Bad News: Another Series Bites the Dust.

[I. J. Parker]

Just got the news. It looks like I need a publisher again. I haven't quite absorbed the implications of this, and I'm sitting here looking rather foolishly at the notes for the nearly finished manuscript of novel number eight. Number seven is still unpublished, and I'm being told that I need to write a different series if I want to sell any more of my work. Pity poor Akitada, cut off before his prime.

Any publishers out there who'd like to continue the series???

[Jon Loomis]

So sorry, I.J. Very bad news, indeed.

[John Dishon]

Sorry to hear about that. What does your agent say about it? Does he/she have any prospects for a new publisher?

[I. J. Parker]

My agent is very good and very sorry, but she works only with the big houses and says there's absolutely no hope there.

[Thomas Grant Bruso]

This news is most distressing. However, on the bright side, your readership can still enjoy the Akitada books that are in print. What are the odds of finding another publisher?

[I. J. Parker]

I'm getting ready to look at a few small publishers.

[Dana King]

This seems a contrary decision, considering the good press the current is receiving. They're not even willing to wait to see how sales actually pan out before they pull the plug.

I'm very sorry to hear this, IJ. Best of luck with a new publisher.

[Jack Getze]

Berkeley just cancelled a friend's series two weeks after it came out. He said the editor told him the bookstores didn't order enough.

[Jon Loomis]

Man. Harsh.

[I. J. Parker]

This is pretty much what happened to me at SMP, except that they had already bought two titles. But they did pull the plug after about three months of the release of the first one -- without telling me.

[Dana King]

I've been thinking about Jack's comment since i read this thread earlier this morning. We have a word in Western Pennsylvania for this kind of thing.

Bullshit.

Where's the consideration of how important it is for bookstores to hand sell books? For word of mouth to kick in? Publishers always seem to bring these topics up, but this example implies they don't think much of them.

Sometimes I ponder whether I want to spend as much time writing as I do. When I'm leaning toward cutting back or quitting, it's always because of things like this, not the writing itself.

[I. J. Parker]

Thanks, Dana. I've always had good reviews and poor sales.

[Donna Carrick]

This has always been the artist's lot, with rare exceptions. (good reviews, poor sales) It's a terrific series and exceptionally well-written. Unfortunately, we writers are not in the driver's seat. Best of luck finding a publisher to carry on the series.