Any news on Peace Talks

[morriswalters]

A publication date in July would make almost exactly a year since Butcher wrote The End on Peace Talks, and more than five years since he had a new book on the shelves.

[g33k]

... almost exactly a year since Butcher wrote The End on Peace Talks ...

I don't think anyone has tracked down this span -- "The End" to publication-date -- to see if the publisher has any patterns or predictability...

[morriswalters]

I believe they have on reddit.  Just for giggles....

As of July 22nd, 2019, Peace Talks is in the hands of Jim’s editor!  Look for a release date announcement in the next couple weeks.

We’ll announce further details as we have them!

I'd like her to define 'next couple of weeks'.  Look at the post date.

Posted by priscellie on 2014/05/23 at 2:31 pm

[g33k]

I believe they have on reddit ...

Has anyone done all the data, though.  How many times has Jim typed "The End" and had it mean, all revisons/betas/etc are done... Jim won't touch it again before publication (is that even what it means THIS time?) ?

Do we know exactly what it meant when Jim last announced; and do we know we have that exact point in the process for any (how many?) other volumes, to compare?

[morriswalters]

You'd have to do a deep dive on Reddit. But as indicated in my previous post the publication date was expected in weeks not months after he wrote he was finished.  Something has subverted that.

[pcpoet]

I speculated in the past that the delay in Butchers writing war games  had to do with the divorce and how may years his ex would share in profits from the books. I think that is the reason for the delay. 

[g33k]

I speculated in the past that the delay in Butchers writing war games  had to do with the divorce and how may years his ex would share in profits from the books. I think that is the reason for the delay. 

I presume you mean Skin Game not "war games."   

But far, FAR more happened to him than just the divorce.  Including the lack of any "room of ones own" for writing in.  It's really, REALLY not the case that writers can just sit down and be equally productive in all circumstances; it's not like being a sales-clerk or an bookkeeper or etc; creatives are profoundly impacted by their internal state.  Mr. Butcher reports (with, I think, some surprise) that the editors and readers don't seem to be able to tell the difference between inspired-Jim (who just got shagged by his muse), and pedestrian-Jim (whose muse seems to be deleting his voicemails without even listening) ...  BUT that his productivity goes down to about 1/4 inspired-Jim's daily wordcount.

Add in the fact that Aeronaut's Windlass is also somewhere in there, alongside the tons of disruption in his life, I don't think you need any extra motivation (such as trying to stick a knife in the Ex) for him to delay.

But this is, really, none of our business; and we can think whatever we want but I seriously doubt that anybody's guesses will be confirmed by anyone who actually knows.  So if someone wants to allege that Jim was actually abducted by Greys and spent the time touring the habitable planets of TRAPPIST-1... well, I guess that's a theory to consider alongside the other unprovables...
 

[pcpoet]

I meant to say peace talks. I don't know why I said war games …though that would be a cool title.

[spiritofair]

I presume you mean Skin Game not "war games."   

But far, FAR more happened to him than just the divorce.  Including the lack of any "room of ones own" for writing in.  It's really, REALLY not the case that writers can just sit down and be equally productive in all circumstances; it's not like being a sales-clerk or an bookkeeper or etc; creatives are profoundly impacted by their internal state.  Mr. Butcher reports (with, I think, some surprise) that the editors and readers don't seem to be able to tell the difference between inspired-Jim (who just got shagged by his muse), and pedestrian-Jim (whose muse seems to be deleting his voicemails without even listening) ...  BUT that his productivity goes down to about 1/4 inspired-Jim's daily wordcount.

Add in the fact that Aeronaut's Windlass is also somewhere in there, alongside the tons of disruption in his life, I don't think you need any extra motivation (such as trying to stick a knife in the Ex) for him to delay.

But this is, really, none of our business; and we can think whatever we want but I seriously doubt that anybody's guesses will be confirmed by anyone who actually knows.  So if someone wants to allege that Jim was actually abducted by Greys and spent the time touring the habitable planets of TRAPPIST-1... well, I guess that's a theory to consider alongside the other unprovables...

While it definitely is not of our business, surely, over the course of several years, someone can find a place where they are comfortable to write. I bet his publisher would even help pay for an office space, an extra apartment, comfortable decor, whatever.

I love his books, but I've never bought this "lack of writing space" excuse.

[g33k]

While it definitely is not of our business, surely, over the course of several years, someone can find a place where they are comfortable to write. I bet his publisher would even help pay for an office space, an extra apartment, comfortable decor, whatever.

I love his books, but I've never bought this "lack of writing space" excuse.

Except it's not just "lack of writing space" -- although that's a Real Thing, and it matters (N.B. he DID have a writing space.  It just wasn't his space (the same way a rented office wouldn't be); rolling out of bed in the undies to get a critical, dream-inspired hour of work in, from 2:45-3:45am?  Not in a rented office!  Blasting Ride of the Valkyries at feel-it-in-your-bones volume, to write a scene with Gard?  Not in a rented office!  Etc... ) .

Yes, spaces can be had, but (as I understand his situation) he was more or less expecting his (own) new space to be completed "within a short while" for at least a couple of YEARS (bad contractor), the actual "need" for a separate office/whatever wasn't really clear for a long time.

But even so, such temporary spaces are not the same, and not likely to be an equally-productive space.

And the book DID get written; just less-productively than we (and he, I presume!) would want.

But -- in addition to the "room of ones own" -- his marriage ended, his dog died, he found new love and got RE-married ...

Someone can go work retail, or a bunch of other jobs, largely without regard to their "internal state."  They may have a spate of late-arrivals, their productivity may dip a bit, from a crying-jag or situational depression.  But basically, they grind on.

A creative worker is a bit more limited; their productivity is profoundly impacted by their "internal state."  Mr. Butcher has stated that he can and does "grind on," just  v--e--r--y  s--o--w--l--y  (and so we got the book after an unexpected delay).
 
I... kind of don't see why anyone would expect anything else, given his circumstances?
 

[segaily]

I love his books, but I've never bought this "lack of writing space" excuse.

Having worked from home the lack of space makes sense to me when combined with the house building as covering a fair amount of lost time.   When I first started working from home I would set up anywhere and it took me a while to realize I was getting almost nothing done. Then I cleaned out a space for a small office and things got a lot better.  If Jim did the same thing we wasted a chunk of time not really thinking about the fact he was getting almost nothing done on the dinning room table.  Then he may have been thinking the new house will be ready soon not worth worry about I will carry on this way.  Then the house kept having delays.   

This does not explain all of the delay but I think the lack of writing space was certainly real and cost him a good chunk of time.

[Arjan]

Or if his books were selling as good as J.K. Rowlings Harry potter books he could have applied her solution and spend 1000 pounds a night in the Edinburgh Balmoral hotel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjLan582Lgk

[segaily]

Or if his books were selling as good as J.K. Rowlings Harry potter books he could have applied her solution and spend 1000 pounds a night in the Edinburgh Balmoral hotel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjLan582Lgk

I bet Jim wishes his books sold that well as well.  Having read everything from both of them I think Jim is better though his stuff is not as kid friendly.

[Maz]

Let's just kill this line of thinking.   The book's done, the delays are Jim's business and we can simply choose to continue to follow him or not.  I strongly suspect the Penguin employee was unaware of what was going on and quoted a placeholder date.  It's a waste to delay a book that far and I suspect we'll hear something sooner rather than later - unless there's some huge fundamental flaw that somehow got past the beta readers.  Even at today's low interest rates, there's still the time value of money and executives are generally compensated based upon the firm's profit and delaying the release of a solid seller is delaying their compensation. 

[Kindler]

I bet Jim wishes his books sold that well as well.  Having read everything from both of them I think Jim is better though his stuff is not as kid friendly.

No contest. Jim's a better writer. Now, at least. Though I think he was a better writer in his first book than Rowling was for hers.

Point is that Jim learned pretty fast. His characters feel like people who might really exist. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and most of the rest of the cast read like an adult's interpretation of the way teenagers behave and speak. The interpersonal conflicts (the many arguments between the main power trio, the feuds with some of the other Houses' students, etc.) stank of manufactured drama, and frequently made me roll my eyes. Add on that Potterverse magic runs mostly on whimsy (with a bunch of "Laws" tacked on in the last book that are contradicted by earlier books; for example, Mrs. Weasley is seen pouring sauce out of her wand, yet food cannot be created by magic. I mean, Snape teaches Malfoy how to conjure a freaking live snake out of nowhere in less than a minute (and it IS a real snake, because Harry was able to talk to it). Snakes are edible! Hermione knows how to conjure BIRDS for crap's sake, but she can't create a chicken?! So the "law" only means that "you cannot create fully-cooked, prepared meals" not "you cannot create food." That "law" only exists because Rowling wanted the trio to be hungry). The contrast between Rowling's approach and Jim's is pretty stark.

Magic in the DV has been consistent from book one. The rules were obviously thought out beforehand, and I can't pinpoint anywhere they're broken. In fact, half the fun of a lot of scenes comes from Harry finding a new application of the rules, or a loophole, or something unexpected. Unlike Harry, who mostly yells "Expelliarmus" and "Stupefy" while brandishing his wand.

I like Harry Potter. I reread that series every year or two. But it doesn't hold a candle to Dresden in setting, plot, or characterization.