Sequel to Hidden Stars

[Pyar]

I was wondering Teresa, are you going to have a synopsis or something at the beginning of the book? (I don't know if someone has already asked you) Its been a while since I read the book and it would be really helpful.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I said I wanted a synopsis, and my editor gave a tentative approval, so I think the synopsis will be in.

But since you've started a thread for the sequel, I suddenly feel the urge to talk a little bit about what is coming up. Heaven knows some of you have been waiting long enough. But this is a teaser, not a spoiler.

Obviously, those who have seen the cover know that Prince Ruan has to fight off a manticore.

There will be a seige at the Old Fortress, and the longest battle sequence that I've ever written.

There will be more, much more about the Furiádhin, who they were before Ouriána corrupted them and black magic changed them, etc. The world will grow more and more dangerous.

There will be more explanation and demonstration of how magic works -- not as in spells learned from books, but in the manipulation of natural laws (as they exist in the world of the story).

Unless the book gets divided in a way that I don't anticipate right now, we'll get a glimpse of Prince Ruan's relatives, the Ni-Féa Faey.

Everyone will finally find out exactly what happened to Éireamhóine after he buried himself and all those other people under that avalanche.

And a major character will die.

 

[Pyar]

I said I wanted a synopsis, and my editor gave a tentative approval, so I think the synopsis will be in.

But since you've started a thread for the sequel, I suddenly feel the urge to talk a little bit about what is coming up. Heaven knows some of you have been waiting long enough. But this is a teaser, not a spoiler.

Obviously, those who have seen the cover know that Prince Ruan has to fight off a manticore.

There will be a seige at the Old Fortress, and the longest battle sequence that I've ever written.

There will be more, much more about the Furiádhin, who they were before Ouriána corrupted them and black magic changed them, etc. The world will grow more and more dangerous.

There will be more explanation and demonstration of how magic works -- not as in spells learned from books, but in the manipulation of natural laws (as they exist in the world of the story).

Unless the book gets divided in a way that I don't anticipate right now, we'll get a glimpse of Prince Ruan's relatives, the Ni-Féa Faey.

Everyone will finally find out exactly what happened to Éireamhóine after he buried himself and all those other people under that avalanche.

And a major character will die.

WOW thanks, I can't wait =P

 

[nixie]

Do you have any ideas when the sequel will be released ?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

At this point, no. I have to finish it first, which, thanks to the new medication I am on, it begins to look like I will actually DO within a month or so. Then we'll see how they schedule it.

 

[Pyar]

I was wondering when a author finishes writing a book, what happens? Do you revise it, is it editted by someone else, or just accepted how it is written? These questions have probably been answered many times but I'm new here so i have no idea lol.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, it depends, Pyar. If the editor asks for a revision, then I revise it. The revisions may be very minor, or they may be fairly significant. I've never been asked to do a really major revision. But the editor just points out the problems, suggests ways to fix them, and leaves it up to the author how to actually go about it. The days when editors acted almost like collaborators are pretty much over. And they very rarely do much in the way of line-editing -- at least in my case they don't. I don't think that I've ever had the editor change more than a handful of sentences in an entire novel. But then comes the copy-editor.

The copy-editor is there to do two different things. One of those things is line-editing -- not for content (although there are horror stories of over-zealous copy-editors), but to fix errors in punctuation and spelling, make sure there aren't any continuity errors or factual errors, to make sure the author is consistent about certain style choices (whether to capitalize titles, etc.), and other things of that nature.

But the copy-editor's other job is to put in certain marks or codes for the typesetters and the production department. So even a manuscript that doesn't need much in the way of corrections comes back pretty well marked up.

There are a handful of very famous authors with big, big sales who don't like being edited at all (they think every word they write is a priceless gem), and they can use their clout to bully editors into leaving their manuscripts alone, except for the lightest possible copy-edit. This is not always a good thing.

 

[dwndrgn]

Thank you for the teaser and the note that there will probably be a synopsis. I'll most likely end up re-reading anyway because that not only gives me a reminder but puts me into the world so I'm not jumping in at the next level with just a synopsis to remind me.

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

Sounds good Teresa.
I'm looking forward to the story continuing.
Do you have any idea how many novels you'll write in this series?

 

[aarti]

Oh, I'm so excited to hear more information on the next book, Teresa! Though reading your teaser made me realize that I DEFINITELY need to re-read Hidden Stars before the next book comes out. There is a lot in that teaser that I don't remember. But I don't think it would be too hard for me to reread- I was thinking I should reread Goblin Moon before I realized it has only been about seven months since I read it for the first time!

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

WS, the plan is for three books, but I won't count out the possiblity that the story might grow to the point where dividing it into four would make more sense.

Absolutely no more than that. I promise not to drag the story out beyond its natural and proper length. (Which is not to say that other, longer series are unnatural and improper -- just that this particular story would not be right at greater length.)

aarti, thanks. Yes, it's been long enough that I'm afraid that a lot of people will need a refresher before going on to the next book. I hope that in many cases that will be a pleasure rather than a chore.

 

[aarti]

aarti, thanks. Yes, it's been long enough that I'm afraid that a lot of people will need a refresher before going on to the next book. I hope that in many cases that will be a pleasure rather than a chore.

Of course it will be! If it wasn't, then it's unlikely the person would want to read the second book the series, anyway

Though in all seriousness, I'm really looking forward to the next book, Teresa. I have converted another friend of mine into a friend of yours, and plan to bulk up her Edgerton collection for her birthday so that she can read the rest of the books she doesn't have.

And I serendipitously found a copy of Child of Saturn in a used bookstore a few weeks ago! I already own a copy myself, but you can always use an extra copy of a good book, yes?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

And I serendipitously found a copy of Child of Saturn in a used bookstore a few weeks ago! I already own a copy myself, but you can always use an extra copy of a good book, yes?

Especially if the book is in mass market paperback, since they don't always stand up well, physically speaking.

I am seriously considering going the lulu route to get some of my backlist back in print. GM and TGE would be the first ones up. So if you're thinking of buying books as gifts, you might want to consider waiting until you can get bright shiny new copies.

 

[aarti]

Ohmigoodness, really?! That would be so exciting! I hope you can get them into hardcover What do you mean "the lulu route"? What does that entail?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

It's a company that allows you to self publish your book, no money up front, nice quality editions, and you print up as many or as few books as you like.

It's not a way to make significant amounts of money -- unless you're super at promoting your books -- but I would like to see my OP books in print again.

 

[Jeremyf]

Would you consider releasing some of your out of print books as ebooks? Multiformat books at Fictionwise.com are very nice.

 

[aarti]

Oh, I think I've heard of that, actually. Or of a company that will print one book for you at a time, rather than going through a publisher and doing the number crunching. If they had a pretty dust jacket or cover, I'd very seriously consider getting another edition of several of your books, Teresa! Though I also like the ones I have now, that were signed by you. And there's just something special about keeping the original copy that you read, I think. But duplicates are fine with me!

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm not so interested in ebooks just now, because my big goal is to get physical copies of the books again. For instance, I'm down to my last few copies of Goblin Moon.

And being an (almost) senior citizen, set in my ways, it just isn't a book unless it's on paper.

Although, I should mention (continuing this conversation and yet bringing the thread back on topic in one clever move) that HarperCollins is supposed to be releasing The Hidden Stars in electronic format very soon, and I suppose they will want to do the same for the sequel.

 

[Pyar]

Well, it depends, Pyar. If the editor asks for a revision, then I revise it. The revisions may be very minor, or they may be fairly significant. I've never been asked to do a really major revision. But the editor just points out the problems, suggests ways to fix them, and leaves it up to the author how to actually go about it. The days when editors acted almost like collaborators are pretty much over. And they very rarely do much in the way of line-editing -- at least in my case they don't. I don't think that I've ever had the editor change more than a handful of sentences in an entire novel. But then comes the copy-editor.

The copy-editor is there to do two different things. One of those things is line-editing -- not for content (although there are horror stories of over-zealous copy-editors), but to fix errors in punctuation and spelling, make sure there aren't any continuity errors or factual errors, to make sure the author is consistent about certain style choices (whether to capitalize titles, etc.), and other things of that nature.

But the copy-editor's other job is to put in certain marks or codes for the typesetters and the production department. So even a manuscript that doesn't need much in the way of corrections comes back pretty well marked up.

There are a handful of very famous authors with big, big sales who don't like being edited at all (they think every word they write is a priceless gem), and they can use their clout to bully editors into leaving their manuscripts alone, except for the lightest possible copy-edit. This is not always a good thing.

cool, the writing industry must be a world of its own =P

I think that the editors should only look for grammatical and spelling errors and leave the story writing to the authors. But they already do that for you.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

It really does help to have someone to point out any problems (other than spelling and punctuation), Pyar. As the writer, it can be hard to distinguish between what you meant to write -- that beautiful story inside your head -- and what you actually did write. Unlike the author, readers don't have a handy built-in narrator to fill in the blanks and explain the confusing parts. The editor can see what the writer doesn't see and the reader will.

So I don't mind being edited, not at all. Of course, I may be able to say that only because I've had good editors. I do know writers who have not been so fortunate.