AMoL to be Divided into 3 Volumes - What would RJ say?

[Ludmian]

Well, I am sooooo glad that Ludmain would know what Robert Jordan would want, and approve of doing BETTER THAN Robert Jordan's WIFE. {sarcasm alert}

 

Seriously, some of you all need to get a life, and get a real grip on reality. There is no way that anyone could possibly convince me or even come close to seriously suggesting that the fans of WOT would understand what Robert Jordan would approve of doing for AMOL better than the one who knew and loved Robert Jordan BETTER than ANY of us possibly could.

 

No, I don't claim that I know what Robert Jordan would want. I know only what everyone here knows: that RJ wanted to conclude the series in one book called A Memory of Light, that there is no evidence whatever that at some point in his life he changed his mind, that Tor did exactly the opposite of what RJ wanted and that they offered rather unconvincing explanations why they have done what they have done.

 

I have no idea what RJ would have wanted if he were alive, but I'm pretty sure that if RJ were now alive and in good health and announced that he's changed his mind and now thinks he will need more than one book to finish the series people here would be ready to lynch him for "lying to them" and "milking them". I find it weird that the people who during RJ's lifetime saw an evil attempt to "milk" them in RJ's every move are now ready to justify any questionable action that is done to his legacy. Or should I find it weird? (And no, I don't mean anyone in particular, I'm speaking of people's general reaction).

[Nightstrike]

No, I don't claim that I know what Robert Jordan would want. I know only what everyone here knows: that RJ wanted to conclude the series in one book called A Memory of Light, that there is no evidence whatever that at some point in his life he changed his mind, that Tor did exactly the opposite of what RJ wanted and that they offered rather unconvincing explanations why they have done what they have done.

What's the big deal? RJ died, but we will still see the series to the end. One book, or three books, I see no reason what so ever why that would have upset Robert Jordan. And I see no reason for the readers to get upset, either. We haven't seen the books yet. If they are well written and fun to read (I think that they will be), then what more do you want? The money these books will cost is a very small expense. There are many, many storylines to tie up. I want to see most of them be resolved. What's the big deal?

 

[Mr Ares]

We get three books worth of material, for the price of three books.

No, we are getting one long books worth of material for the price of three books.

How can the packaging of the story offend or disrespect RJ? Because he said he wanted it to be in a single volume? I think he would laugh at the idea. Look at some of his old quotes about the situation of his death:

Q: If you die, will Piers Anthony finish the series?

A: No. No one will finish the series. The hard disks will be reformatted 4x in successions.

 

Q: Is the ending written and stored in a safety deposit box somewhere?

A: No. It’s in my head.

Q: What if you die or something?

A: You’re screwed [basically. Heh.]

 

Q: I'll try this question again: I really hope you have a long and happy life, but have you taken any precautions for the finishing of WOT in case something happens to you?

A: I have not only not taken precautions to make sure that TWOT is finished by someone else than me, I have made that as difficult as possible. So if you want to see the end of TWOT, you wish that I live a long and healthy life guys!

Clearly RJ changed his mind, or he was joking in his answers. Either way, there is no reason to take his insistence on a single huge volume any more seriously than the above quotes. Tor is looking at 900,000 words, which to a publisher equals three long books.

We know RJ changed his mind - saying we're screwed and that the ending exists only in his head doesn't exactly fit with him telling the bones of the story to Harriet and Wilson and leaving copious notes for it. We know also that he didn't change his mind about this. In Brandon Sanderson's blog, he clearly says that both Harriet and Tom Doherty have said they don't think RJ would have split it given the chance. So, we have not only RJ's words, but also the belief of those who knew him best agreeing that he wouldn't split it. Also, the estimates work just as well as two long books.

 

The contract with Brandon envisions a novel of 200k

At least 200K, with the understanding that this is very flexible. And this before he had seen any of the notes, and Tor surely aware that this would be the shortest WoT book by some way.

 

Sorry, but its childish to think that you know his real opinion on whether or not to split AMOL into two or more volumes then his wife and friend.

We have his words, and we have the words his wife and friend spoke to BS. All agree, RJ wanted one book and would not have wanted it split. Maybe even couldn't have done it.

 

Well, I am sooooo glad that Ludmain would know what Robert Jordan would want, and approve of doing BETTER THAN Robert Jordan's WIFE. {sarcasm alert}

 

Seriously, some of you all need to get a life, and get a real grip on reality. There is no way that anyone could possibly convince me or even come close to seriously suggesting that the fans of WOT would understand what Robert Jordan would approve of doing for AMOL better than the one who knew and loved Robert Jordan BETTER than ANY of us possibly could.

We know what RJ would have wanted, and so does his wife: "But you are also splitting a book that Robert Jordan intended to be one book. (Tom and Harriet both have said they don't think he could have done it, or would have done it, given the chance.)" I'm so glad you know better than Harriet what RJ would have wanted.

 

See, we know RJ wanted one book. There are reasons for a split, and there are reasons for a split in three, but I don't want anyone to pretend that RJ would have wanted anything other than 1.

[CUBAREY]

No, we are getting one long books worth of material for the price of three books

 

The simple economics of publishing a 2000 page book (increase number of pages, increased cost of the binding process, increased shipping costs, limitation of space to store overstock in bookstores, etc.,) would mean that a one volume AMOL would have to be priced consideralbly higher then a normal novel. Likely it would be priced in the $70 Dollar range for a hardcover which would seriously limit the number of books sold which would effect whehter the initial costs of publishing the book could be recouped with enough profit to justify publishing it in the first place.

 

In Brandon Sanderson's blog, he clearly says that both Harriet and Tom Doherty have said they don't think RJ would have split it given the chance

 

The words "given the chance" is key here. Would if he had survived and been healthy Jordan listened to the economic realities? Remember Jordon was a professional writer with an ongoing relationship with TOR and a need to keep bookstores happy. Would he had insisted on publishing a book that would be only limitedly profitable to TOR and piss off the big bookstores (and Amazon)?. His statements about AMOL being one volume were made when he had not started writing it or when he believed he might be dying but still had enough time to finish one book. Simply we do not know what he would have agreed to if he knew he had the time to write the books and new that the final word count could be between 900k and 1,000k.

 

At least 200K, with the understanding that this is very flexible. And this before he had seen any of the notes, and Tor surely aware that this would be the shortest WoT book by some way.

 

And which way does this cut? So everybody thought the novel would be smaller then any of the other WOT books but everyone thought it would be at least 200k but could go somewhat longer. So Tor even taking Sanderson's estimate when he actually started writing was looking at a 400k book. That estimate has grown steadily to the point where now Sanderson now estimates the final word count to be over 800k. And you wonder why TOR started discussing with Harriet and Sanderson whether AMOL could be cut into multiple volumes. So the real question given Sanderson's belief that you had a natural climax at about 275k (which became 300k) was whether to go (and announce to the puilic and booksellers) for a two volume split where the second volume was guaranteed to be over 500k any considereing the way the estimate of the final word count has increased possibly 600k to 700k or whether to take Sanderson at his word and believe their is a natural break at around 600k and announce a split into three books.

 

Frankly Tor had mutiple reasons for making the announcement of a three book split now instead of announcing a two book split and then having to in the future yet again have to explain to fans and booksellers that no there would be another split. Tor was playing it safe, in my opinion it had to, otherwise it would be pissing off both fans and booksellers and as a going concern that will hopefully be in business a long time after WOT is finished it could not afford to repeatedly piss off the fans or booksellers Or are you saying that you would not have screamed bloody murder if a year from now Tor announced that it would take a volume to finish AMOL. I expect that one of the things you and others would complain about is that Tor knew that the story would need to be split into three books from the time they announced a two book split. Tor and Harriet choose to make the hard decison now and have themselves lambbasted one time, instead of waiting and setting off two firestorms.

[Voss]

 

Well, I am sooooo glad that Ludmain would know what Robert Jordan would want, and approve of doing BETTER THAN Robert Jordan's WIFE. {sarcasm alert}

 

Seriously, some of you all need to get a life, and get a real grip on reality. There is no way that anyone could possibly convince me or even come close to seriously suggesting that the fans of WOT would understand what Robert Jordan would approve of doing for AMOL better than the one who knew and loved Robert Jordan BETTER than ANY of us possibly could.

 

 

Why would I infer what Jordan wanted by the actions of his wife when I can just read what he himself said? If you have some information where Harriet says that Jordan changed his thoughts on how his story should be finished then please post a link. That would be creditable. Your position that whatever happens to the final book would have been ok with Jordan because Harriet signed off on it is not.

[RobertAlexWillis]

If you have some information where Harriet says that Jordan changed his thoughts on how his story should be finished then please post a link. That would be creditable. Your position that whatever happens to the final book would have been ok with Jordan because Harriet signed off on it is not.

 

I'm curious as to why you believe that every word Jordan spoke to his wife would be published on-line?  When he made his comments about being determined to squash everything into one and only one more book, he was also saying that he fully expected to live to finish it himself.  Why do you think that a change in one could not have dictated a change in the other?

 

He wasn't blogging, towards the end.  He had more important things to do, with his family first, and then with preparing the ideas of the story for whoever would follow him.  You don't think that he might have mentioned something to his wife and publisher that -gasp- he didn't have himself dragged to the computer to type for the rest of us?

 

Your idea that you know, from choosing one idea that he spoke and separating it from its context, what Jordan wanted, is absurd.

[bjclinton]

'nuff said: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article/56/Splitting-AMOL

 

[lt;(^-^)gt;]

No, we are getting one long books worth of material for the price of three books.

Actually, none of us know what we are getting.  I think there will be 3 books because I believe Sanderson can structure them properly.  Knowing that they are actually one book, I will enjoy it even if he can't.

 

We know RJ changed his mind - saying we're screwed and that the ending exists only in his head doesn't exactly fit with him telling the bones of the story to Harriet and Wilson and leaving copious notes for it. We know also that he didn't change his mind about this. In Brandon Sanderson's blog, he clearly says that both Harriet and Tom Doherty have said they don't think RJ would have split it given the chance. So, we have not only RJ's words, but also the belief of those who knew him best agreeing that he wouldn't split it. Also, the estimates work just as well as two long books.

My point was that he has changed his mind in the past.  In general, when RJ makes a hyperbolic claim he is being less than serious.  RJ's statements show that he wanted to do one book, but I don't think he was obsessed with the idea.  Why would he be?  Just as he became open to the idea of letting someone else finish the story, he might have become open to the idea of making the series 13 or 14 books long.

 

I have no doubt that Tor would have asked RJ to split the book also, if it became ~900,000 words.  He might have refused, but they definitely would have asked.  It isn't like they're taking advantage of RJs death.  It's a business, they make business decisions.

 

I can't see how it is wrong to make lots of money off the Wheel of Time.  RJ had plenty of time to settle his estate including his IP.  He had plenty of time to make his wishes known.  He could have set up legal protections on his work to make sure no one "took advantage" of it.  Either he didn't care enough to set up such protection, or he did and the recent developments are within the powers he granted to Harriet and Tor, or within powers that they had even when he was alive.

 

Why would I infer what Jordan wanted by the actions of his wife when I can just read what he himself said? If you have some information where Harriet says that Jordan changed his thoughts on how his story should be finished then please post a link. That would be creditable. Your position that whatever happens to the final book would have been ok with Jordan because Harriet signed off on it is not.

There is plenty of information that shows that RJ was capable of changing his mind on such matters.  There is no evidence I have seen that indicates that he was particularly against it.  Actually, would you please post the quote where he insists on one book?  I remember reading it somewhere but I can't find it.  Isn't it really old?

[benr]

Sigh.  It is what it is.  I, for one, am totally looking forward to all three, and won't begrudge a penny spent for the enjoyment I'll get.  I've enjoyed much more money spent on things that haven't been as much a part of my life as this series.

[CUBAREY]

From the end of Brandon Sanderson's last Blog post; it says all that needs to be said at this time:

 

 

Anyway, that's the story of how this all came to be. I don't expect you all to be happy with the choices we've made, but I do want you to understand where we are coming from. I have to trust my instincts as a writer. They are what got me here, they are what made Harriet choose me to work on this book, and it would be a mistake for me to ignore them now.

 

Those instincts say that we've made the best choices, and I think THE GATHERING STORM will vindicate those choices. So, if possible, I ask you to hold back on some of your worry and/or anger until you at least read the book this November. As always, the work itself is the best argument for why I do what I do.

 

[seasnake]

I love how the people here are so angry at the decision to split the book into three volumes.  Classic.  CUBAREY had it right, it's like a little kid whose parents have said no more candy. 

 

To the people who feel this splitting is some kind of moral betrayal:

Robert Jordan loved and trusted his wife and gave her full power to determine how to deal with the end of his work.  He knew that he was dying, and he could have very clearly taken up legal protections to prevent his final book from being done in any way other than what he wanted.  However, he chose to let his wife and editor decide what needs to have happen.  It was clearly his wish for her to determine how to handle the final book. 

If I died tomorrow I would want my wife to have authority over my estate.  I would want some things done a certain way, but I would trust her judgment 100 percent if she, upon further examination, determined that wasn't a good idea.  If I willed a million dollars to the cub scouts, and she found out on further examination that the cub scouts were a front for terrorists, she would know my mind well enough to know that I wouldn't go through with my earlier bequest if I had all the facts she now has. 

In this case, Harriet now knows this final book will be about 900k, with natural arcs and ends at 300 and 600.  Why can we not trust her to make the decisions RJ may have made in this situation?  And by extension, why can't we trust the author how GAVE her the authority to make these decisions? 

So my question:  How do the same people who scream we must honor RJ's wish to have one final book reconcile that with honoring his wish to have his wife make these decisions after he was gone?  Or are only some of the author's wishes important to honor (i.e. the ones you agree with)? 

 

To the people who are mad about this:

Why?  You're getting the same story you wanted.  If you don't like getting it in pieces, you can wait and buy all three and read them when the last one comes out.  No harm, no foul.  But a lot of people will like being able to read a chunk at a time and process it before moving on to more, and this gives you the option to do so.  So what's lost?  Either you'll get some WoT early and the rest reasonably after or you'll wait and enjoy it all at once.  Splitting the book should make no difference to you.

 

To the people who think "this is paying for three books and getting one"

Do the math.  You wouldn't have gotten this one massive book you dream of for any less then you will spend on three hardbacks.  I spent about 70 bucks on a Lord of the Rings complete copy and I imagine this book will be longer, and it will be new.  It would cost at least that much.  So you are out no more money. 

 

To the people who say they'll wait to find it used or from the library

First of all, you are NOT stealing money from anyone.  Second, if you can wait the extra time that will take, fine.  But there is no morality or "taking a stand" going on here.  This is not a sit-in or protest that will amount to anything.  If you can't afford to get books new, or just want to wait, fine.  But Tor will not change its policies, Sanderson will not write less books, and Harriet will not change her mind because you got it from the local library.  No one will care that you did it, you'll just spend a bunch of time avoiding online spoilers while you wait to "prove your point."

 

To the people who think this is a money grab

So what?  In this economy why waste money if you do not harm the consumer?  If splitting this allows Tor to make more money, but does not cost you any more or delay publication of the end result, who cares?  Without companies like Tor there is no WoT or Mistborn or what have you.  Also Tor employs people, and in a time when companies are lambasted for excess and wasteful business practices shouldn't we prefer companies make money and not lay off breadwinners? 

 

In conclusion, this split will not lower quality, delay publishing, increase reader costs or harm anyone in any way.  It does not even go against Robert Jordan's wishes, because he wished his wife to have the power to handle it in the way she deems appropriate should it be necessary to do it differently than he anticipated.  That's why he gave her that power.

 

It does, however, put the story out two years earlier for those who want to get started now, save a company money in a time of economic hardship, and allow readers to digest the book in smaller, easier to contemplate chunks.   It even increases reader ability to enjoy the story by making it more transportable, if I was going on vacation and rereading WoT, it'd be easier to pack The Eye of the World into my baggage as opposed to some massive novel containing The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn!

 

No one is harmed by this split in any meaningful way, only benefited. 

[Vambram]

Very well said, seasnake. Thank you. And I hope that the negative posters on this thread take the time to really read and comprehend completely your post, for in this one post, you have completely summed up and stated all of the reasons why most of us do not have any problems trusting Harriet, Brandon, Tom, and Tor publishing to make the best decisions regarding AMOL.

[Mr Ares]

The simple economics of publishing a 2000 page book would mean that a one volume AMOL...

How about a two volume AMoL?

 

The words "given the chance" is key here. Would if he had survived and been healthy Jordan listened to the economic realities? Remember Jordon was a professional writer with an ongoing relationship with TOR and a need to keep bookstores happy. Would he had insisted on publishing a book that would be only limitedly profitable to TOR and piss off the big bookstores (and Amazon)?. His statements about AMOL being one volume were made when he had not started writing it or when he believed he might be dying but still had enough time to finish one book. Simply we do not know what he would have agreed to if he knew he had the time to write the books and new that the final word count could be between 900k and 1,000k.

Well, as both his widow and friend seem to believe he wouldn't - maybe even couldn't - bring himself to split this book, I think perhaps maybe we should listen to their opinion of what he would have wanted and what he would have done.

 

Frankly Tor had mutiple reasons for making the announcement of a three book split now instead of announcing a two book split and then having to in the future yet again have to explain to fans and booksellers that no there would be another split.

They atill might have to. What if the word count grows yet again, and they decide 4 books is the way to go? From a writing point of view, it makes more sense to write it all before you start publishing it (because once it has been published you can't really go back and edit), and from the point of view of what RJ would have wanted, even if you cannot physically fit it in one volume releasing the volumes in quick succession, or even at the same time, would give the end result closest to RJ's wishes.

Tor was playing it safe, in my opinion it had to, otherwise it would be pissing off both fans and booksellers and as a going concern that will hopefully be in business a long time after WOT is finished it could not afford to repeatedly piss off the fans or booksellers Or are you saying that you would not have screamed bloody murder if a year from now Tor announced that it would take a volume to finish AMOL.

People are screaming bloody murder as it is, and one of the main reasons why it calmed down as much as it did was BS got involved, after Tor and Harriet dropped the ball with their pathetic sell job of the three volume idea.

I expect that one of the things you and others would complain about is that Tor knew that the story would need to be split into three books from the time they announced a two book split. Tor and Harriet choose to make the hard decison now and have themselves lambbasted one time, instead of waiting and setting off two firestorms.

But most people were already expecting a split in two volumes. One of the main problems is that there is a number between 1 and three, and Tor telling us this book has skipped that number, and Harriet trying to give us maths-for-dummies to make us feel better was the sort of thing that was bound to annoy people.

 

If you have some information where Harriet says that Jordan changed his thoughts on how his story should be finished then please post a link.

Actually, she seems to think the reverse, that RJ wouldn't have split the book.

 

Actually, none of us know what we are getting.

A Memory of Light in three volumes. We all know what we are getting.

 

My point was that he has changed his mind in the past. In general, when RJ makes a hyperbolic claim he is being less than serious. RJ's statements show that he wanted to do one book, but I don't think he was obsessed with the idea. Why would he be? Just as he became open to the idea of letting someone else finish the story, he might have become open to the idea of making the series 13 or 14 books long.

Yes, he has changed his mind in the past. No, he didn't change it on this. When his widow is sure he wouldn't split it, who are you to argue with her as to what he would or wouldn't want? It seems pretty clear that he did very much want only one book. When the people who knew him best think that he perhaps couldn't bring himself to split the book, I think it goes a bit beyond hyperbole. This is not something he changed his mind on.

 

He had plenty of time to make his wishes known.

He did.

 

There is no evidence I have seen that indicates that he was particularly against it.

Except for what his wife and friend thought.

 

If I died tomorrow I would want my wife to have authority over my estate. I would want some things done a certain way, but I would trust her judgment 100 percent if she, upon further examination, determined that wasn't a good idea.

What if she decided to ignore your wishes and do something that she is well aware you wouldn't want?

Why can we not trust her to make the decisions RJ may have made in this situation?

Because this is not the decision he would have made.

 

But there is no morality or "taking a stand" going on here. This is not a sit-in or protest that will amount to anything.

It doesn't have to. If people think that they cannot, for their own piece of mind, buy three books when RJ wanted one, then why shouldn't they stand by their principles on the matter. Of course Tor isn't going to change its policies on account of Gentled Ben and a few other people not buying this book. It won't make a difference. If you decided that you would only buy fair trade food, even if nobody else did, it would still be right. If you decided to buy books from a small independant retailer rather than a big chain, then whether or not anyone follows is unimportant from the point of view of standing by your principles. It might only be a small thing, but if people think it is the right thing to do, can you really hold it against them?

 

It does not even go against Robert Jordan's wishes

It does, his wife seems quite clear on that.

save a company money in a time of economic hardship

But cost the consumer more in a time of economic hardship.

and allow readers to digest the book in smaller, easier to contemplate chunks.

If you want to read the book a chapter at a time you can do that. But those who want to read through in one have to suffer to make you happy?

 

Now aside from RJ's wishes, which some are quite happy to ignore, and the advantages to having a book published at once rather than in stages, there is also the economic point - larger fantasy books tend to sell better. At least, that was Orbit's (RJ's UK publisher) rationale for selling Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet in two omnibus editions, and Tor also asked him to write longer books for his next project ("Tor has expressed a preference for larger volumes along the Erickson/Martin/Jordan doorstop tradition."). So there are good reasons to hold back and release this when the whole book is written - and if it has to be in more than one volume, keeping those books close together. Possibly some sort of box set. Don't forget than anything up to 850-900,000 words is still doable in two volumes (I believe A Storm of Swords was 425,000). And if the remaining 500,000 words turns out to be closer to another 750,000 we could be looking at a four way split. Publish volume one in September-October '11, and volume two in early November, if you really have to split it. Or if you have to split three ways, a similar schedule, such as September-October-November. That way, you still get the Christmas market, you still get multiple releases, you don't keep fans waiting, you don't need to restructure the book to any great extent. It seems to be the closest to what RJ would have wanted.

[Casco]

Did finish the Mistborn series today and i can only say one thing, Brandon will do a marvelous job on AMOL.

If you havent readed the Mistborn series yet, give it a try. Realy good plots and a great ending (if it is the ending). I did realy love alot of the chars and he did make them "live". I think Brandon, without a doubt, will do a great job even if AMOL is splitted up to 3 books.

[Gentled Ben]

That's what's most important.

[seasnake]

To sir Ares:  Just a few points to your post

 

 

What if she decided to ignore your wishes and do something that she is well aware you wouldn't want?

 

Funny thing that, I know my wife and she wouldn't.  Robert Jordan loved and trusted and lived with his wife for a very long time.  That's why I believe he can trust her.

 

As to Robert Jordan wanting this to be one volume:

It does, his wife seems quite clear on that.

Robert Jordan wanted this to be one book.  He's also dead and left millions of notes for another author to come through and cobble together into what is an increasingly larger story.  We do not know how long RJ really thought this book would be when planning his wrap up to his work.  Remember RJ thinks a lot of things are obvious (like the "tragedy" in Book 9 revealed in KoD that NO ONE got or Asmodean's killer who's still at large).  We don't know how many plot threads he planned to never resolve, which characters he would trim out, etc.  We don't know that he was counting on a much more printable final volume.  However, we now this other author who wants to deal with everything and it turns out its a lot.  RJ is dead, his wife has the power to decide that in light of the information she now has this needs to be more than one book.  And it is.

 

I guess its just weird that to me that people are so willing to follow his desire for one book into the grave but don't reconcile that to the fact the author desired his wife to have a final say in the matter after he was gone.  He could have put that power into the hands of someone else, if he was worried about her judgment.  He wasn't, so let's have faith in his ability to decide the best person to guard his legacy, even if we can't have faith in her.

 

But cost the consumer more in a time of economic hardship.

As I said, I don't think you'll pay more for one or two massive books as you will for 3 hardcovers of the proposed length. 

 

If you want to read the book a chapter at a time you can do that. But those who want to read through in one have to suffer to make you happy?

You have lost nothing and you suffer nothing.  You can wait and read it all at once, so what's the harm?  But a nice, travel friendly book that's not a giant brick is great for trips and commuting to work via bus/light rail.  I mean I suppose if you wanted the ambiance a big 15th century tome to pour over in the wee hours of the night by candlelight you're out of luck ("I shall read from the book of A Memory of Light, Chapter 14: The Dragon's Toothache.  And it came to pass in the lands of Saldea...")

 

Everyone else I could say was summed up in my post.  But I guess I see no harm, no foul, and people with better information and closer access to RJ than internet fans making understandable decisions within their rights and authority.  They don't seem to see this as a betrayal of the author, why do we based on his blog comments? 

[CUBAREY]

As I said, I don't think you'll pay more for one or two massive books as you will for 3 hardcovers of the proposed length. 

 

Let's say a one Volume AMOL would cost, $65, a Two Volume $40 each, and a three Vlume AMOL $25.00 each. The One and Two Volume sets would in the aggragate be cheaper then the three volume set. However, how many casual readers would spend $65 dollars for one book or even $40 dollars. Simply put the more a single volume costs the less quantity of that volume will be sold. The vast majority of those buying the three volume set over the two years will view each purchase as seperate and more affordable as their instant out of pocket cost will be only $25.00. You also have to take into account that space limitations means that bookstores are less likely to carry as many copies of the Single or Two Volume AMOL then each seperate copy of the three volume AMOL. Thus, increasing the frustation of fans that will find that AMOL is unavailable when they go to purchase it.

 

Don't forget than anything up to 850-900,000 words is still doable in two volumes (I believe A Storm of Swords was 425,000). And if the remaining 500,000 words turns out to be closer to another 750,000 we could be looking at a four way split.

 

You contradict yourself. If 850k words is doable in two volumes why would the novel be split into three additional volumes if it grew to 750k or even 850k. Remember Brandon Sanderson agreed to split the novel into three volumes becuase he believes there is a second natrural break at 600k. So the novel would only be required to be split into four pieces if the part after 600k would grow to be over an  additional 500k (or a total of 1,100,000 words, almost 300,000 more then the current estimate). Morever a division into a fourth book would only be possible if Brandon Sanderson believed a third natural break could be found (otherwise he could insist that it be published as three volumes even if the third volume was upwrds of 500k words instead of the 200k to 300k now invisioned).

 

Publish volume one in September-October '11, and volume two in early November, if you really have to split it. Or if you have to split three ways, a similar schedule, such as September-October-November. That way, you still get the Christmas market, you still get multiple releases, you don't keep fans waiting, you don't need to restructure the book to any great extent. It seems to be the closest to what RJ would have wanted.

 

Your scenerio keeps fans waiting until September 2011 to get the first installment of AMOL, that's nearly six full years from the publication of KOD. Second your scenerio has serious draw backs. Tor would have to determine the amount of books to publish for each volume before releasing any of them and not have an easy way to increase that amount within a reasonable period of time. Let's say that Tor estimates that each volume will seel 200,000 copies within the first 4 months of publication. It thus orders 200,000 copies of the first volume. If however, the demand is greater it cannot just ask the printer to do a second quick printing as it is busy printing the second and third volumes. Moreover, if Tor overestimates the sales then it will not only have to eat the excess production of the first volume but likely the second and third as well as it will not know that its estimates were too optomistic in time to cut the production runs of the second and third volumes. You may think that is acceptible unless of course in the first scenerio you are the one who cannot find a copy of AMOL to buy because your local bookstore sold out of its copies of AMOL and the next printing will not available for several months (and this could happen because the goodfaith estimate of Tor happened to have underestimated by Tor or Tor orders an initial printing of less then its estimated demand because it does not want to be stuck with unsold copies). Your scenerio also presumes that bookstores can be persuaded to pre-order substantial numbers of each volume within a two to three month period, which is not certain since if they doubt Tor's estimate for the sales of the first volume they would be very reluctant to pre-order the necessary copies of the second and third volumes.

[Moridin69]

Ok I can see that some of you are upset about the money factor of purchasing 3 books instead of 1 book BOO HOO! I for one don't want a crappy cut up short story that does not tie up all the loose ends of all the characters involved so if this is the last book & the story must end I don't care how many books it takes to get the story told right & to the fullest extent possible, I have not been reading this series (that I have completely enjoyed) just to have it fall apart at the end because their afraid to upset a bunch of cry babies that don't want to spend any more money on 2 extra books or 10 for that matter! I love this series & would hate to see it ruined because of some cheap people out there that have nothing better to do than piss & moan because things don't go their way, get a tisue & get over it! If you love this series then why would you want to end it like that! This series is so complex it can't end simply idiots! So set back relax & hope that the ending is as fantastic as I hope it will be.

 

RJ, thank you for such a wonderful get away into another world it has been a pleasure!

[Casco]

Ye i was pretty suprised that the money factor did come up at all. That wanst expected at all.

[notorious-big]

While I am not thrilled that AMoL will be published in three volumes and won't actually conclude until likely 2011, here's the thing:

 

I think it's wholly unreasonable for fans to expect and even demand that WoT conclude as if RJ were still the driving creative force behind it. He isn't. Robert Jordan died. And death is a tragedy that changes everything. I know it may seem sad enough that AMoL and the conclusion of our beloved WoT won't even be in RJ's words, but the fact of the matter is, him dying changes so much more than that.

 

He is no longer there to champion his work, to push for what he wants for his fans and see that it happens--that is one of the unfortunate consequences of his death. Yes, this puts us the reader in a less-than-ideal situation, but I think we just need to learn to accept it. Again, death changes everything. We can't go on being outraged as if the only difference in AMoL situation is that another author's words will be used.

 

RJ was a reasonable and intelligent man. When he talked of AMoL being published in one volume, I don't think he had accepted his own death before that time as a legitimate possibility. Honestly, I feel like if RJ were to look down on us now and see the efforts being made to finish his life's work, he would understand and accept the steps that are being taken (whether or they are totally necessary or not *coughcoughTHREEVOLUMEScoughcough* ) to finish his life's work following the upheaval of his death.

 

Just sayin.

[Thorin]

I'm just glad that the cover will live up to the standards that we are used to.

 

 

But really I'm glad we will be getting something soon, too bad they can't release one chapter a month on the internets till we get the whole book.  I'd pay a $5 monthly fee for that(that would be a cash cow).

 

/knows the leaked cover was not real

//still finds whole thing amusing

///been away so long I forgots old login :)

[trakand_01]

Rubbish! I go away for a few months and this happens. Rubbish!

 

I didnt know it was going to be split. Dont know how i feel about it really - I guess so long as it comes through eventually, i dont really care how many volumes it's in.

 

Having said that, i've got to finish book 11 before I can read 12, 13 or 14...

[Casco]

Be glad, in Sweden it will be 23,24,25,26,27,28 (all WoT books are splitted in two).....but i going to buy the audiobook in English first, just buying the Swedish ones after, so i get a full collection.

[cseresz]

 

Why?  You're getting the same story you wanted. 

 

Do you mean it? (BS = Robert Jordan?)

[benr]

Welcome back, trakand.