Future Volume Release Schedule

Travis Butler

@myskaros said in Future Volume Release Schedule:

@mlindner said in Future Volume Release Schedule:

Is there any chance of this policy changing? It would be great if JNC moved to a policy of having rough approximations of when the next volume would start. Being wrong isn't a problem, being completely in the dark is. JNC has to actually know this information internally (especially as release date approaches), but there seems to be resistance to releasing it.
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I also have very specific examples in memory of times when we did say that a new volume would be ready on X date, we missed that date for some reason, and we got a lot of negative feedback from people eager to start reading that next volume. So while you yourself might not mind delays, that's not true for everyone.

Amen.

I've been dealing with this in one form or another since... early 90s, I think? First time, it was a computer system utility; the company said it would be released on <x> date. It missed the date several times, through circumstances mostly out of their control, and it resulted in a large loss of customer goodwill. I was one of the annoyed people; I was waiting the new version with baited breath, and each delay made it worse.

After that first experience, I got a little wiser and I ended up much happier... and with a lot more respect for the companies smart enough to avoid over-promising. It's happened many times since then... crowdfunded projects are a common example today.

jl.

Might be unwelcomed necrod of a post but I was wondering even if not giving any dates it would be useful to know for the users if the licensing of the volume is there or not.

For example I don't see volume 10 of x series that already released in Japan, volume 9 is already released here. Now I don't know if it's being worked on or there are still in the licensing process (or even the unfortunate situation where the licensing has failed and the series is out of your hands).

At least putting the volume 10 with a coming soon once the licensing has been obtained would be nice in my opinion

SomeOldGuy

@jl The assumption is that negotiations are underway. What the results of said negotiations is, is, well, future knowledge which we do not have.

We cannot influence them, unfortunately.

jl.

@SomeOldGuy I get that, but I have to assume as it is with a lot of companies that once the licensing has been done work needs to be done before they have anything to share right?

So let's say that ln volume 10 of x licensing has finally been obtained.

Adding the entry to the volume with a coming soon would basically tell you that they're already working on the translation (or at least that it's in queue) instead of licensing limbo.

I wouldn't expect any news before they obtain the license, but I would appreciate some news after they do (without giving any date)

Being able to see that it's definitely coming is nice for the readers in my opinion, without commiting to any deadlines

Rahul Balaggan

@jl

In the past when we have shared too much information people have gone to social media to talk directly to people they believe are “holding up” the translation.

This includes translators, editors, staff members, and yes, authors and Japanese publishers.

We (J-Novel Club) take the blame to keep our business relationships respectful. Those past situations have lead to awkward conversations and apologies.

So this is where we are.

jl.

@Rahul-Balaggan gotcha that's.... Unfortunate, cause more info specially without commitment is always nice, but I also understand that if a series is in queue and not enough resources are available, people who don't understand the work might try to blame people for "preferring other series over the one they want" or something like that..

Thanks for the response that's a perfectly reasonable explanation why you don't do that (I personally would still love to see that but it's probably a not worth the pain for you guys so it's cool)

sailorarashi

@Rahul-Balaggan This is why we can't have nice things :(

strangeattractor

I was way more worried about volumes not being on the schedule and the lack of information when I was new to J-Novel Club. Over the past few years, I've accumulated a lot of trust in J-Novel Club. They haven't voluntarily given up on translating and publishing a series, not even once.

It is an extraordinary organization. I started out basing my expectations on what other publishers are doing, and my expectations have been exceeded all over the place.

Shiny

@strangeattractor said in Future Volume Release Schedule:

I was way more worried about volumes not being on the schedule and the lack of information when I was new to J-Novel Club. Over the past few years, I've accumulated a lot of trust in J-Novel Club. They haven't voluntarily given up on translating and publishing a series, not even once.

It is an extraordinary organization. I started out basing my expectations on what other publishers are doing, and my expectations have been exceeded all over the place.

Totally this. I'm a lot more relaxed about JNC publications due to the company's excellent track record as well as their being more open and responsive than most publishers.