As the details come together for the special edition release of Swords of the Six I would highly value some feedback at some options I am looking over! I thought of doing this as a poll, but for some reason I can’t find that function at this time. Yep, my technical know-how just went brain dead. So instead you can just comment with your preferences on these options:
- Hardcover or Paperback?
- 6 x 9-inches, or 5.5 x 8.5-inches?
- Author introduction, or not?
- Should I include a glossary of names and places with a pronunciation guide?
- Chapter titles, or simple numbering?
- Should I incorporate my map drawings (same look and style as in Neverqueen)?
- Audiobook: dramatized reading, or read by the author?
- Any additional ideas? I’d love to hear them!
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1. Hardcover is better, but paperback is nice too.
2. 6 x 9-inches
3. Yes
4. Please do.
5. Chapter numbers are good, but titles can be fun.
6. A map would be wonderful!
7. I’m not big into audio books, but dramatized readings are more interesting.
8. Something to make the special addition look different on the outside from the originals would be nice. (ie: New cover art, special lettering on the side, simple cover changes)
Wow thank you so much for wanting input and for making your fans feel apart of this Journey in your life! God has blessed me so much by your books, I started reading your books in my early teens and now I’m in my early twenties and I hope I get the honor to read them for many many years to come.
Input:
1. I will say for the most part I love hardcover books and it give a collectible and meaningful feel to the book kind of like walking through the dragons castle and looking at all the old mysterious books and getting that feel like wow there’s so much history here…ok I know that didn’t make much sense sorry, long story short I would love hardcover if possible thank you.
2. And again I like the feel and look of bigger books I was recently reading/listening to books by Brandon Sanderson Andy his books are pretty big and that look is very nice to see/feel.
3. Yes please have an Author introduction I love hearing your words and anything extra you have to say.
4. And on this one I don’t overly have a strong opinion and so I’m totally cool with ether way.
5. I absolutely love chapter titles!!!! It gives the book more flavor and character and intrigue to the book and style, that’s one of my top things that I love about your writing and books are that they have chapter titles.
6. Yes if you could do maps that would be amazing, that one of the first things I look for when picking a any book and it’s a shame when a book doesn’t have them, so if you could that would be amazing.
7. And on this one I’m not quite sure because most books I’ve listened to just have one person reading both the girl and guy and one thing I have always hoped for in a book is that one guy does all the guy voices and stuff and one girl does all the girl voices and it goes back and forth like that, that way you get the male voice and female voices sounds, and I know this may not be possible because it would probably cost a lot but I just thought I would give my thoughts and thank you for taking the time to read all of this.
8. I would love to be able to buy more stuff like T-shirts and posters and bookmarks and like poster maps of the worlds and characters. And I know a while ago you said that the sword of the dragon series was going to be a 7 book series but I really hope you will go farther then 7 in the main series and I know we are only at book 4 and there are still a few years more of writing left it’s just I love your books and i would love for the series to go a little longer maybe into book 10 or 12 books in the main series. And I am wondering if you have plan to return to the white dragons castle because to this day that part of the book is my favorite of all of it, I love the mystery of it and I would love to know more about all the sup-levels and the chests down in the basement of the castle and more details about the layout of the castle and the lands surounding it and more about the dragon and how that eggs came to be, again thank you so much Mr. Appleton and I’m sorry for the long post.
Hardcover or Paperback?-Both would be nice. I like paperback for reading, but hardcover for collecting.
6 x 9-inches, or 5.5 x 8.5-inches?-No preference.
Author introduction, or not?-I like it when it’s in the back. Sometimes it distracts from the feeling if it’s in the front of the book.
Should I include a glossary of names and places with a pronunciation guide?- YES. This was my sister’s favorite part.
Chapter titles, or simple numbering?-As long as the titles don’t give away the plot of the chapter.
Should I incorporate my map drawings (same look and style as in Neverqueen)?-Sure! Maps are always cool!
Audiobook: dramatized reading, or read by the author?-Dramatized!!!
Any additional ideas? I’d love to hear them!-I can hardly wait for In Search of Dragons to come out! I’ve had theories about what happens to the characters since the Key of Living Fire and it drove me nuts that they weren’t addressed in the Phantom’s Blade. I am anxiously awaiting the release of In Search of Dragons to answer my questions!! I’ve read each book at least twice, some of the first few ones as many as five or six times.
1. Hardcover, please!
2. No preference
3. I would say yes, an Author intro would be nice for people who have never read any of your books. I will definitely be referring them to my friends!
4. Yes, please! When I first started reading your books, I needed the name pronunciation.
5. No preference
6. I’m not sure, as I haven’t yet been able to read Neverqueen.
7. Both!
1. I wouldn’t mind either –> hardcover are really cool and pretty, but also generally more expensive
2. 6 x 9 inches
3. An author intro would be awesome
4. Absolutely yes
5. I like it when books have chapter titles
6. Another absolutely yes
7. Hmm, kind of a toss up, could go either way
😁
1. I think I don’t just speak for myself when I say this epic series is deserving of a Hardcover release.
2. Personally I prefer 5.5 x 8.5-inches form factor with slightly smaller print and margins if possible, it makes the book feel like it takes itself more seriously.
3. I think a short 1-2 paragraph “about the Author” could provide some insight at the end of the book.
4. Including a glossary would be a good idea. Once again I’d put it at the end of the book as a reference for those who need it.
5. While just numbering could work, I’d stick with the numbers and chapter titles of the original release.
6. Please incorperate the map drawings, I think it would be a wonderful addition.
7. I personally prefer reading for myself over listening to audiobooks. Although the audiobooks I’ve felt are a meaningful addition to the original work are dramatized readings.
8. An additional note is to consider discluding the Author’s Preface found at the beginning of the original release, at least in it’s current form. While I think the thought process behind the making of the book to be quite insightful, I think it names characters and aspects of the story that are better introduced to the reader as they read through the book themselves. However once again, I would have no problem if this could be at the end of the book, an Author’s footnote if you will. I think it would be especially interesting if you could expand upon it to include some thoughts behind rewriting the book for the special edition.
(Sorry if that last one was a bit long winded. Thank you for your time and good luck finishing the special editions!)
Hey Scott,
Grace be upon you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
My recommendation to all your questions are:
Soft cover to keep the price down; otherwise, all volumes must be available in hardcover if you do decide to go that route because collecting soft cover and hardcover books of the complete volume will not be desirable for some.
I think both sizes are good but if you are marketing the younger generation, then the bigger size is better (6 x 9).
I think an author introduction is beneficial, especially for the Glory of God of who he made you to be as an author.
I think a glossary is wonderful to help people understand places and characters better, especially if anyone puts their book down for a while. I really appreciated the review throughout the first few chapters in book 4, to refresh the readers of the previous story line and characters.
As far as book chapters, I think just numbers are necessary to keep flow and continuity.
I would definitely incorporate maps, since that is what adventure and fantasy is all about.
An audio book would be cool and great if it is done right!!!
I hope all this helps you and may God guide your path.
Be in prayer and God bless!
Steve
Number four: Always nice to have a pronunciation guide.
Number five: I like chapter titles.
Number six: would love to see map drawings.
First, Swords of the Six is one of my all time favorite books. It definitely needs to be hardcover for a special edition.
Same size as the regular paperback is good. The extras (author intro and map) would be fun and the pronounciation guide would be super helpful! I don’t think chapter titles are necessary. I would definitely try a dramatized audiobook!
An extra idea: perhaps a couple of graphite illustrations throughout the book? I would love to see more art for this book world!
1. It would be cool to do hardback, since it is a special edition and you haven’t had the book in hardback yet!
2. 5.5 x 8.5 makes more sense for a paperback, whereas 6 x 9 seems to make more sense for a hardback.
3. Sure! I like reading author introductions. I might not always read it the first time I read the book, but when I come back to re-read it, I will usually take more time to look over the introductions or author letters in the back of the book.
4. I really appreciate glossaries of names in fantasy books. I never would have made it through the Silmarillion without one.
5. I appreciate chapter titles. It makes it more easy to find your favorite parts of the book.
6. Yes. Always include maps.
7. I think an audiobook that is read by the author would be cool.
Anyway, those are my opinions! Thank you for writing!
Off the top of my head:
3) definitely an author introduction.
4) yes, include the glossary. Maybe even have it at the beginning, so people can know how to pronounce the names before they read them, instead of after they finished the book. Just a suggestion.
5) Maybe both?
6) Maps are awesome and should always be included, if well-placed.
-That’s all I can think of at the moment.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for asking for readers’ opinions! I’ll share my thoughts below:
1. A hardcover is certainly nice for a special edition, but I would be happy with a paperback as well.
2. In my opinion, 6×9 is the perfect size for a book. I have your original Swords of the Six 6×9 right next to me and I put another 5.5×8.5 book on top of it. The small size just feels a little…small. Especially for a special edition.
3. I would like to see an author introduction.
4. A glossary of names and places is helpful and I enjoy seeing them in a fantasy novel. I do tend to reference them. As for a pronunciation guide, most of your character names are easy to pronounce. Regarding the ones that are more unusual, I suggest showing the reader which syllable to stress. I may be the only one, but I go back in forth in my mind pronouncing “Ilfedo” either “ILL-fed- oh” or “ill-FED-oh.” Also, is “Al’un Dai” “AL-oon-die” or “al-OON-die”? For those two names, I’m just not sure. I would love to have the answer straight from the author’s pen. 🙂
5. Definitely keep the chapter titles, please! It adds an extra richness to a book, and helps to guide the reader along the journey. I’m always a little disappointed when there are no chapter titles.
6. Please do incorporate your map drawings. Maps are especially helpful when dealing with an imagined world; it can be hard to get an accurate understanding of the landscape from descriptions alone. For my own story, I have done a map of the full country itself, and will also draw a second map which provides a closer view of the area where the main action takes place. Maps are one of my favorite parts of a fantasy novel – especially when they are drawn by the author himself.
7. I do not listen to many audiobooks, but I can say I’m not a big fan of full dramatizations with music and sound effects – that feels distracting. Yet it can also sound a little strange when a male voice reads the lines for the female characters. I think it would be nice if you read the book yourself, but perhaps have one female reader to read the lines for all the female characters.
8. Very much looking forward to the release of In Search of Dragons!
God bless,
Mairi
You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for all this feedback. I will put all of your thoughts together as the book is finalized so as to produce a product that you can all love and enjoy.
Hardcover;6×9;definitely do an intro and glossary; include chapter titles and maps; dramatized would be cool, but I like hearing the story from the authors, because as the creator, you know how things should be pronounced and what tone the passages are meant to show.
As far as other ideas, if you go with the hardcovers, it would be really cool if you could do a textured version of the cover art, like having raised scales on Albino or having glitter or something for Oganna’s dress!
Hardcover or Paperback? No preference
6 x 9-inches, or 5.5 x 8.5-inches? 6″ x 9″
Author introduction, or not? Sure!
Should I include a glossary of names and places with a pronunciation guide? No. I generally like to use my own imaginations
Chapter titles, or simple numbering? Titles
Should I incorporate my map drawings (same look and style as in Neverqueen)? Sure
Audiobook: dramatized reading, or read by the author? Dramatized!!!!! This is the only strong preference I have.
Any additional ideas? I’d love to hear them! I just started reading Swords of the Six and love it SOOOOOO much!! Your writing style and creative story lines are wonderful!!!