Leo Frankowskis must be crazy

[marvmax]

I started reading Leo's book when I saw his books at Baen publishing. Actually I had read his first Conrad book as a pBook and had liked it but had forgotten the author, so when I started reading it again I recognized the story, then bought all the Conrad book I could in their electronic versions.

I guess there was a falling out between Leo and his publisher because he is now self publishing, which is great but Leo seems to have a very inflated sense of his writing. If your interested here is his book store, and you can get the latest installment of the Conrad series.

http://greatauthorsonline.com/leo_frankowskis_bookstore

If you care enough to check you will see that he is selling his e-books for $9.95.

I don't even know if they are DRMed or not, but that could only make it more funny.

I had thought that the Conrad series was getting just a little silly by the end of it, especially when compared to the Grantville saga where they have this entire commitee of people who make sure that the engineering is correct (eye crossingly boring sometimes IMO, but the fiction stories I just love).

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by marvmax

http://greatauthorsonline.com/leo_frankowskis_bookstore

If you care enough to check you will see that he is selling his e-books for $9.95.

I don't even know if they are DRMed or not, but that could only make it more funny.

You've slightly lost me - in what way is this "funny"? $10 is a not unreasonable price for a book; it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the typical UK paperback.

[stustaff]

I agree with HarryT whilst not cheap it seems a reasonable price for a book.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You've slightly lost me - in what way is this "funny"? $10 is a not unreasonable price for a book; it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the typical UK paperback.

I'm not seeing the humor, either.

[marvmax]

Seems high to me. While I'm not an expert it seems most self published book are quite a bit cheaper.

Here's a suggestion for everyone then. Go and buy the first of the Conrad Series from Baen/Webscriptions for between $4-6. Then go and buy the last book from Leo himself for $10. And that way you will not also be supporting a publisher that develops new writers.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You've slightly lost me - in what way is this "funny"? $10 is a not unreasonable price for a book; it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the typical UK paperback.

$9.95 is the ebook price. If you want a paperback, it will be $15.95.
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Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by marvmax

I started reading Leo's book when I saw his books at Baen publishing. Actually I had read his first Conrad book as a pBook and had liked it but had forgotten the author, so when I started reading it again I recognized the story, then bought all the Conrad book I could in their electronic versions.

I guess there was a falling out between Leo and his publisher because he is now self publishing, which is great but Leo seems to have a very inflated sense of his writing.

Leo has been around for a while. The Conrad series are firm alternate history, dropping a 20th Century Polish engineer into 13th century Poland. They have fans, but have also gotten criticized for errors in both science and history, and for viewpoints some readers considered misogynistic.

The last I knew, he'd moved to Russia, and was living in a village outside Moscow, and looking for "a dumb blonde girl" to marry him (that from another SF/F writer who used to room with him at SF cons.) Russia is certainly going to be a cheaper place to live, though the idea of a Pole going there to live deliberately is a little boggling.

I don't know what the relationship between Leo and Baen may be, but from what I've heard, his writing isn't the only thing he has an inflated sense of. It's possible he just decided he was now well enough known that he could self publish and keep a larger cut of the proceeds.
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Dennis

[nekokami]

Or possibly he had a disagreement with an editor who tried to address some of the concerns Dennis listed.

I read the first 4, I think, long ago when I had fewer choices of reading material. The first was ok. Reminded me somewhat of Piper's Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, which I did like. But while I like the anachronistic science and to some extent the reverse-engineering of things like looms (even though it's pretty clear that Frankowski hasn't thought much about weaving from an engineering or usability standpoint), the "women throw themselves at his feet" aspect got old really quickly, and the rest of the plot just didn't hang together.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Or possibly he had a disagreement with an editor who tried to address some of the concerns Dennis listed.

Also quite possible. Or he had a falling out it the late Jim Baen. Baen was someone not everyone got along with. David Drake's obituary makes it clear Jim could be testy.

I read the first 4, I think, long ago when I had fewer choices of reading material. The first was ok. Reminded me somewhat of Piper's Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, which I did like. But while I like the anachronistic science and to some extent the reverse-engineering of things like looms (even though it's pretty clear that Frankowski hasn't thought much about weaving from an engineering or usability standpoint), the "women throw themselves at his feet" aspect got old really quickly, and the rest of the plot just didn't hang together.

I love Piper's "Lord Kalvan" series (and note that "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" is the one title Ace didn't let the rights to lapse.)

Alternate history is arguably a genre of its own now, and Frankowski is oen of many who've tried their hand at it, but far from the best. Harry Turtledove is probably the standard by which it is now judged, though even Harry has his off days where he seems to do little more than go through the motions.

I read some Frankowski early on, but have felt no desire to catch up.
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Dennis

[nekokami]

"Lord Kalvan" series, or "Paratime" series? I recall a sequel (Great King's War), but it was written by someone else. Unless you're counting the short story "Gunpowder God"?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by nekokami

"Lord Kalvan" series, or "Paratime" series? I recall a sequel (Great King's War), but it was written by someone else. Unless you're counting the short story "Gunpowder God"?

"Lord Kalvan" is part of the Paratime series. But the _Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen_ novel is a fixup of novelettes that originally appeared in Analog.

There's a "authorized sequel" called Great King's War by John Carr and Roland Green, published by Ace in the early 90's. John F. Carr has also produced two self-published further works in the series: "Kalvan Kingmaker" and "The Siege of Tarr-Hostigos". I have the first of them, but not the second.

I had mixed emotions about Great King's War. I thought it was a logical extension to Lord Kalvan, but disagreed with the direction various of the characters were taken in.

I'll get to Kalvan Kingmaker at some point, but folks I know who have read it seem less than thrilled, and think Carr is pursuing his own agenda rather than carrying on Piper's. That sort of thing is always a subjective judgment call, based on the understanding of the original author's style, tone, and direction, and whether the reader shares the same understanding as the new author.
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Dennis

[DixieGal]

It seems that $9.95 is a small price to pay for something an author poured his/her time and talent into. Strange comparison, but think of the income of someone like Tiger Woods compared to any writer out there. Extraordinary talent is exceptionally rare, but authors are not rewarded for their work the way athletes are. He would still have to sell a lot of books at $9.95 to catch up with others who are paid based on special talents.

Not all of us can just sit down and write a book. It is a special gift, similar to the ability to knock a small ball into a small hole. I wish I could do either!

Did that make sense?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

It seems that $9.95 is a small price to pay for something an author poured his/her time and talent into. Strange comparison, but think of the income of someone like Tiger Woods compared to any writer out there. Extraordinary talent is exceptionally rare, but authors are not rewarded for their work the way athletes are. He would still have to sell a lot of books at $9.95 to catch up with others who are paid based on special talents.

Not all of us can just sit down and write a book. It is a special gift, similar to the ability to knock a small ball into a small hole. I wish I could do either!

Did that make sense?

It made perfect sense, and authors do pour their time and talent into their work.

But carrying on the analogy, Woods makes the sort of money he does because he's simply the best golfer ever. There are scads of golfers playing on the PGA tour who will never make a fraction of Tiger's money because they simply aren't that good.

So it is with authors. A book is certainly worth $9.95, if you like the author's work enough to buy it in the first place.

Ultimately, value is a relative, not an absolute. Something is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. If Frankowski has enough fans willing to pay $9.95 for an ebook of his current work, or $15.95 for a pbook, more power to him. Personally, I'm not one of those people, and will pass. By my standards, Frankowski isn't that good.
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Dennis

[DixieGal]

Ultimately, value is a relative, not an absolute. Something is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. ][/QUOTE]

I wish I'd said this. Much better than my rambling talentless post.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I wish I'd said this. Much better than my rambling talentless post.

Your post was neither rambling nor talentless. And you're right: writing a book and hitting that small white ball unerringly into the hole are both special talents.

The question is what either is worth in monetary terms, and as mentioned, that's determined by others.

And talent isn't the only factor. Sheer luck plays a part. I think we can all make a list of books we've read that sank unnoticed after release, and were arguably brilliant, but just not lucky enough to be discovered by the market that would appreciate them.

If Frankowski has enough fans willing to pay the prices he chooses to charge for his work to let him earn a living, good for him. I just don't happen to be one of them.
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Dennis