Manage Authors Link Column

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Sabardeyn

Hmm... I created a custom column #pseudonym in which I list any pen names the author released the story under.

I have one of those. The trouble is it breaks a good relational model.
(custom cols only link to Title)
Author-> Pseudo (1-M) (includes the real name in the list)
eg. Stephen King - Stephen King, Richard Bachman as well as any metadata variants of those

Pseudo is related to a Real name author, not part of a single book as it is now being managed by us

Title -> Pseudo or Title -> Real
In reality we ARE really working with the Pen name {authors}, since all the pen name can exist there. a new table: Realname (1-M) needs to link to all the pen names in {authors}

I sure can't code this.

[Sabardeyn]

We're dealing with one real person and multiple pen names (pseudonyms) and calling all of that one entity - an author. Trying to list this in the database exceeds calibre's (current?) functionality.

So we've defaulted to either:

1. Honor the Name: theducks approach, where all names (real, preferred and alternate) are handled as separate authors, all writing the same book. (All books cited with all names? Or just those published with alt names?)
2. Honor the Person: My approach, where the author's preferred name is used to identify them. Alternate pen names the story was published under are effectively a "see also" entry that must be manually accessed. (Note that I'm not labeling all stories with alternate names, just those known to have been published under a pen name.)
3. Cross-reference?: BetterRed's approach, where the published pen name is used along with a "footnote" which cross-references to the author's preferred name.

While I understand the gist of what BR is doing, I don't think I want to create my own per author documentation. Nor do I really want a link to an outside source that I cannot control.

If anyone can think of a 4th option I'm willing to listen.


BTW, if you think this is bad, the comic and manga folks have it much worse. In many cases the Creator, Inker, Editor, Letterer, Author and Illustrator all need to be given credit!

Hmm.. Wonder if it would be possible to create a search function that examined the database structure, identified all columns with names and was able to search through all of them consecutively with a single query?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Sabardeyn

Hmm.. Wonder if it would be possible to create a search function that examined the database structure, identified all columns with names and was able to search through all of them consecutively with a single query?

Doesn't grouped search terms (preferences/searching/grouped search terms) do this for you? You would create a grouped term that contains all the columns with names. It is true that you would need to identify the columns with names, but you should know which columns these are.

Also note that the automatic user category feature of grouped search terms would create a category in the tag browser containing all the names, no matter what column they were found in. That would make it easier to find books that mention "Smith, John" in any of the illustrator, author, editor, or who-knows-what column.

[tarisea]

For the record Chaley rocks. Thank you very much. The new column works perfect and does exactly what I wanted it to do.

Thank you.

[Inferno]

I was daydreaming that a separate file that "linked" into calibre would be interesting. A file that could be shared of authors with their known pseudonyms and perhaps preferred genres.

Kind of like an old cat pedigree program I had that would link to the "shared" file to get information of the name entered "if" you wanted to.

What can I say, must have been working on my library too long that day.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Sabardeyn

We're dealing with one real person and multiple pen names (pseudonyms) and calling all of that one entity - an author. Trying to list this in the database exceeds calibre's (current?) functionality.

So we've defaulted to either:

1. Honor the Name: theducks approach, where all names (real, preferred and alternate) are handled as separate authors, all writing the same book. (All books cited with all names? Or just those published with alt names?)
2. Honor the Person: My approach, where the author's preferred name is used to identify them. Alternate pen names the story was published under are effectively a "see also" entry that must be manually accessed. (Note that I'm not labeling all stories with alternate names, just those known to have been published under a pen name.)
3. Cross-reference?: BetterRed's approach, where the published pen name is used along with a "footnote" which cross-references to the author's preferred name.

While I understand the gist of what BR is doing, I don't think I want to create my own per author documentation. Nor do I really want a link to an outside source that I cannot control.

If anyone can think of a 4th option I'm willing to listen.


BTW, if you think this is bad, the comic and manga folks have it much worse. In many cases the Creator, Inker, Editor, Letterer, Author and Illustrator all need to be given credit!

Hmm.. Wonder if it would be possible to create a search function that examined the database structure, identified all columns with names and was able to search through all of them consecutively with a single query?

I find the most painful to deal with are those books that are republished under the author's real name. I have the original in my library under the penname and then when I search to see if I have the new book under the published name I don't find it. Only when I search for the book name do I find it there under the penname. Some authors have so many pen names it becomes difficult to keep track of them all.

[tarisea]

By the way Chaley, now that that is working can I convince you to put in a couple of more link fields. Link2 Link3 link4. That would be great.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Inferno

I was daydreaming that a separate file that "linked" into calibre would be interesting. A file that could be shared of authors with their known pseudonyms and perhaps preferred genres.

Kind of like an old cat pedigree program I had that would link to the "shared" file to get information of the name entered "if" you wanted to.

What can I say, must have been working on my library too long that day.

That's precisely what I do with Author link, except I link it to a folder. In the folder (which is not in the calibre library itself) I can have have anything I like, urls to author sites, amazon page, wikipedia page - press clippings, interview clips, obits etc.

And several 'authors' can link to the same folder - eg J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith.

BR

[Sabardeyn]

Originally Posted by chaley

Doesn't grouped search terms [...] do this for you?

Err... no, no it doesn't. Apparently it only works properly after I configure it, instead of reading my mind and just doing what I want automagically.

Originally Posted by Inferno

I find the most painful to deal with are those books that are republished under the author's real name.

That is why I added the #psuedonym column separately rather than adding the pen name as a distinct author in and of itself (ie, theduck's method). I recognize it for the false name that it is and associate it to the book while still keeping the author's preferred name as the "primary" entity.