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FWIW, according to ADB, Black Library pays surprisingly well, and some of their series (HH, and any big 4 Space Marine books) sell like hotcakes.quote:Firstly, Black Library's sales (and therefore, its royalties) put the majority of science-fiction and fantasy to shame. That's not hyperbole. The vast majority of SF&F novels don't sell all that well at all, and the industry is generally carried by the bleeding edge >1% of Big Names and their releases. Licensed fiction is an anomaly in that it generally comes with an established audience already, and in terms of 40K, that established audience is absolutely massive. I've known several BL authors to talk about their 40K sales with other SF&F authors, and the non-40K authors' eyes either light up or narrow at the figures being mentioned. Edit. Of course, Riot probably has more money than god, so if McNeill got a permanent position there, then he's probably getting the big bucks.
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Nov 30, 2021 17:38
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I think the staff position at RIOT likely pays well enough and takes so little effort that he can give zero fucks about it and still do his GW work on the side just fine.
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Nov 30, 2021 17:47
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Yeah that may be true but it's still relative. Authors, except for a very few, don't make poo poo so even if BL authors are making 2-3x more than average sci Fi authors they are probably still making less than 100k a year and like 150k at the absolute most in a really good year. Could be wrong but it's just not a lucrative industry.
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Nov 30, 2021 17:50
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D-Pad posted:Authors, except for a very few, don't make poo poo so even if BL authors are making 2-3x more than average sci Fi authors they are probably still making less than 100k a year and like 150k at the absolute most in a really good year. You talking dollars, pounds or euros here?
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Nov 30, 2021 18:00
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Warden posted:You talking dollars, pounds or euros here? Yes. It's like a 25% difference between them
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Nov 30, 2021 18:09
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Zudgemud posted:Yes. The difference is quite a bit larger when you factor in the different costs of living. Like, it's a bit different if you're pulling 100k in dollars while living in the US or 100k in pounds while living in Scotland.
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Nov 30, 2021 18:37
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Of course you could say the same about the cost of living in New York vs rural Idaho.
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Nov 30, 2021 19:01
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If I could work full time on writing about spacemens I would, why not Too bad I am not an author of any skill or talent lol
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Nov 30, 2021 19:08
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Warden posted:The difference is quite a bit larger when you factor in the different costs of living. Like, it's a bit different if you're pulling 100k in dollars while living in the US or 100k in pounds while living in Scotland. Also anyone pulling in 100k in pounds annually is considered "loving loaded" no matter if you're in Glasgow or London. Your worries at that point are if you can afford that Porsche or if you can send all 3 of your kids to private schools.
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Nov 30, 2021 19:16
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Z the IVth posted:Also anyone pulling in 100k in pounds annually is considered "loving loaded" no matter if you're in Glasgow or London. Your worries at that point are if you can afford that Porsche or if you can send all 3 of your kids to private schools. Ironically, 40k in pounds is considered pretty drat good. 100k in pounds is serious money here (remember we have that dirty commie healthcare system, too - for now). £100k is multiple properties and a holiday home money. The flip side of course being stability. Sure, you're a hot writer now, but that work can dry up fast so it's still hard to get a mortgage, etc.
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Nov 30, 2021 19:33
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My takeaway is Abnett saying he could be swimming around in Scrooge McDuck pools at any given time but is doing whatever he wants speaks to me he's making a poo poo ton more than 100k of <insert foreign currency>. If McNeal left to go do games, he's probably comfortable enough he wanted to take a risk at change and having the option of falling back on spacemen gold mines if he really wanted to. It's not like BL would say no to the guy if he said he wanted to do whatever.
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Nov 30, 2021 22:25
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Philthy posted:My takeaway is Abnett saying he could be swimming around in Scrooge McDuck pools at any given time but is doing whatever he wants speaks to me he's making a poo poo ton more than 100k of <insert foreign currency>. If McNeal left to go do games, he's probably comfortable enough he wanted to take a risk at change and having the option of falling back on spacemen gold mines if he really wanted to. It's not like BL would say no to the guy if he said he wanted to do whatever. ADB is Aaron Dembski-Bowden, not Dan Abnett.
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Dec 1, 2021 06:24
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ADB just write a fuckin blood angels trilogy you silly bastard, make that Scrooge gold. Like I get it you make art, but dude it’s corporate art about plastic spacemen in service of selling those spacemen. No ones gonna accuse you of selling out. Also it is criminal that the Night Lords trilogy is getting outsold by anything.
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Dec 1, 2021 06:39
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It's shocking how much better the titan stuff in the Urdesh books are than Mortis.
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Dec 1, 2021 06:41
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Please write a follow up night lords trilogy following the new prophet post rift thanks adb
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Dec 1, 2021 07:12
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ADB is never going to explain what's going on with Decimus.
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Dec 1, 2021 07:18
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wiegieman posted:ADB is never going to explain what's going on with Decimus. ADB has a novel coming out with David Chase explaining what happened to the Russian (Has he said that somewhere, or are you just guessing?)
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Dec 1, 2021 08:33
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Would a Blood Angels trilogy actually be more popular than ADB's Chaos stuff? I mean his chaos books are really popular and sell extremely well, I honestly don't see writing loyalist stuff making much of a difference.
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Dec 1, 2021 10:20
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I'm sure he's said somewhere that the Night Lords books are done, and I think he's right. Decimus is better as an imagined future plot hook than anything concrete.
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Dec 1, 2021 11:12
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:I'm sure he's said somewhere that the Night Lords books are done, and I think he's right. Decimus is better as an imagined future plot hook than anything concrete. Yeah I recall this as well and some frustration on his side from everyone wanting every single possible thread of a story to be expanded on. Not knowing everything about a setting is very good sometimes. also in the 40k universe that gives people room to create narratives and fill in the blanks themselves.
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Dec 1, 2021 11:23
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I really hope we get some Talos and first claw action in the last two siege books
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Dec 1, 2021 13:54
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I want the first fight of the War-Sage and the Sufferer.
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Dec 1, 2021 13:58
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Deptfordx posted:Would a Blood Angels trilogy actually be more popular than ADB's Chaos stuff? I also think the current Blood Angels books are doing a very good job with them, too.
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Dec 1, 2021 17:31
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Deptfordx posted:Would a Blood Angels trilogy actually be more popular than ADB's Chaos stuff? Blood Angels are certainly some of the most interesting loyalists, and definitely seem to be popular. I'm pretty biased, having started 40k with a Blood Angels army and then progressed into 30k with them as well, but they've always seemed extremely popular with any groups/clubs/events I've consistently played with.
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Dec 1, 2021 17:46
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:I'm sure he's said somewhere that the Night Lords books are done, and I think he's right. Decimus is better as an imagined future plot hook than anything concrete. People used to say that about the 13th black crusade and other plot hooks
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Dec 1, 2021 20:04
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Broken Record Talk posted:Blood Angels are certainly some of the most interesting loyalists, and definitely seem to be popular. I'm pretty biased, having started 40k with a Blood Angels army and then progressed into 30k with them as well, but they've always seemed extremely popular with any groups/clubs/events I've consistently played with. I've a Blood Angels army myself so no arguments there. But I still think anyone who's really into 40k fiction picks up ADB books automatically at this point, and for more casual readers, there's at least as many Chaos fans as Blood Angels.
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Dec 1, 2021 20:10
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Honestly if ADB actually wanted to do a big loyalist marines series Id rather he do a Black Templars series and write about Grimaldus more.
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Dec 1, 2021 20:43
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I'm reading The Wolftime and am I wrong or does it completely retcon the Custodians? My understanding was they were hand crafted by the Emperor, but here a Custodian talks about how they're created like any space marine and recruit from Terran nobility.
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Dec 1, 2021 21:33
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Demiurge4 posted:I'm reading The Wolftime and am I wrong or does it completely retcon the Custodians? My understanding was they were hand crafted by the Emperor, but here a Custodian talks about how they're created like any space marine and recruit from Terran nobility. I've not read wolftime but it's a bit of both. The original ones were hand crafted by the emperor by the new ones aren't for golden throne related reasons. I assumed they go under much more personalised and enhanced version of the process the space marines go through. I think they have always come from terran stock to mirror what the Romans use to do to keep subjugated nobles in line with a twist of old fashioned terran nationalism mixed it.
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Dec 1, 2021 23:21
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I don’t remember where I got this from so I might be talking out my rear end, but all the original custodes were hand crafted by the emperor, and replacements are made…. someother way. And like, instead of implanting a bunch of new organs and muscle grafts, it’s all gene therapy and warp science (maybe?) so gotta start as a baby or very young.
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Dec 1, 2021 23:28
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Custodes are still hand crafted with each one being completely unique, just not by the emperor since *waves hand*. They are not made like space marines and I don't remember that being said in Wolftime. They do come from Terran Nobility. In fact, Wolftime has an excellent joke about custodians being hand crafted that is good enough it made a custodian laugh out loud.
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Dec 2, 2021 00:14
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I mean only a few books back in Dark Imperium they’re talking about how custodians are a dying and irreplaceable breed. I’ll have to go digging for specific quotes on that, but I’m pretty sure it’s been reinforced that custodians are a finite resource.
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Dec 2, 2021 00:27
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Demiurge4 posted:I mean only a few books back in Dark Imperium they’re talking about how custodians are a dying and irreplaceable breed. I’ll have to go digging for specific quotes on that, but I’m pretty sure it’s been reinforced that custodians are a finite resource. They aren't finite in that there's X number of them and there will only ever be X number, but the creation process is way longer and more painstaking than marines. That's my understanding, at least. There are clearly older and younger custodes so they don't all date from way back before the Emperor when on the throne or anything.
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Dec 2, 2021 00:34
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That’s what finite means
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Dec 2, 2021 00:35
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I always thought there was 10,000 of them made, and that was it. Since E and V aren't really around anymore/yet. The books just keep it as vague as possible so far. Maybe it's described more in the game fluff somewhere.
Philthy fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Dec 2, 2021 |
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Dec 2, 2021 00:40
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Custodes end up retiring after a number of years. Their retirement of heading out into the galaxy and doing whatever to ensure the safety of the throne from enemies would probably make for a really good book.
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Dec 2, 2021 00:49
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Kinda like the long walk from judge dredd.
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Dec 2, 2021 00:52
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I want to read a story about a geriatric custodes off on his own. Any recs?
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Dec 2, 2021 00:56
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Philthy posted:I always thought there was 10,000 of them made, and that was it. Since E and V aren't really around anymore/yet. The books just keep it as vague as possible so far. Maybe it's described more in the game fluff somewhere. I’m pretty sure “the Ten Thousand” is a name based on around about how many the emperor made, not exactly how many there were. And way less exist now. Makes me feel bad when my custodes get tabled.
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Dec 2, 2021 00:57
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Lawdog69 posted:I want to read a story about a geriatric custodes off on his own. Any recs? Pariah
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Dec 2, 2021 00:58
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