What a beautiful video, Chas! I am very much in the same boat as you, and I think the world would be a better place if more people could just be more empathetic. I mean, aren't we always whining about how our TBRs are overlowing? Of course it would be nice to get the next instalment in a series you love, but it's not like we are running out of books to read in the meantime. Plus, I actually get a bit of anxiety over the output of authors who just churn out books every few months... the quickly growing backlog only makes it more intimidating to me to get into their works for some reason 😅
When it comes to this topic I really feel bad for Martin, that man can’t post anything on his blog without being attacked by his “fans”. I get it people want the next book or more from an author but some people are just vile about it. There are millions of other books to read while you wait. I’m glad I haven’t seen any hate towards Eames yet with the 3rd Band book, but I think it does help that his stories can be read as standalones. I’m waiting for that one but I’d never treat him the way Martin’s “fans” treat him.
I totally agree - it's so easy to complain about something not coming out, without any empathy for the author. As you said, there are all sorts of reasons why it may not happen. I think GRRMartin is in a difficult position because people complained about his outline for the Song of Ice and Fire series and he's got pressure to do a different ending, which isn't what he wanted to do - and his other Westeros projects are giving him much more praise....to me, his difficulty is quite obvious. The main point though, of course, is that it's not our place to expect it - the Kate Bush fandom are the same, some of them moan that she doesn't release music much - but it's not about us!
When it comes to this...we - in the English speaking world, are probably particularly bad for 'this kind of thing'. As also a writer myself I know that there is no magic formula to 'produce the goods'.
Me, an author who had to push back the release of a book due to medical issues... I 100% agree, of course! I haven't had anyone say something negative, so that's a good sign. It's only 3 months pushed back though.
No one should ever lash out at someone that they don't personally know... and even then... don't do it in public! I forget where I heard this, but basically it's in regards to reading online comments "If that person doesn't have your phone number, then they're opinion doesn't matter" 🤗
Very important points. It sucks that I'm a fan of Rothfuss and Martin rather than say Sanderson and King because it's more rereads than new books 🤣 but eh ...it is what it is. Plus it's on me - those are my reading preferences, nobody forced me to read Rothfuss and not more Sanderson. 😁 Thanks for the VE Schwab excerpt - very nice. I actually ignore progress updates from authors who provide them, it's for them, not me as a reader. Their choice to make it public is theirs but I'm only interested in the final book. Minor addendum to Schwab's point (and I get where she's coming from) - math is creative too. Doing beautiful math can also be an art and is worth spending time on for those who do it, instead of just getting through the calculations. 😁 Take care.
Thank you for your thoughts Paromita! I agree that math can be creative. I’m like you, being a much bigger fan of Rothfuss and Martin’s stories lol. I guess I’m just not drawn to the big producers as much. 🤣🤣
I disagree slightly with you on the owing aspect - if someone pitches something as a series (which doesn't work as standalones), stopping midway is a bit of a disservice to readers. I'm sorry for GRRM and creatively, for Rothfuss too, but if we separate the person from the work, both series do not work in their current states - they are representative of missed potential. Every time I reread those series, I like them but ultimately am left unfulfilled. Neither is a successful work of art without the conclusion, especially Kingkiller. I would never insult the authors or be mean to them but its a cautionary tale of what happens to gardeners who publish without removing the weeds. Regarding the charity chapter, I think an official apology is needed. The charity event happened in December 2021. It is now October 2024. In between he published a novella for which he did multiple Twitch events and also wrote at least one blog post, maybe more. I think he is capable of writing "Sorry for promising something I cannot deliver, I will never repeat this mistake again". That he hasn't done this in nearly 3 years or at least got someone to put out a statement is very poor etiquette and on the pragmatic side, disastrous PR.
Oh I wholeheartedly agree about the promised chapter. He at least owes that much. The unfinished series are definitely unfortunate, and it is a disservice yes. I don’t personally feel that it means they owe us, but I completely understand where you’re coming from.
I'm glad you've said this @Paromita_M! This is exactly what I was thinking. I also have issues with authors who say there's more coming then never produce it or take an astronomical amount of time to do so. I think that's where fans of Martin & Rothfuss are at. They have waited a VERY long time to the point many believe the books will never be finished & published. If you promise something then follow through. If you're unable to do so then say that rather than nothing which only makes others frustrated & angry. Rothfuss did his fans dirty by never releasing that chapter & a huge apology is in order.
@@monalisareads I agree, just stalling over years and years is disheartening especially when they continued to make public appearances for other reasons. Both GRRM and Rothfuss have realised this now and cut down but I think the damage was done. And some people say well they're free to do what they want - of course - but it's not as simple as a freedom of expression debate. They get audiences at these public appearances because of their fame as authors of the respective series. Had they been recluses, I think people would have lost interest. They liked the attention too (which is fine) - unfortunately it comes with a price. GRRM is standard "spent decades struggling and now finally got some recognition" case and he mostly promoted book stuff like Wildcards or that coffee table version of F&B or the "absolutely no one wanted" ASOIAF cookbooks. 🤣 I'm like, eh whatever. But Rothfuss held Worldbuilder charity events for well over a decade and tied the fundraising to his series year after year in that time - Book 3 Q&A (which doesn't work because of his mystery box approach leaving fans frustrated), selling KKC merchandise from the store and finally overplayed his hand with those 2021 stretch goals. The lack of self-awareness is just 🤦🏽♀️.
Ooooh I really like that quote from VE Schwab! It can be applied to a lot of things, not just writing
Yeah I totally agree. She has some great thoughts.
People gotta remember that authors are just normal people too! Love this video dude
Yes indeed! I’m so glad, thank you! 😊
What a beautiful video, Chas! I am very much in the same boat as you, and I think the world would be a better place if more people could just be more empathetic. I mean, aren't we always whining about how our TBRs are overlowing? Of course it would be nice to get the next instalment in a series you love, but it's not like we are running out of books to read in the meantime. Plus, I actually get a bit of anxiety over the output of authors who just churn out books every few months... the quickly growing backlog only makes it more intimidating to me to get into their works for some reason 😅
Oh yes, me too Esmay! It’s like we’ll never be able to catch up lol. The world would definitely be better with more empathy for sure.
When it comes to this topic I really feel bad for Martin, that man can’t post anything on his blog without being attacked by his “fans”. I get it people want the next book or more from an author but some people are just vile about it. There are millions of other books to read while you wait. I’m glad I haven’t seen any hate towards Eames yet with the 3rd Band book, but I think it does help that his stories can be read as standalones. I’m waiting for that one but I’d never treat him the way Martin’s “fans” treat him.
Oh yeah, George really deals with a lot of backlash, and sometimes outright hate. That can’t be good for his desire to write.
I really appreciate that you default to kindness, my friend! ❤ I could learn some things from you.
Thanks Josh! You seem like a very kind person. 🙂
Great video Chas, great information 😊
Thank you so much Bad! 🤗
I totally agree - it's so easy to complain about something not coming out, without any empathy for the author. As you said, there are all sorts of reasons why it may not happen. I think GRRMartin is in a difficult position because people complained about his outline for the Song of Ice and Fire series and he's got pressure to do a different ending, which isn't what he wanted to do - and his other Westeros projects are giving him much more praise....to me, his difficulty is quite obvious. The main point though, of course, is that it's not our place to expect it - the Kate Bush fandom are the same, some of them moan that she doesn't release music much - but it's not about us!
Yeah I really feel bad for GRRM. I have no doubt all the expectations hinder his creative output.
Great video! I feel like in general let authors write and when you get a book you get a book.
Yes indeed! Excellently put Tom.
When it comes to this...we - in the English speaking world, are probably particularly bad for 'this kind of thing'. As also a writer myself I know that there is no magic formula to 'produce the goods'.
Yeah it’s a fairly normal thing to have expectations on authors to keep producing.
Me, an author who had to push back the release of a book due to medical issues... I 100% agree, of course! I haven't had anyone say something negative, so that's a good sign. It's only 3 months pushed back though.
I’m so glad you haven’t had negative comments about it Nicole. You and your health take priority. All authors are human, and life happens. ❤️
No one should ever lash out at someone that they don't personally know... and even then... don't do it in public! I forget where I heard this, but basically it's in regards to reading online comments "If that person doesn't have your phone number, then they're opinion doesn't matter" 🤗
Oh I like that Kris! Thanks for sharing that with me.
Very important points.
It sucks that I'm a fan of Rothfuss and Martin rather than say Sanderson and King because it's more rereads than new books 🤣 but eh ...it is what it is. Plus it's on me - those are my reading preferences, nobody forced me to read Rothfuss and not more Sanderson. 😁
Thanks for the VE Schwab excerpt - very nice.
I actually ignore progress updates from authors who provide them, it's for them, not me as a reader. Their choice to make it public is theirs but I'm only interested in the final book.
Minor addendum to Schwab's point (and I get where she's coming from) - math is creative too. Doing beautiful math can also be an art and is worth spending time on for those who do it, instead of just getting through the calculations. 😁
Take care.
Thank you for your thoughts Paromita! I agree that math can be creative. I’m like you, being a much bigger fan of Rothfuss and Martin’s stories lol. I guess I’m just not drawn to the big producers as much. 🤣🤣
I disagree slightly with you on the owing aspect - if someone pitches something as a series (which doesn't work as standalones), stopping midway is a bit of a disservice to readers.
I'm sorry for GRRM and creatively, for Rothfuss too, but if we separate the person from the work, both series do not work in their current states - they are representative of missed potential. Every time I reread those series, I like them but ultimately am left unfulfilled. Neither is a successful work of art without the conclusion, especially Kingkiller.
I would never insult the authors or be mean to them but its a cautionary tale of what happens to gardeners who publish without removing the weeds.
Regarding the charity chapter, I think an official apology is needed. The charity event happened in December 2021. It is now October 2024. In between he published a novella for which he did multiple Twitch events and also wrote at least one blog post, maybe more. I think he is capable of writing "Sorry for promising something I cannot deliver, I will never repeat this mistake again". That he hasn't done this in nearly 3 years or at least got someone to put out a statement is very poor etiquette and on the pragmatic side, disastrous PR.
Oh I wholeheartedly agree about the promised chapter. He at least owes that much. The unfinished series are definitely unfortunate, and it is a disservice yes. I don’t personally feel that it means they owe us, but I completely understand where you’re coming from.
I'm glad you've said this @Paromita_M! This is exactly what I was thinking.
I also have issues with authors who say there's more coming then never produce it or take an astronomical amount of time to do so. I think that's where fans of Martin & Rothfuss are at. They have waited a VERY long time to the point many believe the books will never be finished & published. If you promise something then follow through. If you're unable to do so then say that rather than nothing which only makes others frustrated & angry.
Rothfuss did his fans dirty by never releasing that chapter & a huge apology is in order.
@@monalisareads I agree, just stalling over years and years is disheartening especially when they continued to make public appearances for other reasons. Both GRRM and Rothfuss have realised this now and cut down but I think the damage was done.
And some people say well they're free to do what they want - of course - but it's not as simple as a freedom of expression debate. They get audiences at these public appearances because of their fame as authors of the respective series. Had they been recluses, I think people would have lost interest. They liked the attention too (which is fine) - unfortunately it comes with a price.
GRRM is standard "spent decades struggling and now finally got some recognition" case and he mostly promoted book stuff like Wildcards or that coffee table version of F&B or the "absolutely no one wanted" ASOIAF cookbooks. 🤣 I'm like, eh whatever.
But Rothfuss held Worldbuilder charity events for well over a decade and tied the fundraising to his series year after year in that time - Book 3 Q&A (which doesn't work because of his mystery box approach leaving fans frustrated), selling KKC merchandise from the store and finally overplayed his hand with those 2021 stretch goals. The lack of self-awareness is just 🤦🏽♀️.