History ExecutiveMeddling / Literature

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* ''TableTopGame/ForgottenRealms'' is an extensive setting full of characterization and many-layered intrigues [[GambitPileup clashing with each other]]. So of course, it needed editors acting like hippos in a glass shop.

* Writers in the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' have editors going over work and vetoing what they don't think fits into canon. Some of them... aren't all that bright. Creator/TimothyZahn, in a panel summarized [[http://gabri-jade.livejournal.com/105471.html here]], complains about editors claiming that R-2 can't fly Luke's X-Wing in ''[[Literature/TheHandOfThrawn Specter of the Past]]''.

* Writers in the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' have editors going over work and vetoing what they don't think fits into canon. Some of them... aren't all that bright. Creator/TimothyZahn, in a panel summarized [[http://gabri-jade.livejournal.com/105471.html here]], complains about editors claiming that R-2 can't fly Luke's X-Wing in [[Literature/HandOfThrawn Specter of the Past]].

** One that did work out was that Lucasfilm shot down Timothy Zahn's original name for the Noghri which was Sith, to explain why Darth Vader was known as the Lord of the Sith. The reason, of course, was that Zahn didn't realize that Creator/GeorgeLucas already had something very different in mind for the meaning of that title.
** In the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' novel series, Anakin Solo was killed halfway through at the insistence of Creator/GeorgeLucas. Lucas had decided that since there were prequel-era novels starring Anakin Skywalker being published at the same time, and Anakin Solo was set to be the main hero of the second half of the ''[=NJO=]'' story, readers would be confused by both eras having a main character with the same first name. [[note]] Later events made fans theorize that George Lucas realized that he had virtually identical stories for Anakin Skywalker and Anakin Solo (hope of the Jedi Order, deep connection with the Force, skill with technology, and oh yeah, a ''fall to the Dark Side that plunges the Galaxy into war, destroying a republic''). So in the end, they killed off Anakin Solo and gave his fall to the Dark Side plot to older brother Jacen. [[/note]]

** The ''Double Diamond Triangle Saga''. The idea of nine books that can be read in different orders was interesting, but ran into the ground at supersonic speed. How long do you think authors were given to sync all possible criss-crossing plots and write it? [[http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11961#247879 Read a little revelation from Ed Greenwod's spokeslady]]. And if ''he'' is given this much care...

** Editors also broke up Tolkien's original single massive work into three volumes for economic reasons. Three-volume novels date back to Victorian times, but these were more like serials than today's fantasy trilogies.

* In a minor example, Jim Butcher originally wanted to call the first book of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' [[IncrediblyLamePun Semiautomagic]]. For whatever reason, the editor or publisher didn't like it, and so he called it ''Literature/StormFront'' instead, creating the trend of two word titles with each word having the same number of letters.

** Book fourteen was originally going to be titled ''Winter Knight'', echoing book four, ''Literature/SummerKnight''. Concerns of potential confusion between the two books as well as the similarly named ''White Night'' led to the title being changed to ''Literature/ColdDays''.

** Book fourteen was originally going to be titled ''Winter Knight'', echoing book four, ''Literaturr/SummerKnight''. Concerns of potential confusion between the two books as well as the similarly named ''White Night'' led to the title being changed to ''Literature/ColdDays''.

** Book fourteen was originally going to be titled ''Winter Knight'', echoing book four, ''Summer Knight''. Concerns of potential confusion between the two books as well as the similarly named ''White Night'' led to the title being changed to ''Literature/ColdDays''.

* ''Literature/{{Mare}}'' was written due to the Norwegian tax system giving [[Creator/RubenEliassen Eliassen]] 2 million Norwegian kroner in taxes. Due to executive meddling the first book was split into 3 (as the best book series are trilogies aparently), as well as a more rushed story ending with an CliffHanger, unresolved sub plots, and a balant self-insert AuthorAvatar who works as a DeusExMachina as well as reminding the reader what happened in the previous book. The story is pretty much an allegory for the poor treatment Norwegian authors receives.

** Book fourteen was originally going to be titled ''Winter Knight'', echoing book four, ''Summer Knight''. Concerns of potential confusion between the two books as well as the similarly named ''White Night'' led to the title being changed to ''Cold Days''.

** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'' was originally meant to have more information on Voldemort and his past as Tom Riddle to help set up later books. Rowling's editor had these sections removed. While this information was eventually delivered in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', it resulted in ''Chamber'' having the least connections to the series' MythArc while ''Prince'' was very heavy on the exposition.

* Creator/JamesEllroy's publishers asked to cut his 900 page ''White Jazz'' in half. Their intention was, presumably, that he cut a couple of subplots, and not, as he did, take out pretty much all words that weren't absolutely vital to understanding the sentence, resulting in a quick, telegraph-like staccato style, for example, "Time revoked/fever dreams-I wake up reaching, afraid I'll forget. Pictures keep the woman young. L.A., fall 1958. Newsprint: link the dots. Names, events-so brutal they beg to be connected. Years down-the story stays dispersed.".
** The reason they wanted Ellroy to cut down his page length was because they felt he, with eight books and high praise for "The Black Dahlia," wasn't a big enough name to justify a 900-page book.

** "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories" is about executive meddling, plus truly epic amounts of AdaptationDecay. A writer is called in to Hollywood to work on a film adaptation of his hit novel, ''Sons of Man'', which is a speculative story about UsefulNotes/CharlesManson being possessed by a demon, and the children he sired of the women in the Manson Family coming under the power of that demon, with a sole daughter he had trying to stop them. By the time the ever-changing Hollywood executives are done with it, it's a slasher plot called ''When we were Badd'' about a serial killer named Jack Badd who possessed a video game after execution and possessed the kids who played it, with the now-male protagonist saving the day by burning the electric chair the killer was executed in.

* In something of a case of Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, the Andalites of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' were originally RubberForeheadAliens, to make it easier on the inevitable TV series. However, Scholastic asked for a more imaginative approach, resulting in [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160124011823/http://www.daytec.net.au/kamm/OldSite/_borders/TheAndaliteChronicles.jpg this design.]] It also led to just about every alien looking bizarre. Unfortunately, Applegate was proven right, when the [[Series/{{Animorphs}} TV series]] only featured Andalites [[CoconutSuperpowers a few times a season with laughably bad animatronics.]]

** ''TabletopGame/{{Spellfire}}'' became infamous for editor-carnage, leaving many plot threads ripped apart and dangling and characters looking like idiots or jerkasses.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/WhatIsThisThingCalledLove": WordOfGod comes from ''Literature/NightfallAndOtherStories'', that the last three paragraphs of this story were written by Creator/CeleGoldsmith, the magazine editor. Since they were improvements over his original lines, her lines are kept for future collections. (Her title, however, wasn't kept. Dr Asimov usually hated the PublisherChosenTitle whenever they were changed on him.)

* Justified with Toni L.P. Kelner's ''Literature/WhereAreTheyNowMysteries''. The original book was released in hardcover by one publishing company under the title ''Without Mercy'', but when she switched publishers to Berkley Prime Crime for the paperback reprint and sequels, they'd recently published a different book under that name and, to avoid confusion, retitled Kelner's book to ''Curse of the Kissing Cousins''.

** Naturally following the popularity of its adaptation ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'', later publishers urged Christopher Awdry to make more entries revolved around BreakoutCharacter, Thomas. Awdry sometimes loopholed around this by giving Thomas title billing but only giving him a slyly minimal role, though some entries such as ''More About Thomas the Tank Engine'' were made specifically so the TV series had more Thomas-centric material to adapt.

** He was also famous for not allowing blacks to be main characters in any story he published, refusing a story by award-winning Samuel Delaney (who is black) on the grounds that it had an African-American hero, and blacks are naturally mentally inferior to whites. He also would not allow any work which showed a woman being mentally superior to a man.

* Creator/NeilGaiman's "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories", is about executive meddling, plus truly epic amounts of AdaptationDecay. A writer is called in to Hollywood to work on a film adaptation of his hit novel, ''Sons of Man'', which is a speculative story about UsefulNotes/CharlesManson being possessed by a demon, and the children he sired of the women in the Manson Family coming under the power of that demon, with a sole daughter he had trying to stop them. By the time the ever-changing Hollywood executives are done with it, it's a slasher plot called ''When we were Badd'' about a serial killer named Jack Badd who possessed a video game after execution and possessed the kids who played it, with the now-male protagonist saving the day by burning the electric chair the killer was executed in.

** Gaiman has a long history of Hollywood stresses: in addition to the aforementioned Jon Peters run at ''Sandman'' (resulting in what Neil described as "the worst script I've ever read"), he was approached with regard to an adaptation of ''Literature/AnansiBoys''. Y'know, the book where the main characters are the children of African deity Anansi, and thus they (and a lot of their acquaintances) are black. The first question asked was apparently: "[[RaceLift Is there any way we can make them white?]]"

* The final book in the third ''Literature/WarriorCats'' series had its name changed from ''Cruel Season'' to ''Sunrise'' because [=HarperCollins=] felt the original title was too sad and not appropriate for the younger readers. Not only does this cause a lot of confusion with the final book of the ''second'' series (''Sunset''), but changing the title still doesn't change the fact that the book ''is'' sad. Not to mention how earlier books have dark names like ''A Dangerous Path'', ''The Darkest Hour'', and ''Long Shadows.'' To make things even more mindboggling, [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar the authors were allowed to use the phrase "cruel season" in the blurb of the very next book]].

* In something of a case of Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, the Andalites of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' were originally RubberForeheadAliens, to make it easier on the inevitable TV series. However, Scholastic asked for a more imaginative approach, resulting in [[http://www.daytec.net.au/kamm/OldSite/_borders/TheAndaliteChronicles.jpg this design.]] It also led to just about every alien looking bizarre. Unfortunately, Applegate was proven right, when the [[Series/{{Animorphs}} TV series]] only featured Andalites [[CoconutSuperpowers a few times a season with laughably bad animatronics.]]