Imperial Spy

[Mark Robson]

How frustrating for you (and for readers), to have useful scenes removed in order to fit a page limit! Makes me wish there was a "director's cut" option.

Why do your publishers want shorter books? Why are they decreasing the page count further with each novel in the series?

I'm told that my books are too long for the target age group. They have asked that my next series be only seventy thousand words/book. This is going to severely limit the complexity of the stories, but if that is what they want, then that is what they will get. I will just have to get more creative in the way I plot the storylines. The sad thing with this is that I can see many of my adult readers falling away as the books get shorter. I suppose their argument is that I will attract more younger readers, but that seems strange, as my core readership is already in the range they say they are trying to target. Still, I am but a tiny cog in the vast corporate world of publishing, so I'll deliver what I'm told to deliver ... for now. My hope is that attitudes will change as my readership grows.

 

[Balinor]

I'm told that my books are too long for the target age group. They have asked that my next series be only seventy thousand words/book.

Pffft, I started reading LotR at 11 and the only dissapointment about your books is that they end! Any chance of you releasing a few original versions for people that want to read the full story? I'll buy one

 

[Nesacat]

I've come to this really late but I'm glad I got here eventually. Just finished reading Imperial Spy and it's a wonderful book. Am going to start Imperial Assassin when I get home tonight. The books are simply not available in stores here and I found this quite by luck. There are no more.

I loved Femke. She's very real and very solid. Yes she makes mistakes but you can see her mind working and the mistakes and continues learning. I really liked that. She's very human and doing her job the best she can and that including making mistakes every so often. She's not perfect and she's emotional about much that she has to do. I liked that. So many spies now are super people and you get tired of that after a while.

Really appreciated Malo being the man he was. He was not the classic bad guy for Femke to clash violently and spectacularly against. Again this made the book very different from many others. I could not hate Malo and in fact, respected him and his efforts to run his country and mete out true justice in a difficult situation a great deal.

I liked the way characters were built not just by describing them but describing the things they did in the past. Reynik's relationship with his father, Femke's time on the street. It painted a very vivid picture of both of them. Femke's character seemed to work very well with Reynik's. I learnt a lot about them when they were with each other. They seemed a lot more 'whole and real' than when they were with anyone else. I guess I've always been partial to characters that did not make a huge song and dance about their feelings but went ahead and did what needed to be done first, like Reynik here.

Am heading home now to start Imperial Assassin to find out what happens next. Fingers crossed I'll find Imperial Traitor before April.

 

[Mark Robson]

Thanks for your feedback, Nesa. Glad you liked the book so much. I've always liked Femke as a character from the moment she appeared in the Emperor's study in First Sword I knew she was something special. It seems strange at the moment not to be writing about Shandar and Thrandor any more, but my new fantasy world has taken shape in my mind more quickly and far more completely than Thrandor and Shandar ever did.

I was more than a little proud of the Imperial Trilogy, but it already seems an age since I was working on it. At the moment it's dragons, mystical orbs, World War I and tantalising riddles that are playing with my mind. I'm busily drafting Shadow, the second book in the Dragon Orb series, and I'm pleased to say that there are several key people at my publishers getting as excited as I am about the launch of Firestorm next year.

As you enjoyed Imperial Spy, I feel confident that you will love Assassin and Traitor. I still feel as if I'm improving with every book, so there's plenty of fun and excitement left to come yet.

 

[Mithridelle]

Hey Mark.

I just wanted to know wht, or should I say who you meant in one of the first chapters of Imperial Spy. Femke says that she suspected that Shalidar had killed one of her close friends in the past. Who was she talking about? Or was I just being thick headed and didn't notice who this person was?

Sorry for such a stupid question, but it was annoying me not knowing.

Thanks, Mithridelle.

 

[Nesacat]

I didn't know that you'd actually been asked to cut down the number of words. That is a shame, especially when you have characters that have so much to offer. Is this a common thing faced by all writers of books for a similar target group?

I don't think the length would have affected your target audience really.

I'll second Balinor here ... I would buy the 'extended' versions and be glad for them.

 

[Threddy]

So would I.

 

[Mark Robson]

Hey Mark.

I just wanted to know wht, or should I say who you meant in one of the first chapters of Imperial Spy. Femke says that she suspected that Shalidar had killed one of her close friends in the past. Who was she talking about? Or was I just being thick headed and didn't notice who this person was?

Sorry for such a stupid question, but it was annoying me not knowing.

Thanks, Mithridelle.

Mithridelle, it's not a stupid question. And the honest answer at the moment is ... I don't have a clue! It's a while since I last read it, so I'll have to go back and have a look at my notes some time. Unfortunately I don't have time right now - remind me in a few weeks and I'll take a look. I'm a bit busy with all the Christmas promotional events right now.

Nesa, it's a very common thing, apparently. My books are on the long side for the age range they're being marketed at. Particularly for translation purposes, which is of concern to the publishers when they are very keen to sell as many overseas rights as possible. It's annoying, but I'm just going to have to live with it for the time being.

 

[cocob3an-xx]

just a note about Imperial Spy - i love having a female spy, very 'modern' if you know what I mean, it's nice for girls to take their place in society - even if they are fictional. my other favourite female spy is Darcie Lock from Ringmaster (Julia Golding).

 

[Mark Robson]

just a note about Imperial Spy - i love having a female spy, very 'modern' if you know what I mean, it's nice for girls to take their place in society - even if they are fictional. my other favourite female spy is Darcie Lock from Ringmaster (Julia Golding).

I've seen Julia's books around all over the place, but I've never read one. Can you tell us more about them? What's the first one? I'm sure it will then go on my 'to read' pile.

 

[Pyan]

This should give sales a boost, Mark - I was in Borders tonight, and Imperial Spy is in their "Buy one and get another at half-price" offer at the front of the store.

But do you get the same royalties regardless of the amount that the stores sell your books for?

 

[Mark Robson]

This should give sales a boost, Mark - I was in Borders tonight, and Imperial Spy is in their "Buy one and get another at half-price" offer at the front of the store.

But do you get the same royalties regardless of the amount that the stores sell your books for?

Sadly, no. If the books have been discounted to the retailer at more than a certain rate (which I suspect will be the case in this promotion) then the author gets an even smaller than usual royalty. However, the boost in numbers of sales is normally enough in these promotions to compensate ... and I gain more readers who will hopefully go on to read the rest of the series.

All sales are good sales in my mind.

 

[Pyan]

Hmm...but given the particular nature of this offer, it must be difficult to work out...I mean, if two books are brought to the till, both priced at £6.99, and one of them is the full-price, and t'other is ½-price - how do they decide which author gets less? or do both of them get ¾?

 

[Mark Robson]

Hmm...but given the particular nature of this offer, it must be difficult to work out...I mean, if two books are brought to the till, both priced at £6.99, and one of them is the full-price, and t'other is ½-price - how do they decide which author gets less? or do both of them get ¾?

It's not based on the till price, Pyan. Books that are included in these sort of offers are often discounted to the retailers at a particularly favourable rate. It doesn't matter which one is discounted at the till, because the store will have received both books at the higher discount. Therefore, both authors get the reduced royalty rate, regardless of what price goes through the till.

 

[Pyan]

Ah..all is revealed!
Thanks, Mark.

 

[silvarbullet1]

So would I.

And Me! Length is a load of codswollop. Look at Harry Potter!! JK can do what she likes, so she does. As my sister and I have said (I'm 19, she's 17) the only bad thing about HP is when it ends. They're huge books, but we wade through them. Granted, we're about 8 years older than the target audience, but that doesn't stop the 10 year olds reading HP, does it??

Is there any way you can release two books closer together, which tie together much closer, so as to effectively be having one story spread over tow books, in order to get more in there? I guess that's a publishing no-no. You should self-publish again ;-P
I'll help run off a few thousand

 

[Mark Robson]

Hi, Silvarbullet1. Nice to see you here.

You'll be no doubt pleased to know that the next 4 books will all launch in the space of just over 1 year! It's hell to write this fast, but I accept that you guys want books fast. I'm doing my best to keep up!

 

[Threddy]

4 books in just over a year?!
That's incredible. You see, that's why your my favourite author.

 

[Joel007]

That sounds an unusual way to pick favourites

 

[cocob3an-xx]

just finished Imperial Spy.
thought it was fantastic - am getting Imperial Assassin for my birthday, can't wait!
the blurb was great - hooked me straight away.

the disaster at school with the heating has been fixed... it was broken when you came (im at St Edward's). not that that's a problem now, we're having lovely weather