Alternate Realities vs. Ease of Reading

[novium]

My original point about the tsar pattern was that if it is so different than the "usual" stuff implied by king, queen, etc, than having words that so closely resemble the pattern used for something very closely associated with that very paradigm is going to cause problems.

And exoticism for exoticism's sake only reminds the reader that they are reading...it kicks them out of the story. Although it's not quite as bad as metafiction for that. In any case, if her test-readers say they have problems with it, I think she should listen to them- or at least give something else a try. It's the hardest bit about writing *anything*- fiction, non-fiction, news articles, essays, research papers, speeches, etc etc...
Murder your darlings as they say

[eviladam]

In my current beast of burden (read: work in progress), it is set in a fantasy world and focuses largely on one "royal" family.  Now, my political system for this country isn't what you would call a traditional monarchy, so I came up with my own invented titles for the usual positions.  (King = Sho, Queen = Shala, Prince = Sholon, Princess = Shalina) 

Those who have been beta reading it for me have all come up against the same wall, that of the strange terminology.  I never WANTED these things to be the traditional "king" or "princess" because of my differences in the political system, but now I wonder if maybe clinging to my own terms is just the height of stubbornness. 

At what point should we give up and abandon our own ideas, for the readers' sake?

I don't think it should be too much of an issue. Look at something like the Dark Tower series. King invented a whole vocabulary for that.

Popkin: sandwitch like meal
Todash: weird psychedilic dream travel
Ka: fate
 

[novium]

Yes, that is true...Thankee, Sai and all that. I don't know. For some reason, it never felt like being forced to memorize stuff for a middle school geography class or something. I wonder what the difference is.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

I don't think it should be too much of an issue. Look at something like the Dark Tower series. King invented a whole vocabulary for that.

Popkin: sandwitch like meal
Todash: weird psychedilic dream travel
Ka: fate

And ye gods does he go over the top near the end in making up new words for every little thing and then spoon-feeding you with the meaning every time rather than acknowledging you might have brain enough to get it from context.  It is to sigh.

[novium]

It does get a bit heavy in the last two books, i'll give you that.

[eviladam]

Not to mention comalla which i apparentlly as versatile as Marclar in South Park.