Trent
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hey Michael! Love your work! Just wondering - do you (or the publisher) have a release schedule for the Legends of the First Empire books? No rush at all, but just curious since I know you have written them all already. Wishing you continued success!
Michael J. Sullivan
UPDATE: Everything below the line was my original answer to Trent's question but I have more data now so I'm going to add some clarifying remarks.
We've narrowed down the publishing schedule for the next few books and it goes like this:
* June 2017: Age of Swords (Legends #2)
* Oct/Nov 2017: Untitled Riyria Chronicle #4
* Jan/Feb 2018: Age of War (Legends #3)
* June/July 2018: Some book set in Elan - possibly Age of Legends (Legends #4)
That last one needs a bit of an explanation. Del Rey's contract was for four books. And because I had the Riyria Chronicles (that might have another book) and a new series (Fall of the Empire) that I would like to start rolling I wanted to provide a "hole" for a non-Legends book to be released.
Speed ahead a bit and the Legends series expanded from 5 books to 6 and it breaks nicely along three-book lines. Books 1 -3 form a cohesive group as does 4 - 6. So I want to keep 4, 5, and 6 with a single publisher. So, I've told Del Rey they can make that "4th book based in Elan" the 4th book of Legends - but ONLY if they are willing to offer a contract for 4, 5, and 6. If not, then I'll give them something else to fulfill that contract requirement. Anyway...it's too early yet for them to make a huge additional financial commitment. Age of Swords has sold well, but it's only been out a few months. So we are going to wait until more sales come in to make that decision. But, let's say they don't pick up the last three books, no worries - I'll put them out on my own as I have the resources to do that - both monetarily and because I have access to the same cover designer and copy editors that my publisher uses.
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Hey Trent. Release schedules are a bit hard to predict at the moment because there is a big difference between "written" and "done" but I'll fill you in as best we can.
The publisher got the "official" submission of book #2 in Early September which is the same time the beta readers got the book. I'm waiting on comments from both (Robin, who runs the beta is compiling the beta feedback and my editor needs a bit more time to finish her comments on the book. So, in a few days I'll start the changes to that (which I predict will be minimal. Then that book will go to my wife for one more pass of "line editing" and as long as we can get it ready for the copy editors by mid December, then we can make the proposed June 20th date for book #2.
Now, the hope is we can get book #3 - #6 moving a bit faster. But there are a lot of factors. For instance, I've spent the last year doing some pretty major edits to the end of the series and that actually grew it from 5 to 6 books. Robin (my alpha reader) has been so busy she's not read the re-worked versions (and in her defense I only finished them a few weeks ago.
Anyway, she'll have to go through the whole series, and I'm sure there will be another round of changes. Then those books will have to go through beta reading, my editors, line editing, and copy editing. And none of that can even START until Robin is done with book #2 which will be mid-December.
So, as you can see, there is a lot left to do, although my heavy-lifting is mainly done (until I get further feedback), so I'm busy outlining my next book (a 4th Riyria Chronicle. If the books are in good shape (and I think they are) then things should go relatively quickly, but of course the publisher can't schedule a book they've not seen, and I can't tell them when they can see it until Robin is done with her second read. As you can see there is a lot to do, so there is a big difference between "written" and "done" but we're working hard to get through the process as soon as possible while still maintaining a high-quality product.
That may be a case of TL:DR - but I wanted to be as completed as I could.
We've narrowed down the publishing schedule for the next few books and it goes like this:
* June 2017: Age of Swords (Legends #2)
* Oct/Nov 2017: Untitled Riyria Chronicle #4
* Jan/Feb 2018: Age of War (Legends #3)
* June/July 2018: Some book set in Elan - possibly Age of Legends (Legends #4)
That last one needs a bit of an explanation. Del Rey's contract was for four books. And because I had the Riyria Chronicles (that might have another book) and a new series (Fall of the Empire) that I would like to start rolling I wanted to provide a "hole" for a non-Legends book to be released.
Speed ahead a bit and the Legends series expanded from 5 books to 6 and it breaks nicely along three-book lines. Books 1 -3 form a cohesive group as does 4 - 6. So I want to keep 4, 5, and 6 with a single publisher. So, I've told Del Rey they can make that "4th book based in Elan" the 4th book of Legends - but ONLY if they are willing to offer a contract for 4, 5, and 6. If not, then I'll give them something else to fulfill that contract requirement. Anyway...it's too early yet for them to make a huge additional financial commitment. Age of Swords has sold well, but it's only been out a few months. So we are going to wait until more sales come in to make that decision. But, let's say they don't pick up the last three books, no worries - I'll put them out on my own as I have the resources to do that - both monetarily and because I have access to the same cover designer and copy editors that my publisher uses.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Trent. Release schedules are a bit hard to predict at the moment because there is a big difference between "written" and "done" but I'll fill you in as best we can.
The publisher got the "official" submission of book #2 in Early September which is the same time the beta readers got the book. I'm waiting on comments from both (Robin, who runs the beta is compiling the beta feedback and my editor needs a bit more time to finish her comments on the book. So, in a few days I'll start the changes to that (which I predict will be minimal. Then that book will go to my wife for one more pass of "line editing" and as long as we can get it ready for the copy editors by mid December, then we can make the proposed June 20th date for book #2.
Now, the hope is we can get book #3 - #6 moving a bit faster. But there are a lot of factors. For instance, I've spent the last year doing some pretty major edits to the end of the series and that actually grew it from 5 to 6 books. Robin (my alpha reader) has been so busy she's not read the re-worked versions (and in her defense I only finished them a few weeks ago.
Anyway, she'll have to go through the whole series, and I'm sure there will be another round of changes. Then those books will have to go through beta reading, my editors, line editing, and copy editing. And none of that can even START until Robin is done with book #2 which will be mid-December.
So, as you can see, there is a lot left to do, although my heavy-lifting is mainly done (until I get further feedback), so I'm busy outlining my next book (a 4th Riyria Chronicle. If the books are in good shape (and I think they are) then things should go relatively quickly, but of course the publisher can't schedule a book they've not seen, and I can't tell them when they can see it until Robin is done with her second read. As you can see there is a lot to do, so there is a big difference between "written" and "done" but we're working hard to get through the process as soon as possible while still maintaining a high-quality product.
That may be a case of TL:DR - but I wanted to be as completed as I could.
More Answered Questions
Kambrie Williams
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hey Michael! I have a question regarding you being an author and your writing technique. I just wanted to ask about how you form outlines for your work or what you write before you actually start writing your novels. When you first get an idea for a story or a character or a world, what do you usually do? Also I love your books and am excited to catch up on the legends of the first empire series!
Michelle J
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hi Michael, first off I just want to say I LOVED The Riyria Revelations!!!! They were fast paced, full of good laughs! So I just got the Riyria Chronicles but I'm not sure if I have them all, I know some of your books are combined? Volume One of the Riyria Chronicles The Crown Tower. 368 pgs. And Volume Two of the Riyria Chronicles The Rose and the Thorn. 347 pages. Thank you for your time!
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