quote:

---

And for those of you who are writers and can't stand the thought of somebody's first novel being this good, all I can say is: You're right. Your first novel isn't this good. But mine wasn't either. So live with it.

---

This is just plain untrue. Now, I haven't yet read Skibbins' work, but Mr. Card is implying that "Ender's Game" wasn't as good of a novel as Skibbins'. This cannot be true!!!!
 

---

Posted by Portabello (Member # 7710) on :
 
Ender's Game was not Card's first novel.

IIRC, it was Treason which he later re-did as A Planet Called Treason.
 

---

Posted by Frangy. (Member # 6794) on :
 
But Ender's Game isn't his first novel...
 

---

Posted by BandoCommando (Member # 7746) on :
 
Hm...I must have been operating under a mistaken impression - I had thought it was his first published novel. I could have sworn that I read that in the foreword of the book...

I'm probably confused by the idea that Ender's Game was his first published novella/short story...or am I wrong about this, too?

Anyway, I guess y'all are right. The following information comes from Amazon.com.

Planet Called Treason - June 1, 1980
Ender's Game - January 15, 1985
Treason - March 1, 1990

**Proceeds to eat his words**
 

---

Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
 
Wasn't Capitol his first novel? Or is that considered more of a collection of stories?
 

---

Posted by TheClone (Member # 6141) on :
 
No, that would be Gert Fram, it was published a month before Ender's Game.

I think...
 

---

Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
 
OSC wrote the Story Gert Fram, but not the novel. IIRC, Gert Fram was based on stories another writer had made up as a child, and OSC got around to bugging her to write the novel herself - and that didn't happen until long after Ender's Game was published.
 

---

Posted by Alistair (Member # 7858) on :
 
I was under the impression that the short story that would later grow into The Worthing Saga was his first published story. Of course my beliefs have been cast into doubt as I have actually not heard of Capitol or Gert Fram, and as an avid OSC fan I am now ashamed and will go hide in a corner.
 

---

Posted by Treason (Member # 7587) on :
 
I think we can all see that I think Treason is an awesome book!
 

---

Posted by TheClone (Member # 6141) on :
 
Sorry Taalcon! My response was to Bando not you (I was reading his biography where it mentions Gert Fram being his first published shorty story.)

I actually haven't gotten that far in Maps in a Mirror, yet. *Blushes.* I'm a little scared about reading the Lost Boys short story...
 

---

Posted by 0range7Penguin (Member # 7337) on :
 
Also whe are all assuming that when Mr. Card speaks of his first book that he is speaking of his first published book. He might have written a couple that where bad enough that he didn't publish them or had to make major major revisions before publishing them. Just a thought.
 

---

Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
 
My creative writing professor at the University of Utah claimed that OSC was in his class when he sold his first story, and that he marched into class looking smug and waving a check around, making everybody hate him. I don't know how much of that to believe, but Prof. Camoin did admit that OSC was his only student ever to actually make a living as a writer. I think he was a little jealous, actually.

[ April 28, 2005, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: UofUlawguy ]
 

---

Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
 
For a website that includes a complete bibliography of my works in order of publication, this is a rather disappointing collection of misconceptions <grin>.

Hot Sleep was my first novel. It was completely replaced by The Worthing Chronicle, which now makes up the bulk of The Worthing Saga.

Gert Fram was a short story I wrote. It was later published as a novel, but the novel was by Nancy Allen Black, who was the REAL Gert Fram as a child.

Capitol came out before Hot Sleep, but it is indeed a short story collection.

The short story version of Ender's Game was my first published science fiction. But the novel did not come out until 1985, almost eight years after the short story.
 

---

Posted by Tater (Member # 7035) on :
 
Well, he didn't deny your professor's claim.
 

---