Forum: Lost Stories

His webpage still calls it the long awaited "Star Academy" novel.

And apparently, it still is! ;-)

That was my original understanding, yet typically when that's the case, most authors would admit that it's an original—especially as practically rereleasing their old works as new works. I typically avoid those, as I'm constantly scratching my head asking "Is this new, old or just utterly bungled?"

In my case (from years past) anytime I'd revise a work, I'd retitle it, then list, as a part of the subtitle, "Previously published as …", so readers would know they aren't the same and could then compare and contrast the two separate versions.

The newest generation of authors don't dare allowing anyone to compare any version of their works, which is precisely why they delete/overwrite the originals.

But at least I finally know that I'm not losing what little mind I actually have left.

It is not a rerelease/revision. He hasn't published the Star Academy book yet.

I figured out what upset me, as while movies often use the term "Prequel", literary works rarely do, as most books don't begin with a prequel, as the prequel is an addition—like in Star Wars, long after I quit actively following it, where they started whole new story lines about the characters before before the original series of trilogies, like the infamous Terminator Prequel.

Thus the term "Prequel" implies that the story already exists. I hadn't noted that that's what triggered my response to it. If I had, I'd have responded the same, yet I could at least have somewhat justified my response. A term like "Star Academy: Beginning" or even "Star Academy Introduction" would have more straightforward.

A term like "Star Academy: Beginning" or even "Star Academy Introduction" would have more straightforward.

Except that "Norse" is not the Beginning of "Star Academy". It is a story set way in the past. Sort of like "The Hobbit" was set in the past of "The Lord of the Rings," and has generally (although not by the author) been called a 'prequel' to the trilogy.

I think the labeling, as is, works. Besides, it's the authors' prerogative to chose the title that they want for their stories.

Yeah, I got that. In retrospect, I was thinking of the Star Academy Preview, which is stated earlier, and the term threw me so it took a bit to process why. And once again, the example of The Hobbit was a typical prequel (written subsequently to the originals). I tend to see published previews as of the literary equivalent of prequels, though Hollywood definitely disagrees with me on that.

But as far as you're 'whatever the author' chooses argument, you'd be fine if he'd named it Shoo-shoo, Moonpie Express Gonanza instead, which aside from the last word, has been used before (music lyrics, not the actual Moonpie brand ad-line).

In publishing, there are standards, just like there are in any other field. You may not like or approve of them, yet luckily, you have no actual veto power over literary standards.

And once again, the example of The Hobbit was a typical prequel (written subsequently to the originals).

Well, this is just wrong.

The Hobbit was written in the 1930s and published on 21st September 1937. The Lord of the Rings was conceived as a sequel to The Hobbit, written in the late 30s and 40s, and first published on 29th July 1954. (I learned this either by reading a biography of JRRT, his Letters, or the relevant part of the History of Middle-Earth (HOME) series.)

Duplicate book names are fairly common. in fact, it's often quite challenging to create a unique one to prevent you work from being confused from dozens of others (like my earlier references to my one-time "Stranded" book title.

The most common titles for novels seem to be first names (both women and men, though women have the clear lead in that regard), yet those are easier to associate with the novel and the printed cover image, which also tend to be more memorable than most.

And yeah, I also enjoyed Teen Dreams, though my long-term Covid memory couldn't recall (I caught it from my 90-year-old mother). Yet another reason why I ceased publishing.

And yeah, I also enjoyed Teen Dreams,

I enjoyed the first book but in the following books there became too much drama between David and Cal. Not to mention he kept forgiving the BITCH. That is unforgivable.