An even better question would be whether he'd be willing to fulfill RJ's last wish of AMoL getting published in one book - whatever the thickness.

I've posted my report at long last. I was only able to ask a couple questions, but more questions were covered anyway.

Thank you very much, Peter. That was a great report, and some very interesting answers.

Thank you. It was a great report. I so wish i could have gone.

Thank you Peter, great report!

I've posted my report at long last. I was only able to ask a couple questions, but more questions were covered anyway.

 

Nice report, I have a couple of questions that I'd like to ask. If you don't know the answer I'll totally understand.

 

You mention the Outrigger novels and specifically say that they're  under contract. Is it right to assume an advance was paid? Given that Terry Goodkind reportedly got nearly $10 for his latest 3 book deal, Tor may have already paid RJ millions for books that haven't been written. There's a lot of speculation out there that this may force Harriet to have the prequels and outrigger novels written. However if AMoL is split into two volumes, could Harriet negotiate it so that the second volume counted against the advance for one of the other books? What do you know about the financial aspect of the coming decisions on the prequels and outriggers?

 

Now I wouldn't mind the prequel novels writen, but the outriggers I'm not so sure about. I'm sure RJ put a ton down on paper about Tam's background and on Moraine's search for the Dragon. He had years to think those subjects over, but how much notes could RJ have left on the aftermath? Not nearly as much I'd think.

However if AMoL is split into two volumes, could Harriet negotiate it so that the second volume counted against the advance for one of the other books?

Brandon said at Dragon*Con (according to Isabel's report; I wasn't there) that yes, it would count against the advance of one of the other books. This is exactly what I would expect though. But I don't know any financial details.

 

Let me just quote from my post on *ahem* another message board *ahem*

 

Tom Doherty definitely said at the panel that the "Mat–Tuon trilogy was already under contract." That refers to Tor's contract with Robert Jordan and I'm sure Harriet has not contracted with any writer for any books beyond AMoL. (And even though I've read the Mat–Tuon books could be as many as 6 books [i'm not hallucinating here, right?], "trilogy" is what Tom said.)

 

No dollar amounts were mentioned, but what Isabel reports Brandon saying is entirely reasonable. WoT has been a huge moneymaker for Tor, so toward the end Tom would have been happy to pay advances of that magnitude. I really hadn't considered the amount before reading this thread and Isabel's report, but if you think about it, Jim was an eternal optimist who also happened to have medical bills.

 

I think it's also clear that Tom would rather have two #1 New York Times bestsellers than one. The fact that splitting the book would cover one of the advance-paid slots Harriet is worrying about—to me that makes an eventual split all the more likely, even if it really would be physically possible to print it in one book.

 

Honestly—I don't think Brandon wants to write 5 more WoT books. Yes, he's a very fast writer, but keeping track of someone else's universe is not as easy as it sounds—this isn't Star Trek where everything's back to the status quo at the end of the book. (Well, not that I think anyone reasonably informed about WoT has any illusions that the universe is easy to keep track of.) Brandon has sooo many books of his own planned out, and is coming up with so many new ideas all the time, that he just doesn't have time to write 5 more WoT books...unless maybe you're talking 5 WoT books in the next 15 years; that I could see at a stretch—but then again if Brandon's own career takes off like he wants it to (and having read 17 of Brandon's books, I think him entirely capable), by the year 2015 he'll be in such demand in his own right that writing another WoT book will be a bad deal for him.

 

More WoT books from Brandon would, I'm sure, be enjoyable, but they would necessarily have less Robert Jordan in them than AMoL will. I do hope that Harriet can get the contract issues worked out to her satisfaction without feeling the need to put out any books that she doesn't want to put out. AMoL selling huge amounts, in one volume but especially in two, would go a long way toward that resolution.

Terry Goodkind reportedly got nearly $10 for his latest 3 book deal.

Nearly $10? Someone finally paying him what a man of his talents is worth?

Actually, I think he PAID $10 for his latest deal.  (In truth, I enjoyed the early Goodkind books).

Terry Goodkind reportedly got nearly $10 for his latest 3 book deal.

Nearly $10? Someone finally paying him what a man of his talents is worth?

;D I meant $10 million unfortunately.

Ugh...I just want it to be one book. Physically possible or not. Just sell it for $50, I'm sure we'll all be willing to pay for it just to finally have the last chapter of this storyline to devour in one go.

Even going slow, I can't see it taking me more than a week to get through 300,000 words or so. To have to wait even another three weeks to finish the other half...

 

It was the author's wish to put it all into one book.

PLEASE deliver it as he intended.

 

He envisioned it to be one final book.

It'll mess it up if you split it in two. What will the second part be called, A Memory of Light part 2? Tacky.

Honestly, another book and it won't be until half way through that book when all the characters finally reunite? It'll be like Crossroads of Twilight all over again. I actually liked that book for what it was, but I don't think RJ wanted to do that to us twice. Meaning, have something significant happen in one book, then spend an entire length of another book gathering up the reaction to that significant event.

You come across a whole different set of problems splitting the book into two. You essentially have to write two books!

As a fan all I can say is: PLEASE DON'T DO THAT TO US.

Most of all though, respect what the man wanted; A final book for the Wheel of Time called "A Memory of Light".

They did the same to Tolkien when the split Lord of the rings into three. Don't do it to Robert Jordan too.

You don't have to write two books if you split it. Go read Tad William's "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" series. That's a great epic fantasy series in which the last book had to be split into two parts because it was too long. It worked out fine.

 

You're taking RJ's crack about it being "one book if they have to invent a new binding system and cart it around in a wheel barrow" way too seriously. RJ was a practical man, and if the book was to long to be bound in one book he would have accepted it.

Ugh...I just want it to be one book. Physically possible or not. Just sell it for $50, I'm sure we'll all be willing to pay for it just to finally have the last chapter of this storyline to devour in one go.

Even going slow, I can't see it taking me more than a week to get through 300,000 words or so. To have to wait even another three weeks to finish the other half...

 

It was the author's wish to put it all into one book.

PLEASE deliver it as he intended.

 

He envisioned it to be one final book.

It'll mess it up if you split it in two. What will the second part be called, A Memory of Light part 2? Tacky.

Honestly, another book and it won't be until half way through that book when all the characters finally reunite? It'll be like Crossroads of Twilight all over again. I actually liked that book for what it was, but I don't think RJ wanted to do that to us twice. Meaning, have something significant happen in one book, then spend an entire length of another book gathering up the reaction to that significant event.

You come across a whole different set of problems splitting the book into two. You essentially have to write two books!

As a fan all I can say is: PLEASE DON'T DO THAT TO US.

Most of all though, respect what the man wanted; A final book for the Wheel of Time called "A Memory of Light".

They did the same to Tolkien when the split Lord of the rings into three. Don't do it to Robert Jordan too.

 

I understand your concerns but if the book can't be bound as one volume then it can't be bound as one volume period.  RJ liked to talk large and liked to exagerate (he was a story teller so what can you expect) but I'm sure that if it were absolutely necessary to split the book into two volumes that RJ would have agreed to it.  I can say with near certainty that he would have allowed a split before he would have cut anything from the story in order to allow it be be one volume.  You have to ask yourself would you really like to have publication of AMOL delayed while they attempt to invent a new binding process?  Or would you like to have plot elements cut from the story in order to make it short enough to fit into one volume (if you want RJ to spin in his grave that would be the way to do it)?  To me splitting AMOL into two volumes sounds much better than the alternatives.

I think I'll have to wait for the special two volume set to begin reading; otherwise I'll finish the first in a few days and then have another month to wait for the ending.  Don't think I can take it.

Ask him on the very last page to say:

 

By the way this person killed Asmo.

 

 

And please don't mention Terry Goodkind, god the Sword of Truth series has gone down the crapper.

You don't have to write two books if you split it. Go read Tad William's "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" series. That's a great epic fantasy series in which the last book had to be split into two parts because it was too long. It worked out fine.

 

You're taking RJ's crack about it being "one book if they have to invent a new binding system and cart it around in a wheel barrow" way too seriously. RJ was a practical man, and if the book was to long to be bound in one book he would have accepted it.

 

I don't think it was a crack, so much as his wish to make a promise to his fans that the final book would be the final book.

I don't think he would have wanted to give us anything less than one final book...er, or more, I should say.

You know what I mean.

 

Look, I'm no fan of having to wait, I must admit, but I really do think RJ wanted to finish in one volume and would have done what was in his power to deliver.

 

A compromise would be to bind it in two separate bindings, and release both together at the same time as a package.

 

People are intelligent enough to know you don't read volume 2 before volume 1. It'd be like starting Shadow Rising from the point in the story when Perrin arrives in the Two Rivers. You could read it from there, but it just makes more sense to find out what happened before that.

 

I don't agree with making us wait even a month for the second volume. Why? If Brandon Sanderson finished the book, why release half of it, then the other half a month later?

 

It's one novel.

 

You don't have to be creative to solve the problem. People are waiting for this book and will take it in whatever form they can. Publish it as one book in two volumes and sell them together.

Why make it complicated?

Worried about the cost to do it that way? Don't. The book pretty is pretty much going to sell itself.

 

Forget about drawing this release out. It's not like I wouldn't buy it separately over a one month time span, but honestly, it's simply going to piss me off.

 

It's perpetuating that old idea that the reason the series is so long is because RJ and TOR are trying to squeeze very dime out of it. False on RJ's end, but if TOR does this delayed release of volumes thing. I'm not going to be happy about it, and I'm sure a lot of people are going to feel similar resentment.

 

I actually kind of resent the implication that RJ promising to finish finally and in one volume, and so consistently saying so, is being represented as him "talking big" and "exaggerating".

 

He said it several times in front of press and fans that he intended to do as he said. One final book delivered as soon as he was finished.

 

That's a promise.

 

Tor and Co. have an obligation to try to keep that promise intact.

I don't think that RJ was talking big or exaggerating; he honestly wanted this to end it.  I also think that the same situation would have arisen if RJ were writing it - there's just too much to include to be short of 600,000 words.  I agree that the books should be released together as a two book set, or as separate books if someone wants.  No need to delay the release of the second book.  Can't wait.

Is there somewhere that the answers for this interview was posted?  If someone could provide a link I'd appreciate it.

Good points Jonn.

I will buy both books, if it does happen to be split, and I'd rather get both volumes on the same release date rather than waiting a month for the 2nd volume.

 

You don't have to be creative to solve the problem. People are waiting for this book and will take it in whatever form they can. Publish it as one book in two volumes and sell them together.

Why make it complicated?

Worried about the cost to do it that way? Don't. The book pretty is pretty much going to sell itself.

 

 

You are being either quite nieve and unreasonable.  First the publisher of TOR is an old and close friend of both RJ and Harriet. Tom Doherty is not simply trying to squeeze the last domeout of the books. Moreover, bookstores have a problem with devoting a large amount of shelf space to a single book (for them its simple economics). Even if TOR absolutely wanted to have a single volume (or a two volume set) it would have to convince booksellers (we are talking Barnes & Noble, etc, not your local independent) to make the space availiable. Moreover, TOR would have to do this without burning its bridges and pissing-off major retailers (its a going concern and as much as it may appreciate RJ its not going to destroy its relationship with retailers over on book.  BS' idea of publishing the second part within a month, is a pragmatic attempt to deal with the realities of the bokk bisiness.

 

Moreover, as has been stated previously RJ received upfront money for the pe-quals/outriggers. If the books are not written then Harriot may be legally required to return these amounts. the fact that AMOL may have to be split into two books means that the second volume would go against the advance of the prequels/outriggwers. It may thus be in Harriot's economic interest to see that AMOL is published as a two volume piece with a month between each half.

 

Thus, get over your temper tantrum. If AMOL turns out to be 600,000 + words it will likely be published as two loumes with some time between the publication of the first and second volumes.  Will it mean more money for TOR probably, but it would also mean more money for Harriet and likely BS which I consider a good thing.  Moreover since the series is almost 19 years in the making I think I and most genuine fans will be abl to deal with a one month delay in reading the last portion of the series.

 

Moreover, I have confidence that Tom Doherty and Harriet will do the best possible to insure that RJ's wishes (not only those that have been broadcast but those that he may have communicated to his friend and wife privately) are forefilled to the best of their abilities.

You don't have to be creative to solve the problem. People are waiting for this book and will take it in whatever form they can. Publish it as one book in two volumes and sell them together.

Why make it complicated?

Worried about the cost to do it that way? Don't. The book pretty is pretty much going to sell itself.

 

 

You are being either quite nieve and unreasonable.  First the publisher of TOR is an old and close friend of both RJ and Harriet. Tom Doherty is not simply trying to squeeze the last domeout of the books. Moreover, bookstores have a problem with devoting a large amount of shelf space to a single book (for them its simple economics). Even if TOR absolutely wanted to have a single volume (or a two volume set) it would have to convince booksellers (we are talking Barnes & Noble, etc, not your local independent) to make the space availiable. Moreover, TOR would have to do this without burning its bridges and pissing-off major retailers (its a going concern and as much as it may appreciate RJ its not going to destroy its relationship with retailers over on book.  BS' idea of publishing the second part within a month, is a pragmatic attempt to deal with the realities of the bokk bisiness.

 

Moreover, as has been stated previously RJ received upfront money for the pe-quals/outriggers. If the books are not written then Harriot may be legally required to return these amounts. the fact that AMOL may have to be split into two books means that the second volume would go against the advance of the prequels/outriggwers. It may thus be in Harriot's economic interest to see that AMOL is published as a two volume piece with a month between each half.

 

Thus, get over your temper tantrum. If AMOL turns out to be 600,000 + words it will likely be published as two loumes with some time between the publication of the first and second volumes.  Will it mean more money for TOR probably, but it would also mean more money for Harriet and likely BS which I consider a good thing.  Moreover since the series is almost 19 years in the making I think I and most genuine fans will be abl to deal with a one month delay in reading the last portion of the series.

 

Moreover, I have confidence that Tom Doherty and Harriet will do the best possible to insure that RJ's wishes (not only those that have been broadcast but those that he may have communicated to his friend and wife privately) are forefilled to the best of their abilities.

 

Step off with that attitude, man.

You aren't in any position to say who is a genuine fan and who isn't. A fan is a fan, especially one who is so eager like myself to see the greatest epic of our time come to fruition, that a month is torment to wait.

 

And of course, when we say a month, this is subject to change and the whim of what the publishers want to do.

So don't act like I'm the one who is naive.

 

When you talk about burnt bridges and pissing off the distribution...You're really saying that what counts here is the profit margin, not the artist's intentions or the interests of the readership.

 

And don't act like you really give a fig about Brandon Sanderson and Harriet in the scenario, when the fact is that they too are quite concerned about what RJ wanted out of the novel, and how he wanted it done, and he vehemently stated that he wished for it to be done within one novel.

 

I've already said that most fans will probably pay twice the amount for a two volume piece, seamless and presented together.

To say that we should pay twice the amount for what is essentially the same book, but over a longer period of time than is really necessary is garbage.

 

If Brandon Sanderson finishes the novel and has submitted it to be edited and printed in its final form, then that is what we as readers should get to read and enjoy.

Not some double marketed monstrosity where we have to wait weeks to finish one book cut in two!

 

And how dare you question a fan's loyalty when the heart of the complaint lies in the hunger to see RJ's finished tale DONE RIGHT?

 

Two volumes with time between releases? You know what normal people call that? Two separate books.

And it will be manufactured by publishing to make it that way.

 

You couldn't just start volume 2 with no introduction, so that would have to be done. In editing you'd be obliged to look for a proper place to restart the narrative that makes sense, and you can't just slap that together.

 

From what Sanderson is saying in his blog, he's pretty much treating the drafts he's writing as if he's writing one book. If Tor turns around and tells him that the book will have to be split in two and will have separate release dates, guess what...

 

They've just contracted him to write two books, not one. TWO.

 

Beside the fact that they should now re-negotiate the terms for not one book but two, you've essentially just spit in the face of the fans who were promised straight from RJ's lips that the next book would be the final one in this series. 

 

And save us the pitiful lawyering of throwing in the outrigger and prequels into the argument. Those are separate contracts for separate story lines. Proof? Check the page in your hardcover copy of Knife of Dreams that lists the books that make up The Wheel of Time. New Spring is not listed as one of those books. It has no number and it is considered separate from the ongoing narrative of the series.

 

Besides that we have no guarantee that the remaining outrigger novels and prequels will be published anyway, so to act like all of those projects are riding on how Tor handles this final book, is somewhat irrelevant.

 

Sanderson said that he'd like to be involved, but he has yet to commit to any more projects involving RJ's world besides this one. He does have his own books to finish after all.

So again, you're talking about eating eggs for breakfast when you don't even have a chicken. 

 

And if it unfortunately comes down to breaking one contract in order to offset the cost involved in mitigating RJ's unfulfilled contracts for other books, I can't see that as justification for altering the artist's true vision for his masterpiece.

 

And you have no better idea what RJ said privately than any of us do, but things you promise your fans in public as many times as RJ promised to deliver the last book count for something.

To say that we should understand because RJ has passed away, we should promptly revise what was promised to us. That's pragmatic to the detriment of the series and what RJ wanted us to experience as readers.

 

To me it deserves an explanation and an apology to the fans for delaying the final book in this way. That's really what it is, another delay over a technicality. We would have a finished book in existence and the only reason that we cannot finish it is because the publishers are unwilling to effect the profit margin.

 

You see for every so-called enlightened, non-childish fan like yourself CUBAREY, there are others who are not so happy about being made to wait longer to pay twice as much for one book.

 

So Tor and Co. better think long and hard before they make up their minds on what to do and keep in mind why they are going to do it.

 

I would think about if RJ had the final say, if he could weigh what the industry wants against what he personally wanted and what the fans want, what would he choose to do ideally?

 

I hardly think he would be eager to do something as meager as this one month deal, as a gesture.

 

All of his books have been published as a whole, from the beginning of the series. Each novel intact and complete.

 

So now the best you can think of is to split the man's crowning jewel of his masterpiece into two? Something that was never intended for the series and was never done before in the series.

Just to make the distribution happy?

 

Sacrilege. Pragmatic indeed.

 

Have some soul for once. Have some balls. Great things come with sacrifice and not that others will sacrifice for you, but what you will sacrifice for the sake of others.

 

Either way, this book or (books) will sell. And you have to sit there with the money you made and ask yourself was it worth what you did, did it serve the loyal fans who have been waiting 15+ years first and foremost, did it serve the series and tie it up, did it serve the novel, the last novel intended in RJ's grand vision?

 

If you end up with any doubts about what you did in order to please your distribution and increase your profits, you've failed to make the right choice.

 

This book is what should matter. If the distribution doesn't like it, tough sh*t. There are millions of people who will cause a sh*tstorm if the stores refuse to stock it. Tor has the high ground, and if they back down, I'll be pretty disappointed.

 

And if you don't like what I'm saying, then too bad. I'm allowed to feel however I want about it. It's important to me, and I'm not alone in that I want this done RIGHT and for the right reasons.

That was a really long post with very little content other than "I am a true fan, and therefore must be appeased". This refusal to deal with reality comes across as little more than a temper tantrum.

 

There has been a lot of confusion with regards to RJ's comments on this being one book. What must be understood is that when he refers to this being the last and final book, it is terms of book structure. I see nothing besides the quips of needing a wheel-barrow to get the book out of the store that indicates him being adamant on this being one volume. Keep in mind that "novel" does not equal "volume". Robert Jordan intended this to be one novel, regardless of volumes. Here, he too would have had to conform to the standards and demands of the book-selling industry. Artistic freedom does not come into it, other than in the sense that Sanderson has not received a final wordcount which he must adhere to - which is a very good thing. It would be infinitely worse if there were limits imposed on this work.

 

Consider Dumas' "The Vicomte de Bragelonne". In English it is consistently divided into three volumes. This does not mean that it is three novels, far from it. What RJ said was that he did not have enough story left to structure as two more novels. RJ's wishes has not been violated if A Memory of Light is split into two parts. The overarching structure is still intact, and that is all he wanted.

 

As an afterthought, I too find it remarkably naïve to blow off the legal ramifications of this. This is a business, regardless of how much of a "fan" you see yourself. The "loyal fans" are served enough by having this book finished in the first place.

If it needs to be split into two volumes, then it needs to be split in two. Does it matter that much? Lord of the Rings was split in 3, each volume of the Night's Dawn trilogy was split in 2 in the US, the last book of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn was 2 volumes in PB, GRRM's A Storm of Swords is 2 volumes in paperback in the UK (and four in France, apparently). ASoS is a good example - both volumes were written as one book and were published close together (June and August of the same year). While I would prefer AMoL in one volume, it being released in 2 is really not a problem. Plus, looking on the bright side, if you finished part 1 before part 2 was released it would give you an opportunity to speculate on the events of the second part of the last book. There would probably be a few questions arising, a few topics for debate, some hastily revised theories to fit with the new evidence - why see it as glass half empty?

That was a really long post with very little content other than "I am a true fan, and therefore must be appeased". This refusal to deal with reality comes across as little more than a temper tantrum.

 

There has been a lot of confusion with regards to RJ's comments on this being one book. What must be understood is that when he refers to this being the last and final book, it is terms of book structure. I see nothing besides the quips of needing a wheel-barrow to get the book out of the store that indicates him being adamant on this being one volume. Keep in mind that "novel" does not equal "volume". Robert Jordan intended this to be one novel, regardless of volumes. Here, he too would have had to conform to the standards and demands of the book-selling industry. Artistic freedom does not come into it, other than in the sense that Sanderson has not received a final wordcount which he must adhere to - which is a very good thing. It would be infinitely worse if there were limits imposed on this work.

 

Consider Dumas' "The Vicomte de Bragelonne". In English it is consistently divided into three volumes. This does not mean that it is three novels, far from it. What RJ said was that he did not have enough story left to structure as two more novels. RJ's wishes has not been violated if A Memory of Light is split into two parts. The overarching structure is still intact, and that is all he wanted.

 

As an afterthought, I too find it remarkably naïve to blow off the legal ramifications of this. This is a business, regardless of how much of a "fan" you see yourself. The "loyal fans" are served enough by having this book finished in the first place.

 

You get what you want out of what you read Jelly. If you want to see me as being a self-righteous "fan". that's up to your perception.

 

I'm pretty sure just about everyone WANTS this to come in one volume released on one date.

 

If you don't, you're fooling yourself or you're just saying so to be contrary.

 

Who the heck wants to wait any longer than is necessary to get the finished product? It's finished. Release it already.

 

Mr Ares:

I actually dislike the fact that Lord of the Rings is split in three. I have the version where it's all in one volume, and that's the way it was meant to be read in my opinion.

 

Some 50+ years later, it seems rather silly now to have split the novel in three. I never felt the need to "reflect" much on a particular third of that book. It just seemed pointless, because the book was meant to be a whole, and I'm lucky to have been born late enough to have read the book for the first time in its consolidated form. It's a beautiful book, which I love dearly to this day and I just think it's a shame when business ruins the experience of reading a novel.

 

Also your examples are mostly translations or imported versions of a book meant to be read in one go. One version re-published in another country is going to have differences, especially when translations are needed.

 

In general though...this has to work. I'm not one to just sit there and accept what people tell me is best for me. I know what I want and I don't apologize for it.

When people are telling me: "Oh really it's better this way..."

 

You better convince me. You can't insult and browbeat me into accepting something is better when I honestly am not convinced that it is.

 

Well then if the decision is followed and the book is split, you have to read the book and ask...Is it better?

How is it better? For business?

 

Or is the book better when it is read in one go?

 

That's what I am asking right now:

Is the book going to be better for this decision?

 

So far no one has said anything to that affect. Just blathering on about legal issues, which are quite separate from the issue I am talking about.

 

So Mr Ares, to answer your first question...um yeah, it does matter.

 

As for having a temper tantrum, Jelly. Grow up yourself before you insinuate that I need to. You can be as weak minded, sheepish and accepting as you wish, but don't expect me to join you on that path. I get angry and have emotions, but you know what, these feelings aren't unfounded in this case.

 

Like anyone here, I was devastated when RJ passed away. I almost gave up hope that his tale would be completed, something that has meant a lot to me for 15 years. Then the news came that his book would be finished, that there was hope, that the tale would come to an end. And like anyone I was happy to get the final chapter in any form I could.

Then it set in that I could demand that this book be every bit as good as it could be. I didn't have to settle for anything. Sanderson is a talented and efficient author in his own right. RJ's staff and support is mostly intact. There was then a possibility that RJ's vision would be fulfilled.

 

Sanderson and the Wheel of Time team have the opportunity to do RJ the greatest honor by completing his work as close to as how he would want it done as possible. Business and distribution aside, there is a lot at stake here. It makes me angry when business is put ahead of integrity. That old cliche: "Oh it's business...", "don't be naive, it's business...", "That's how it works in the real world..."

How cynical. It's all just cowardese for, "that's too hard.", "we could make more money if we do it this way, though."

 

I think you're taking a lot for granted, if you believe that splitting this book in two is not a major decision that could effect the series in a big way. That mail it in attitude of: "Oh it's not perfect, but the fans will understand..."

That's bogus.

Either do it right and for the right reasons, or don't bother doing it at all. Don't "do me the favor" of putting a halfassed effort into the details of this project. This attitude that anything will do for the final book is maddening.

 

RJ would demand more from himself. Sanderson seems like he's the same, and he's promised to do the best he can to make sure he doesn't slack. Harriet is Harriet.

The last piece is Tor coming through, and trying as hard as possible to get this finished, published to the fans so we can devour it in one go.

Just as RJ promised.

I'm pretty sure just about everyone WANTS this to come in one volume released on one date.

Maybe we all see that as preferable. But I think most of us don't see a two volume release as something to get worked up about.

 

Mr Ares:

I actually dislike the fact that Lord of the Rings is split in three. I have the version where it's all in one volume, and that's the way it was meant to be read in my opinion.

My current edition is single volume as well, and it is certainly preferable that way (and people who call it a trilogy should be shot). But at the time, it was necessary to split it for simple pragmatic reasons. The same here. If it is too big to be easily bound, if the second volume can be used to offset the cost of the advances already paid for work RJ had planned but never got around to, if booksellers are none too happy about stocking this giant tome, does it not make more sense to do a two volume edition than one? Either way, the words are the same, the story is the same, what difference does it make, really, to have two parts rather than just one? Hardly a bank-breaking expense.

 

Also your examples are mostly translations or imported versions of a book meant to be read in one go. One version re-published in another country is going to have differences, especially when translations are needed.

Only one example was of a translated work, and To Green Angel Tower was in two volumes in it's native country. And it was split because it was felt to be too big. If it's too big it's too big.

 

Is the book going to be better for this decision?

No. Nor will it be worse. It will be the same book in one volume or two, in hardback or paperback, mass market or trade, with a rubbish Darrell K. Sweet cover or one of the decent British ones (actually, maybe the thought of two new Sweet covers is too much to bear). Same book. Maybe you would be happier with one volume. Maybe someone else would find it too big and heavy and prefer the smaller, easier to handle two volumes. It's is still the same story, in one volume or two or three or each chapter released as an individual chapbook.