatore's later books less than his earlier ones, I still read him just to keep the series complete... :X

09-12-2013, 09:18 PM	#2
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	Paul S. Kemp is an okay fantasy writer who did some Dungeons and Dragons novels, but as far as I can see, he hasn't done anything major, like Terry Brooks, George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling... When talking about D&D stuff or even fantasy in general, he doesn't even come close to a lean, mean writing machine like R.A. Salvatore. Does anyone, really? That guy seems to write like 6 books a year nowadays, and not only D&D. He claimed that his son has "just started writing", but I suspect his son has been "practicing", with the books being edited by Salvatore himself, and published under his name. That guy writes SO much that it's even hard to keep up with him alone, if you're just a casual fantasy reader. I think that he has quit his day job like 15 years ago, at least. Other fantasy authors that grind Paul S. Kemp into the ground (with regard to volume) are Terry Brooks, Terry Pratchett, Mercedes Lackey... sometimes it actually looks like as if in fantasy, volume is the only thing that counts. Series, more series, and longer series. One thing I have noticed in fantasy is that, if an author writes a book that becomes popular, then many people want all the series he has written before. Suddenly, even the mediocre books are great sellers. It seems that, if you read a fantasy author, it's impossible to just read parts of his work. At least, I can't. Even though I like Salvatore's later books less than his earlier ones, I still read him just to keep the series complete... :X Last edited by Katsunami; 09-12-2013 at 09:25 PM.