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Bakker XLIII - the prattle of unnumbered years


sologdin

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Well, I tried to walk that line as best as possible. I don't know what good it did or if it got people excited (the two year wait since then probably didn't help the enthusiasm).

Just thinking out loud but a "bunch of us" could. But would a bunch of us do so? And, if yes, then it's still something that could and should be done once the book is out.

Otherwise, I'm just always trying to strategize to yield dividends for the man himself (and by proxy, us, as his success facilitates more readings for us in the future).

 

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On 14/4/2016 at 3:47 PM, Madness said:

It all sounds like a horrible clusterfuck in terms of actually getting books into the hands of interested readers, much less the difficulty of the text itself.

Pat and Wert, any insight into what individuals such as myself (someone who "runs" - does basically nothing - a forum) or someone like bakkerfans (mrganondorf from Second Apocalypse) who has every kind of social media account or the average, enthused reader can do to help Bakker reach a wider audience?

Especially during this crucial contemporary release stage?

Between us, there's very little we can do to help move copies. . . :(

Overlook and Orbit would need to step up and get the ball rolling. All five published ebooks need to go on sale, with TDTCB being offered for peanuts to hopefully entice readers who were on the fence to give the first series a shot. They also need to offer review copies of the first trilgy to SFF bloggers to help raise awareness and get new readers into it. You know, the way I and other reviewers gave the Malazan books a second wind around the time The Bonehunters was released.

We're all sold here, so it's pointless. You guys will buy the TGO, no matter what I say about it in my review. Bakker needs new fans. He's got a cult following, which is good if you are a midlist author. But he needs new readers as much as he needs people like us. And Overlook and Orbit needs to step up to the plate and help in that regard. Thing is, I'm not sure they'll want to make the effort. . . :(

Overlook are supposedly printing galleys for TGO and I'm supposed to be on the list to receive one. They did not do so for TJE and TWLW. Penguin Canada did, but I was lucky enough to get the file from the final copy edit from Scott himself as soon as it was set in stone. Which allowed me to read and review both novels before ARCs were even printed in the Great White North.

There has been no talk of my getting such a file this time, so I have a feeling that his editors have forbidden him to give me an early read.

If you know any SFF bloggers with a following who would like to give Bakker a shot, I'll be happy to get in touch with Overlook to see if they'd be willing to hook them up with a copy of TDTCB.

Patrick

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Collectively, I think we have done all we could. Few authors have fans as loyal and rabid as Bakker's! ;) 80% of the metaphysical stuff discussed on this board I can't even begin to understand! :P

His publishers now need to step it up a notch or three and get the books into the hands or on the screens of readers. So much has been said about Bakker on various message boards over the years that a lot of people would probably buy a discounted digital copy of TDTCB, just to see what the noise was all about. They need to get both series into the hands of reviewers, some of whom will love them and pimp them the way we do now.

Bakker needs new asses in the seats. Not just our sorry asses! ;)

Patrick

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The only thing we can do is continue spreading the word. For example, my daily/weekly/annual hits have increased by almost tenfold since The White-Luck Warrior came out, so The Great Ordeal will get a lot more eyes on it that when I get my review out at least.

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The gang at Elitist Book Reviews can probably be convinced to give TGO a read, though they're a group that have been collectively disappointed in TAE as contrasted with their love for PON.

Though, I think the next volume will bring them back round ;).

EDIT: Also, Pat and Wert, thanks for the great responses.

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18 hours ago, sologdin said:

maybe send copies of volume I to school boards and recommend it be adopted for 10th grade english curricula.

They could also do with a kid's cartoon too. Groom the next generation of readers. Convince Disney it's the new LOTR :)

On 15/04/2016 at 8:41 PM, Madness said:

Well, I tried to walk that line as best as possible. I don't know what good it did or if it got people excited (the two year wait since then probably didn't help the enthusiasm).

Just thinking out loud but a "bunch of us" could. But would a bunch of us do so? And, if yes, then it's still something that could and should be done once the book is out.

Otherwise, I'm just always trying to strategize to yield dividends for the man himself (and by proxy, us, as his success facilitates more readings for us in the future).

 

I tend to go for reccomending it to people I know once I get a feel for the type of entertainment they like. As soon as someone points out they like to read and they tend to prefer HBO style TV with less than friendly characters/situations - it doesn't take long to get them to check it out. Still, i tend to build them up to Bakker by getting them to check out Abercrombie, Lawrence and Morgan (SF) first. It's not much but I'd say I've managed to convince 5 to check out Bakker (although there's only one I know who read it and loved it). The other authors tend to work out better but I guess that's reflected in sales too.

Still if we could all get some others to read in a grass-roots approach it can't not help.

I agree that getting TDTCB as a kindle daily/monthly deal would do wonders for the series as even those who'd expect to hate it would probably buy it just to be informed haters. On the fencers would at least buy it. I think Lawrence had a good piece on how digital deals often generate sales but don't generate reviews or purchases of the rest of the series as much as you'd think though.

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Hey guys,

I got in touch with Scott to pitch an idea to him and ask for his thoughts about this. Will let you know how it goes.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to get newbies to give Bakker a shot, I'll reprint my reviews of all three installments of the Prince of Nothing and the first two volumes of The Aspect-Emperor series over the next little while. Not sure what sort of impact it will have, but it's worth a shot.

My review of The Darkness That Comes Before has just been posted here. Feel free to spread the word. :)

And since positive comments might carry some weight, feel free to chime in in the comment section of the review. Hopefully some readers will be intrigued enough to give the book a shot.

Cheers,

Patrick

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Speaking as a casual Bakker reader (yes, they do exist), the fact that I cannot get a digital copy on July 5th is driving me nuts. This is the year 2016; this kind of thing should not be acceptable anymore.

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I guess the more noise we all make, the better our odds are.

So Madness, if you want to link my review on The Second Apocalypse and invite people to chime in in the comment section, feel free to do so. :) I also posted my review on Goodreads. If enough of us do that, there and elsewhere, maybe it will entice some people to give TDTCB a go. If anyone wants to link this on Reddit or elsewhere, be my guest.

Who knows? Might encourage Overlook and Orbit to do something for a change. . .

Patrick

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Behold some fresh bloggage.

Does anyone know if Caitlin Sweet or Catherynne Valente have ever blurbed or reviewed the books anywhere? I know they know Scott and are fans (if that's the right word) of at least the first trilogy, but my Google-fu was unable to locate anything.

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Now that I know that the book has a publishing date, I think I'll check out the various reviews and plan a reread.  Not a new reader, but I may have to actually buy the books this time. 

Thanks!

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33 minutes ago, Electric Bass said:

So there's really a fan theory that Earwa is Eurasia's distant past or future? Like Conan or Lord of the Rings "mythic time passing into modern time" style? 

Where did you see that at? From the trailer, there is a certain section that could make you think that.

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9 hours ago, Werthead said:

Behold some fresh bloggage.

Does anyone know if Caitlin Sweet or Catherynne Valente have ever blurbed or reviewed the books anywhere? I know they know Scott and are fans (if that's the right word) of at least the first trilogy, but my Google-fu was unable to locate anything.

Eh, unless you mean a different Valente then I'm thinking of, she was,uh, not a fan. Without getting into specifics that are covered in previous posts here anyway, one of RSB's not so well executed ventures into social media happened on her blog. It...did not go well.

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