January 26, 2010 NEW YEAR, NEW HOPES My first book in a new series, SIDEWINDER, hit the stands on Dec. 1st, 2009. It came out with that title. Today, the 2nd book in the series, DEATH RATTLE, was emailed to my editor, Faith Black, at Berkley. Since this was only a 2-book contract, I do not know if the series will continue. And, I have only one remaining contract with Berkley. This is for #5 in the SAVAGE GUN series. The publishing wheels have been moving on turtle time, very slow. This seems counterproductive to me, especially regarding series novels. For instance, SIDEWINDER, the first book, appeared on shelves Dec. 1st, and my agent just delivered DEATH RATTLE, #2 in the series yesterday. My next SAVAGE GUN is due at Berkley in June, and that’s when the previous book in that series will be on sale. If one is to interest readers in a series character, it seems to me that the books should appear more frequently, say 2 or 3 months apart, not at six month intervals. I may hear of the fate of at least one of these series within the next two months, but even if one or both are renewed, there will be a lengthy time lapse between publication dates. Publishers are notorious for not listening to writers. My last novel for Forge was delivered three years ago and has still not appeared in print. There is one more novel due in the Baron series, the last of 8, but my letters to my editor go unanswered. I don’t know if they will ever want that final book, which I’ve started but left to lie fallow. These are hardcover books, expensive to produce, and the market is probably just not there. But, I wish I knew more about that particular publisher’s plans for the previously written novel and the one yet to come. Will Kindle or Nook or any of the other ereaders coming on the market save the publishing industry? I saw an interview on CBS’ Sunday Morning with Larry Kirschbaum, the head honcho at Warner’s, and he believes ebooks are here to stay and will revitalize the industry. I hope he’s right. I notice that some of my titles are available for download to the Kindle ereader. But, so far, none of my books from Tor/Forge are in that format. I’m told that Tom Doherty is working on it, but if so, no one has told me about it. Kirschbaum, incidentally, bought the first 3 books of my Baron series to be published in both hardcover and paperback. This sale was part of an auction between 9 different publishers. Later, he reneged on the hard/soft deal and said Warner’s would publish GRASS KINGDOM as a lead mass market paperback. My agent and I said, no, and we bought back my contract, sold it to Tom Doherty at Tor. GRASS KINGDOM was the first novel to come out with the Forge imprint and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. It took me 3 years to pay back the advance from Warner’s. All this doesn’t mean much in the larger scheme of things, but I am concerned about the future, about my career as a writer. Oh, yes, I can always write books on speculation and am presently doing that. However, it would be nice to think that I have a permanent home or at least some apartments, in publishing, the kind of home I’ve had for many years with several of my publishers. Now, it seems, nobody in the industry knows my name and none are in a hurry to put me under contact. But, we won’t give up, will we? This is the only profession I know, writing, so I will go on and continue to write. Perhaps this will be my way of providing insurance for my survivors after my death. Perhaps the unpublished manuscripts will surface during another cycle when readers return to the kinds of books I write. There are cycles in business, of course, and I’ve lived through many in the publishing industry. After more than 50 years of publishing, I still dream and hope that the next decade and those following will see a resurgence of readers who will demand good writing, good stories, in one form or another. So, Happy New Year, everyone. And, while I’m at it, Happy New Decade. Jory Sherman