Thank you.

Back in December I asked all of you to consider going out and buying copies of Talion: Revenant, The Dark Glory War and Fortress Draconis. The initial response, as judged by the spike in sales rank on Amazon.com, was wonderful. The sales rank numbers, I have been told, don't represent actual sales, but reflect page hits: folks looking at the books. The Dark Glory War went from 90,000 plus to 7,700 or so, which is a tremendous jump for a book over a year old. Fortress Draconis jumped up to 1,800 or so, which likewise was great. Locus Magazine even had Fortress Draconis on its extended trade paperback bestseller list.

As promising as those indicators were, I held my breath. Then, in early February, Bantam reported that The Dark Glory War was going back to press for another 5,000 copies. And in early April Talion: Revenant had another print run of 5,000. That book, which is now five years old, heading back for a reprint is entirely because of your efforts. There simply is no other explanation for this reprint.

Again, thank you.

So, where does this put us?

The good news is this: those reprints mean there are 56K and 47K copies of T:R and DGW in print respectively. Given the return rate numbers I've seen, 7 out of 10 of DGW and 8 out of 10 of T:R will actually sell in the stores, which is very good. (This is promising for the T:R sequel, Talion: Nemesis, but there would only really be a clamor for it if T:R ever cracked 100K units in print.) In any event, in the current market, these numbers for both books are good. Not great, but at least we have time to work on that.

More good news: I just returned from Australia where, in one bookstore, I saw Fortress Draconis at #9 in their in-store bestseller SF list. Given that the exchange rate means that book is rather pricey (double the US price), this is a very good sign.

The not so good news: Fortress Draconis has not been sent back for a reprint. Bantam printed 16,000 copies in trade and I was hoping to get at least one reprint out of it. I have been told that 16,000 is pretty good for a trade paperback, so I'm not kicking, but I was hoping more of DGW's readers would snag that book immediately.

Really depressing news: My agent sent my mystery novel out to 10 publishers. (I was surprised there actually were 10 publishers left.) No one was interested. Absolutely no one. The silver lining there was that the editors didn't all point to one aspect of the book as a fatal flaw, so it's not that the book is bad or broken. In looking over the comments, it seems like things fell into three general classes. Some editors didn't like a SF/Fantasy writer playing outside his box, especially when there were hints of the occult in the book. Some editors didn't like the fact that, now-a-days, mysteries come in two flavors: cozy and hard-boiled, and this book fits neither category. (I've made no secret of the fact that I dearly love the work of Rex Stout, and his Nero Wolfe mysteries bridge both those categories, but that was then and this is now.) Lastly a number of editors who characterized their core readership as "blue-haired old ladies," thought they would be uncomfortable with the murder of a televangelist.

It is a harsh reality of publishing today that big business forces editors to be looking for big-payoff books: blockbusters that produce huge profits. What this means, of course, is that in searching for the "sure thing," they seek to repeat past successes. This results in more of the same and more of the same, which bores readers. Then, when someone publishes something that is different and folks react positively to that, it becomes the new "sure thing." Clones of it are immediately sought, and the cycle continues, grinding all the creativity out of the world of literature.

And if this doesn't seem to be true, I would point at television and films, where the drive to score big while playing it safely results in retreaded 60's sitcoms being made over into big budget films that bomb. Television does allow a bit more diversity, but we've all seen spin-offs and copycat shows that waste millions of dollars on concepts that aren't worth a bucket of warm spit. The only saving grace of TV and movies is knowing that for every one piece that comes out, there are thousands that never make the cut. Surely the vast majority of those that don't make it are dreadful, but I mourn the loss of the few gems that vanish in the culling.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the mystery. I'm looking at a variety of choices, and I'll keep you all up to date there as plans evolve.

On a very good note: I have signed to write a new BattleTech novel. It will probably be out by the end of the year. The title is Ghost War. It will be set in the new BattleTech era, which is very cool. (And the WizKids figures for the games are the coolest thing since sliced bread.)

Concerning the original appeal, again, thank you all for your efforts. Those of you who have bought books, I am humbled by your generosity. As I have noted before, writing is a solitary pursuit, and to see such dramatic evidence that folks care is overwhelming.

This is a terrific start to things, and the reprinting of T:R is more than I dared hope. You've all really turned yourselves into partners in my career here: you are my patrons. You buy the books, I'll write more. I know I'm getting the best of that bargain, but I'm hoping you won't see yourselves as too far behind.

If you've not bought Talion: Revenant, The Dark Glory War or Fortress Draconis -- and if you would normally read those sorts of books -- I urge you to buy them as soon as you can see your way clear to do so. If your stores don't have them, please order them. As long as you buy the books new, the numbers count in New York.

If you have bought the books and enjoyed them, please recommend them to friends. In the days before the chain megastores, and in the independent booksellers now, this is known as hand-selling. You let someone know you think one of the books is good. If you're in a store with them, you put a copy of the book in their hands. No need to badger or hustle, but if you just let them know the book exists and you liked it, you've done more for the sales than the entire promotional budget from the publisher.

If everyone reading this can convince just one friend to snag a book, we'll see reprints very quickly, and momentum will build just in time for the mass-market edition of Fortress Draconis and the publication of When Dragons Rage. (The simple fact of things is this: if everyone who read the original appeal from my site or from the various places where it was reprinted, were to buy just one book, Bantam would have to reprint again inside a month, and every month through the summer. If you go out and buy a book within a week of reading this, by 1 June I can guarantee another update reporting reprints.)

In return for your efforts, there are two things I can offer you.

1) My profound thanks. I know I'm asking a lot here from everyone, but when you're fighting to preserve a dream, you pull out all the stops.

2) You have my solemn pledge that I'm not going to grind out books without caring. In reading my work I think you get the sense that I do care, greatly, for my readers. I want to give you things no one else will. I want to keep you entertained, thrilled, puzzled, in suspense, cheering for some folks, hating others and fearing for yet others. This I will do because you trust me to do that, and I won't break that trust.

So, in sum, your efforts so far have been hearty and solid. The momentum thus far generated is most welcome. We keep going like this and soon I'll be able to do bigger and better projects that will reward us all.

Gratefully and sincerely,

Mike Stackpole

6 April 2002