Nov 14 2013
More On Book Titles…
It occurred to me yesterday, thinking about what I said in my last entry here, that I can illustrate the kind of situation that authors and publishers encounter all the time, when it comes to the names and titles of books.
The first book in my series on "The Guardians" was published here in North America as "The Forest Laird," an arresting title for North American readers. It fizzled, though, in Britain, where "Laird" is a worn old cliche suggestive of "same old, nothing new". A swift search of alternative British possibilities quickly brought out the fact that there have been carloads of books–good, bad and appalling–written about William Wallace since the Movie "Braveheart" appeared, and among them they have used up almost every conceivable variant of Wallace, Braveheart, and similar names. And so "The Forest Laird" appeared in Britain as REBEL, for good and sufficient reason.
Switch to early 2013. At the very start of beginning to prepare "The Renegade", the second book in the series, for British publication in 2014, Ed Wood, my Editor at Sphere Books in London pointed out that a very successful UK novelist called Robyn Young had produced a novel about Robert the Bruce late in 2012. It was very successful and its Title was RENEGADE…
Ed pointed out that we needed to find another title, ASAP, and he was absolutely right. And so it was that we changed the name of the forthcoming British edition of the book from THE RENEGADE to RESISTANCE. We had no choice, other than to create confusion and dismay by duplicating a title–and one by a successful and established British author, too.
So there will be a "NEW" Jack Whyte book called RESISTANCE on screen and available at Amazon et al on this side of The Pond in 2014, but it won't be new at all, and anyone who takes the time to check the Copyright Page at the front of the novel will see that it was originally published in Canada, in 2012, as "The Renegade".
I have absolutely no idea what the third book in the series will be entitled over there in Britain, but whatever it is, and whenever it sees the light of day there, it, too, will have the original Canadian Title listed as part of the Copyright Page information.
November 15, 2013 @ 3:23 pm
OK, hope this doesn't post twice, had to sign out and sign back in – the save and preview buttons stopped working.
Thank heavens I'm privileged to obtain your books under their original titles here in Canada and hence avoid the confusion. I did not know until you explained how little control authors have over some aspects of their work.
It's a great idea to list the original title with the copyright information. Will save you some chastising from miffed fans.
Marlene
November 15, 2013 @ 5:54 am
That isn't some fancy idea I came up with recently, Marlene. That has always been the Law in English Language publications everywhere. The Copyright Page HAS TO LIST, by law, all pertinent publishing information relating to the book in question. The tragic part of all that, though, is that 99.999% of people know nothing about it… They don't know the full Copyright information is all there, in every book, irrespective of format (hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperbacks, eBooks and even AudioBooks). If they did know the facts, and took a quick look at that Copyright page before buying an "iffy" title, they would never buy another duplicate book.
November 15, 2013 @ 9:34 pm
I never look at the copyright page but rest assured from now on I will. I did a quick comparison of The Renegade's copyright page, and the numbers go 1 – 10. I checked a book written by a different author, printed in the US and the numbers go from 10 down to 1. Presumably the reverse order is simply a matter of convention depending on country.
Marlene
November 15, 2013 @ 8:14 pm
I just did a small sampling of books (those nearest to me), if they were bound and printed in Canada the numbers went from largest to smallest (left to right), but if they were printed in the USA the numbers went from smallest to largest (right to left). In either case the smallest number represents the edition that you are holding in your hands. I'm pleased to say that most of my favourite authors are first editions. Not all because I didn't discover them in time, but they are mine now!
November 15, 2013 @ 9:50 pm
Vicki
Just looked inside my copy of The Twelve Children of Paris, printed in the UK, Here's the numbering sequence: 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1. (Would you believe I'm using an apple – the kind you pick from a tree – to hold the page open so I can type? Newton I'm not.)
Looked up two more books printed in USA, one set of numbers descended from 10 to 1, the other ascended from 1 – 10. So, I'm abandoning the notion there's specific protocols from one country to another. The process of enlightenment has not been a 'lightbulb moment' for me. 🙂
Marlene
November 15, 2013 @ 10:28 pm
I believe if there's a 1 somewhere in the sequence, then it's a first printing.
And speaking of Newton …
Jack …
I recently saw a post in my Facebook Ticker that indicated you'd become 'friends' there with author James Morrow. Have you read his novel THE LAST WITCHFINDER? It's an excellent piece of work that very cleverly combines the novel with excerpts from Newton's Principia Mathematica.
I'd give it a high recommendation.
November 15, 2013 @ 10:58 pm
Thanks, Cathy, I'll check it out.
November 16, 2013 @ 11:56 am
The translation for the book and the series is “The sons of liberty” and “The Chronicles of Braveheart”.
November 16, 2013 @ 4:14 pm
Jack,
You'll find a good write up about the book here:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2006/04/the_last_.shtml
Cathy
November 16, 2013 @ 6:17 pm
Cathy,
I read the review on The Last Witchfinder. It sounds like a great book. As a supplement, here's a link to a free book through Open Library you can read online. It was published in 1820. It's a series of essays on witchcraft.
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL7418665W/A_collection_of_rare_and_curious_tracts_on_witchcraft_and_the_second_sight
Of note, for Diana Gabaldon fans, there is an accused witch named Geillis Duncan.
Marlene
November 29, 2013 @ 12:47 pm
November 29, 2013 @ 3:21 pm
Lorenzo,
Thanks for sharing the name in Italian. What about the other titles?
December 5, 2013 @ 4:52 pm
The other italian title for Arthurian Saga:
1 – "La pietra del cielo" (that is "Skystone"): translation is "Skystone"
2 – "La spada che canta" (that is "The singing sword"): translation is "The singing sword"
3 – "La stirpe dell'aquila" (that is "The eagles' brood"): translation is "The eagles' brood"
4 – "Il sogno di Merlino" (that is "The saxon shore"): translation is "The dream of Merlin"
5 – "Il forte sul fiume" (that is "The sorcerer: The fort at river's bend"): translation is "The fort on the river"
6 – "Il segno di excalibur" (that is "The sorcerer: Metamorphosis"): translation is "The sign of excalibur"
The next few books have been published in two volumes:
7 – "Le porte di Camelot" (that is "Uther" part 1): the translation is "The door of Camelot"
8 – "La donna di Avalon" (that is "Uther" part 2): the translation is "The woman of Avalon"
9 – "Il cavaliere di Artù" (that is "Clothar the Frank" part 1): the translation is "The knight of Arthur"
10 – "Il marchio di Merlino" (that is "Clothar the Frank" part 2): the translation is "The mark of Merlin"
11 – "Il destino di Camelot" (that is "The eagle" part 1): the translation is "The destiny of camelot"
12 – "Il sogno di Ginevra" (that is "The eagle" part 2): the translation is "The dream of Guinevere"
The first titles were aligned with the English titles, after everything has been changed and publications were also broken in two volumes.
December 6, 2013 @ 5:08 am
Lorenzo,
That is fascinating. I'm really curious about the reasoning behind the tweaks to the titles. Are they just language structure or is there some cultural component to it?
How are you making out with The First Man in Rome? Do you struggle with the old Roman names at all or is it simple for you? I had to really pay close attention so I did not get lost. But, the entire Masters of Rome series is absolutely splendid – ends with Anthony and Cleopatra. I did not think much of him (Anthony) at first and by the end I felt really sorry for him.
December 10, 2013 @ 12:54 am
Hi, Cathy:
Took a while to answer this because I've been in Mexico, enjoying the vacation we were supposed to have had last year, when I went into hospital instead. But we had a great time, though as always, it was 'way too short.
Short answer to your question is, No, I haven't read it yet. Expanded answer, I intend to soon.
Just got a parcel from my brother in the UK containing a signed copy of "The Twelve Children of Paris", along with the latest Stuart Macbride book, "The Flesh House". If you don't know Macbride, he's one of the best authors of police procedurals that Scotland has. I've heard it said that "Macbride is to Aberdeen what Ian Rankin is to Edinburgh." Very impressive writer, but even harder and grittier than Rankin is and, according to my brother who's a former cop, his nose-to-grindstone details are even more authentic… I don't know, being a mere reader for pleasure. My first loyalty is to Rankin, whom I regard as the nonpareil, but I have to admit Stuart Macbride is running a very close second, even for me.
December 11, 2013 @ 5:55 pm
Sounds like yours is expanding. Mine is ever growing too. I've had a problem with even getting into reading for quite some time, so that doesn't help.
I had a great online friendship with a fellow 'book-a-holic' several years ago, and I think we kind of spurred each other's reading habits on. He died of a massive stroke 5 years ago, and I've had real problems with getting into a book, and having it hold my interest long enough to finish it ever since then.
I had started reading THE TWELVE CHILDREN OF PARIS, and was quite far into it when things came up in life, and I set it down to deal with them. I haven't been able to get myself back into it since then, so I still haven't finished it. I'll probably have to start from the beginning by the time I manage to get myself back in the mood for reading. I was really enjoying it while I was reading it though.
And I'll confess that the second book – RENEGADE – in your Guardian Series is still sitting in my 'to be read' pile, as well.
When you do get around to reading THE LAST WITCHFINDER, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
December 16, 2013 @ 12:13 pm
Marlene,
for the first title is only a language structure. For the next titles I don't understand the changes respect the original title. Example: why the first part of "Uther" is "The door of Camelot"? I don't know.
The reading of the novel of Rome has been slow.
With the names of the characters I have no problem. 😉
Lorenzo