Pat Rothfuss XVII: Games, Bets, and Minecraft

[Garlan the Gallant]

Just now, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

If chef efficiently makes mac and cheese… it’s still just mac and cheese. Rothfuss, Martin, and Lynch are making much better than mac and cheese.

100% in agreement. Very few people eat once every dozen years though.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

7 minutes ago, Garlan the Gallant said:

100% in agreement. Very few people eat once every dozen years though.

I don’t think Sanderson is making daily meal.  I’d rather eat (read) something really good rarely than settle for something okay every now and then.

[Garlan the Gallant]

2 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I don’t think Sanderson is making daily meal.  I’d rather eat (read) something really good rarely than settle for something okay every now and then.

Agreed in principle. I rate my books that I read each year just for myself and I find that most books average out at a 3.75 out of 5 though.

[El Kabong]

Please, I’d much rather have Sanderson Mac and cheese over Rothfuss’ or (gag) Lynch. Heck with regards to Lynch I’d say there’s a non zero possibility his writing days are over.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

5 hours ago, El Kabong said:

Please, I’d much rather have Sanderson Mac and cheese over Rothfuss’ or (gag) Lynch. Heck with regards to Lynch I’d say there’s a non zero possibility his writing days are over.

I enjoy Lynch’s books.  

[VigoTheCarpathian]

13 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

If chef efficiently makes mac and cheese… it’s still just mac and cheese. Rothfuss, Martin, and Lynch are making much better than mac and cheese.

Rothfuss:

“Donate some money and I’ll:

1. Send you a video of me using a pasta strainer

2. Pictures of the cheese in my fridge (going to have to blur the expiration dates on it)

3. Mail you a signed box of Kraft dinner”

The old saying goes “One mac and cheese in the hand is worth two delayed fantasy novels in the bush”

[Lord Patrek]

Like Larry, I'm not holding my breath. But what the heck?

If he delivers the goods, at least we'll have a little something to sink our teeth into. Even if it's unedited and might change completely once the novel is done.

I haven't been keeping up with Pat's foundraisers, so can his Twitch crew ever raise such an amount? Otherwise, the point is moot. . .

[Kyll.Ing.]

21 hours ago, Lord Patrek said:

I haven't been keeping up with Pat's foundraisers, so can his Twitch crew ever raise such an amount? Otherwise, the point is moot. . .

They're two thirds of the way there already, at least. Not sure about his Minecraft progress, though ...

[Werthead]

On 12/4/2021 at 7:34 AM, El Kabong said:

Please, I’d much rather have Sanderson Mac and cheese over Rothfuss’ or (gag) Lynch. Heck with regards to Lynch I’d say there’s a non zero possibility his writing days are over.

The next book is 100% done, and from the sound of it has been for around two and a half years, if not considerably longer (along with a whole number of short stories and potentially some material from The Ministry of Necessity). He's just refused to hand it over to the publishers due to perfectionism/procrastination, and he noted a couple of months ago this was ridiculous and he's in a new stage of therapy and medication designed to get this material out there.

So I think we will see more Lynch stuff, though on what timescale I wouldn't like to speculate.

[JGP]

I mean, I don’t know a lot about the ins and outs of the Publishing industry, but 100% done is quite the statement to make while refusing to honor your contract 0o

[john]

To be fair, nobody is suing Rothfuss or Martin for not delivering manuscripts. At a certain point of success contractual deadlines are pretty meaningless and I would think Lynch scrapes into that category.

I’ve told this on the board before but I was at a local convention in March 2019 where Lynch confidently told the audience that he expected the new Lamora book to be published in September that year, implying it was just waiting for a publishing slot. He even made a joke about promising things in the past and not delivering. Makes me kind of sad to think of the amount of doubt and angst that must have engendered that kind of reversal.

[El Kabong]

Yeah that came out waaaaaay more harsh then I intended it to towards Lynch. I mean I'm not a big fan, but I feel real bad for the guy, he's obviously got a LOT of issues, and given everything he's said recently on it, I would not be shocked if he stopped writing and shifted careers. Might even  be better for him. :/

Now Rothfuss, crap on that guy. 

 

[Werthead]

1 hour ago, JEORDHl said:

I mean, I don’t know a lot about the ins and outs of the Publishing industry, but 100% done is quite the statement to make while refusing to honor your contract 0o

The Lies of Locke Lamora, by itself, has sold over a million copies, which is probably about 20 times what the publishers expected it to ever do back in 2006. The other two books have sold very healthily. At that level, when a book you published 15 years ago (!) is continuing to sell very well, any kind of contractual issues over the next book kind of go out the window (and Lynch's success is a pinprick compared to Rothfuss and Martin, of course).

[JGP]

Bizarre. Strange business model, letting your bigger earners skate, but whatever I guess. 

[Proudfeet]

1 hour ago, JEORDHl said:

Bizarre. Strange business model, letting your bigger earners skate, but whatever I guess. 

Well, creative writing isn't factory line assembly, and its also an industry where reputation is important. If you force your authors to submit something and it turns out to be a dud, it will affect the future sales of potential bestsellers.

Money wise, I believe they are paid advances and then royalties on sales. I suppose they are contractually obligated to deliver x amount of books in a series, but I think that the worst they can do is get the advance back and drop the author?

__

My memory is a bit hazy at this point and I haven't been following the progress for the latest book, but I don't think GRRM is on the same level as Rothfuss. He's given optimistic timelines sure, but I think he has always been upfront with his struggles, what with the Meereenese knot, conventions, television appearances to help promote the HBO series, other writing obligations and so on. @Garlan the Gallant

[Derfel Cadarn]

The difference with Rothfuss is that he claimed the trilogy was finished before book 1 came out, and that books 2-3 just needed some editing.

He claimed that unlike other series, his readers would only have a year or so in between books.

Turns out that was at best a case of overoptimism.

[Werthead]

12 hours ago, JEORDHl said:

Bizarre. Strange business model, letting your bigger earners skate, but whatever I guess. 

Well, what's the alternative? Sue them for breach of contract? They'll return their advance, take the next book to a rival publisher (even if it takes another five or ten years) and your rivals make the millions upon millions of dollars of profit instead.

I only recall twice a publisher suing an author: the first was Joan Collins in the 1990s when she delivered a book that was functionally unreadable (even by her standards) and so terrible the publishers really believed it would damage their reputations. The second was the Pride & Prejudice & Zombies guy who was under contract for another novel but he'd been offered much more megabucks from a rival publisher, so he tossed off some piece of shit in five minutes to fulfil his contractual obligations before taking his next "proper" book to the new publisher, so the old publisher roasted him in court. Those are dramatically different situations though.

[JGP]

Oh, I know. It’s why I gave it a whatever, and it’s not like all writers are like this— plenty get it done. I’ve been working on my book for a long time. If, big if, I ever get it done and fortune favours is published, I don’t know if I have another one in me. I’d have to be upfront about that. I’m just used to contracts being contracts, and when a vendor is in breach you cut your loses, recoup what you can, replace with acceptable quality that can meet timelines— and the former becomes someone else’s problem. It balances out. Art is as finicky as the artist however.
 

I get it, it’s just bizarre. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by JEORDHl

[Ran]

3 minutes ago, JEORDHl said:

I’m just used to contracts being contracts, and when a vendor is in breach you cut your loses, recoup what you can, replace with acceptable quality that can meet timelines

The difference here is that the publisher does not own the property. They pay for the right to publish it, they don't own it. There is no one that can legally write a Kvothe book but Rothfuss, just as no one can do a Locke Lamora book but Lynch or an ASoIaF book but GRRM. So there's no "replacing" it. 

The good things for publishers, OTOH, is that there is very little cost entailed in waiting for a book. It's the publication and marketing around it that is their big money sink. No manuscript, no publication and marketing.

 

[JGP]

I get it, just weird is all.