Hello: The long awaited Star Trek starship book, "The Unseen Frontier: Declassified Images from the History of the Federation", by Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz has been cancelled by Pocket Books. The book has been advertised for several years on the Ships of the Line calendars and was to be published later this year. For reasons unknown, Pocket Books has decided to cancel the project. There are a great many Star Trek fans who were very interested in this book and an email campaign to try and save the book is being organized across several Star Trek websites. Please go to the following link: http://www.simonsays.com/feedback_form.cfm
select SimonSays site: Star Trek and post a request to have the book put back on Pocket Book's schedule. If anyone is unfamiliar with the book I would encourage them to follow this link:
for a description of the book's content. This books has the potential to be one of the greatest Star Trek reference books ever produced and it needs to be saved!
Thank you in advance for any help with this effort.
Best regards, Richard Knapp
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
This is certainly new information, sir, and could not have possibly been brought to my attention in any other way!
Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :
Rich, while I myself am an optimist and I applaud your persistance, I'm afraid it's never going to get published. Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
*sigh*
Newbies.
Read the fraggin' other threads!
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Well, I went and posted a message. I let them know how much OTHER bloody Trek 'coffee-table-like' books I had bought over the years.
2 hardcover encyclopaedias (1st and 2nd editions) 2 versions of the History in Pictures The Art of startrek Continuing Mission Making of DS9 TOS companion TNG compendium (two versions) DS9 companion Voyager making of Phase II TOS Sketchbook Bluebrints Science of Star Trek Klingon for the Galactic Traveller TNG Tech manual DS9 Tech manual Omnepaedia TNG virtual Tech manual guide Starship Spotter Rules of Aquisition Legends of the Ferengi Chronology (two types) All the Calendars from the last Decade! Q Scripts Book
plus more (some things in that list I just remembered).
And I said I didn't want to see the work being broken up and put into 3rd rate publications like the fact-files.
Posted by RichKnapp (Member # 892) on :
From First of Two:
*sigh*
Newbies.
Read the fraggin' other threads! __________________________________________________
I have read them and they all seem to just fade out with the assumption that the book is dead. None of them indicate that there has been any concerted effort to lobby Pocket Books on getting "The Unseen Frontier" back on their schedule. That is the thrust of my message so I would encourage you to READ what I wrote.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Rich HAS seen the other threads, and posted on them. I believe he wants to start up DOING something, hence the new thread.
I wish you luck on this - really. Nothing would please me more than to get some of my writing and contributions published in a book! But the odds are against you, and Pocket has all but buried the project.
Mark
Posted by Veers (Member # 661) on :
It's all a conspiracy, of course. A conspiracy to keep us from the truth about Wolf 359...
Posted by RichKnapp (Member # 892) on :
Thanks Mark! I keep hoping that if the Ships of the Line 2003 calendar sells well AND Enterprise's ratings continue to be good AND a new movie, that this, coupled with a support campaign from the fan base, might be enough to change the minds of some people at Pocket Books.
I long shot to be sure but one I feel is worth the try.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
Begging your pardon, but why exactly is it "worth" a try. Elaborate.....indulge me.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Worth a try? Cause we frelling well want to see this book.
They can ditch the fact-files and publish this book instead.
They can also ditch All the novels except probably New Frontier and Enterprise, TOS and TNG novels.
They should have ditched the map-book before U-SF.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
So your theory is that they should NOT sell the things that people want to buy, but instead the things people don't want to buy. Excellent strategy.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
One must assume these people prefer to taste the sour flavour of defeat and disappointment only when it refers to their love lives. . .
I mean, most other SF fans have had to. I'm an average SF fan - actually, no I'm not, I'm an exceptional SF fan. Yet in the past few years I've had to put up with:
Space: Above and Beyond getting cancelled just as it started to get good.
Babylon 5 hiccuping over the whole season 4/5 thing.
Stephen King's books starting to get just a bit crap.
The X-Files dragging on way beyond the point when I didn't care anymore.
Voyager failing to stop being shite.
Discovering that as a grown man I know longer really care abnout the adventures of a vampire-slaying American teenager.
And many, many, many more. . .
So, you'll excuse me if compared to that lot I don't view the non-publication of a book with lost of non-canon starship pictures in it as the greatest tragedy ever faced by modern man.
Posted by O Captain Mike Captain (Member # 709) on :
You guys are all bringin me down!
I'm gonna publish my own Trek book!
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sol System: So your theory is that they should NOT sell the things that people want to buy, but instead the things people don't want to buy. Excellent strategy.
Hello, there IS an audience out there for that book.
I mean why did they keep pumping out half the shite they have over the years - hello - Klingon Hamlet?
If you don't give a rats about the book being published or not - why do you have to comment? Basically if it's out there or not - you don't care.
Vogon... we've all had to deal with most of these... The Steven King or Buffy references don't hold. 1. Don't read his works. 2. Yeah right... maybe you should try watching Angel... a more 'adult' show.
Angel season 1 was better than Buffy season 4 Buffy season 5 was better than Angel season 2 Angel season 3 was better than Buffy season 6
And season 2 of Angel wasn't shabby either - it's just that the entire season 5 was brill.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I'd love to see the book published. It's too bad it wouldn't sell. The fact that Pocket Books filled the market with lots of books of this type, good and bad, before finding this out, hardly invalidates the point.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Or, for that matter, the fact that such books once sold but no longer do.
Look, I haven't bought a Trek book in a long time because they haven't been putting out anything I want to read. I'd love a Voyager technical manual, or a revised encyclopedia, or a huge book of starship stuff. But it isn't going to happen for all sorts of reasons, and signing a petition isn't going to change that.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
The only way any of this is going to make any difference is if you get some sort of dialogue going with Margaret Clark. She's the editor of the "Nonfiction" Star Trek books and as such, has control over what happens in that arena.
The problem is actually getting in touch with Margaret. She seems to have a hard time replying to comments on the S&S site, on psiphi, or anywhere else for that matter.
Without her knowledge and participation, creating a petition is just so much jerking off.
That said, if you manage to shake Margaret out of torpor, I'll be the first to run up, sign my name, and shake your hand for doing what hundreds have tried and failed to accomplish.
Let me know when you hear from her.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote:Originally posted by AndrewR: Buffy season 5 was better than Angel season 2
You are plainly wrong.
Posted by RichKnapp (Member # 892) on :
My thoughts, with this whole effort, are that if enough interest, in the form of emails to Pocket Books, can be generated that this alone might solicit a response from Margaret Clark.
Once that is achieved, we might be able to determine, from Margaret, what (if anything) can be done to save the book. Maybe something along the lines of the petition several years ago for the Capt. Sulu book.
I don't know the answer. I am just hoping that if this effort can spread to enough Trek websites and forums that some type of response can be obtained from Pocket Books. That response would then determine what follow up actions are required. Like I said in an earlier post - some effort to save this book is worth a try.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by PsyLiam:
quote:Originally posted by AndrewR: Buffy season 5 was better than Angel season 2
You are plainly wrong.
Says you Liam.
Season 2 Angel started out good... that whole Pilea story-line just let the whole season down.
There were, of course so fantastic moments. Generally the first half of the season. Dru 'turning' Darla. That caught me VERY unawares. At the same time - Dru back on Buffy was crapola - she's best to stay on Angel and wreek havoc!
Andrew
Posted by Dax (Member # 191) on :
quote:Originally posted by AndrewR: Angel season 1 was better than Buffy season 4 Buffy season 5 was better than Angel season 2 Angel season 3 was better than Buffy season 6
And season 2 of Angel wasn't shabby either - it's just that the entire season 5 was brill.
My sentiments exactly.
Posted by Ryan McReynolds (Member # 28) on :
quote:Originally posted by RichKnapp: My thoughts, with this whole effort, are that if enough interest, in the form of emails to Pocket Books, can be generated that this alone might solicit a response from Margaret Clark. (emphasis added)
That's where you're going wrong. Nobody in authority, from politicians to producers to editors gives a flying crap about emails.* You've gotta do it on paper for it to make a difference, and there's no way you're going to get more than a handful of people to write letters on this one. Even if you did, it would have to be a hell of a lot of people.
John Ordover agreed to a letter-writing campaign once. He said that if he received a thousand letters by a certain date asking for an Excelsior novel, he'd do one. He got around eight hundred, and I dare say there is more interest in any novel than a coffee table book. It's a shame, because I really wanted to see Unseen Frontier, but that's life.
On the other hand, maybe patience will prevail. Pocket is currently producing not one but two Excelsior novels under Marco Palmieri, completely unrelated to the letter campaign. The Centaur and Sphinx from UF have already made their way into other publications, I would be surprised if a lot more didn't, even the actual scenes.
* Incidentally, there is a decent reason for this. It is very easy for one person to send many emails from different accounts, and there is little way to prove they came from different people. Snail mail has the advantage of taking both more effort and more money, in the form of ink, paper, and postage. People are less likely to forge a massive letter-writing campagin than one over email.
Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
quote:Without her knowledge and participation, creating a petition is just so much jerking off.
That said, if you manage to shake Margaret out of torpor, I'll be the first to run up, sign my name, and shake your hand for doing what hundreds have tried and failed to accomplish.
When you put those two statements together I don't know if anyone wants to shake your hand.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
OTOH (Sorry, Grocka, I've got two), the best way to show that there's a market is to buy the "non-fiction books."
At the moment, this is easy, because the new Star Charts book is probably the most important Trek reference book since the encyclopedia.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Actually, e-mail does carry weight in some sectors, though not, to be sure, those involved in, uh, materal production and stuff. Like, I hear that an e-mail sent to your local congressman is more likely to be read than a letter. (Both because they may still be irradiating the Congressional mail and because it's easier for staffers to print out a bunch of e-mails and hand them over than to wrangle a bunch of separate letters.) But, anyway, as far as this goes, I agree with Ryan.
Posted by Austin Powers (Member # 250) on :
It really IS a shame that the book won't get published but I have just written an e-mail to Pocket Books anyway. I am hoping they do send me an answer. At least they did some years ago when I asked something about the Encyclopedia.
Posted by Ryan McReynolds (Member # 28) on :
They'll prbably send an answer. "Thank you for your letter... we appreciate it... we'll take it into consideration... unfortunately... etc."
Posted by Austin Powers (Member # 250) on :
Quite likely. Anyway, I'll just hope for the best.
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
First of all, to address the most recent comments, I have already bought two copies of the Star Charts book -- one to keep nice and one to tear apart to make a wall map out of.
I also have a near-complete library of Trek coffee table and reference books, and there is an annoying phenomenon about that that Pocket Books seems to have missed...
The novels sort of have a built-in readership. People go to the book stores periodically to see what new novels are out. The technical works are more sporadic and follow no set schedule. Unless one makes a point of checking the S&S web site, or is a consistent reader of the Magazine and Communicator, they're not going to know about hte impending release of one of these technical books.
For instance, the TNG Tech Manual was released in the fall of 1991 (if I remember correctly). I didn't find out about it until the late spring of '92 when I wandered into a Waldenbooks while I was waiting for the bus. It hadn't been advertised in any of the places the people who would by such a book would have had it thrust upon their consciousness. S&S don't realize they have to market/advertise these books in a different way from the novels. I know the technical and reference books would sell better if they advertised on TV or in conventional print media (like Smithsonian Air & Space or the monthly newsletter from Jane's Information Group). And it doesn't take all that much money to do a half- or full-page ad or include it in a 15- or 30-second TV spot to inform about new publications...
But that, of course, is all just my opinion...
--Jonah
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
quote:Originally posted by Peregrinus: And it doesn't take all that much money to ... include it in a 15- or 30-second TV spot to inform about new publications...
I'd beg to differ.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
Besides, all one has to do to be informed on all the Star Trek books coming out in the next YEAR or so is to check out the psiphi.org website.
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
Which I stumbled upon quite by accident about a year and a half ago and had never heard of before...
Remember that the community we have on here and other similar sites and newsgroups is an overwhelming minority of the total Star Trek audience.
--Jonah
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Total audience, sure. But of the people who actually buy these kinds of books, I'd say we constitute a fairly sizable percentage. Not a majority, to be sure. But sizable.
Posted by Solommagnus de Pym (Member # 239) on :
They can count on four hundred books sold!
Those publishers are so crazy to not jump right on.
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
Ok; I've just seen this new book: The Starfleet Survival Guide (or something similar). Now, no offense to the author, who I'm sure put in lots of hard work, but I had a flick through and it looks, well, boring. thee doesn't appear to be much in it, all the pics are b&w line drawings and there's an entire segment on how to escape from a lift! How do TPTB decide what books will sell better than others because I would have thought that Unseen Fronteir would sell much better than this.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
It's probably all politics. Mojo probably pissed off Marco Palmieri or Margaret Clark or John Ordover and so they aren't going to publish his book.
absolute shame.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Mojo pissed NO ONE off.
Mark
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Well that's good. I was just speculating. Maybe they have it in for him!?! Or Starship fans!?!
Posted by Austin Powers (Member # 250) on :
Or they are just as stupid as B&B?! Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Yeah, these are surely the only possible answers! Dark conspiracies personally aimed at keeping us down! We have shown them!
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
I think the bottom line with this kind of venture will always be money, not much else matters to a business.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Reverend wins.
Mark
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
Yay! What did I win!?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sol System: Yeah, these are surely the only possible answers! Dark conspiracies personally aimed at keeping us down! We have shown them!
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