https://gmkeros.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/terry-pratchett-and-the-maggi-soup-adverts/ * Home * About * Contact * CrunchDex * List of RPG Companies [Search: type, hit en] [Search] Stuffed Crocodile A blog (mostly) about tabletop roleplaying games Terry Pratchett and the Maggi Soup Adverts 11 Comments Posted by Geoffrey on September 2, 2011 Back in the 90s (starting with Moving Pictures) Terry Pratchett (yet to be knighted) changed his German publisher. A rather radical move in the market for someone who had been published by Heyne for a dozen books to raising sales. I remember reading it in the Jahrbuch der Science Fiction and Fantasy 1994 (Annual of Science Fiction and Fantasy): It stated in a rather laconic tone that his books would now be published by Goldmann instead of Heyne. The brisk tone of the notice (where most others would have had a small quip with amazing insider info on different deals) might have been connected with the fact that the editor of the Jahrbuch was also the chief editor of Heyne, and he was reporting about himself losing a bestselling author. The reason for the change was... well... the Heyne publishing house put in a soup advert in one of his books without asking, and would not promise to not do it again. As Pterry said himself: There were a number of reasons for switching to Goldmann, but a deeply personal one for me was the way Heyne (in Sourcery, I think, although it may have been in other books) inserted a soup advert in the text ... a few black lines and then something like 'Around about now our heroes must be pretty hungry and what better than a nourishing bowl'... etc, etc. My editor was pretty sick about it, but the company wouldn't promise not to do it again, so that made it very easy to leave them. They did it to Iain Banks, too, and apparently at a con he tore out the offending page and ate it. Without croutons. Okay, I know what you are thinking now: What? Here's a picture of the whole business from the German edition of [DEL:Pyramids:DEL] Sourcery: [german-ad-] The text in the blackout section reads something like: [DEL:the stairway Teppic was on was not really good for a break... but we can have one, so let's adjourn for 5 minutes and make a cup of soup...:DEL] It might actually be pretty good fortune that Trymon spent his time reading old manuscripts, as like that he had to lose against an angry Rincewind. But this also hides a hint to the reader to watch out for proper nourishment, A small bit of nourishment, all without magic spells...etc. It's an ad for a 5-minute soup. Yeah. It's real. That was a standard practice for Heyne back then. At least with their genre novels. And it was noticeable to a lot of people because they had the good luck of having one of the largest and best selections of SF/F-literature in the country. Mostly thanks to awesome editors. Pratchett was not the only one with the soup adverts, I remember at least one Star Trek novel and a few non-franchise ones having the same stuff in it. The whole thing was a holdover from the 50s or 60s, when practices like that were more common, especially with publishers of cheap genre fiction. They were rather popular for pulling in additional revenue on cheaply priced paperbacks that might not make their money back. And as the genres were not really seen as literature at all by anyone who mattered, fans and editors often had to fight bloody battles to get their stuff published even if it did go bestseller in the end. Mind you though, this was the 90s, the average price for Heyne paperbacks was 13 Marks/6,5 Euros, not the cheapest of books by then. It was definitely out of place for a publisher which was already one of the market leaders in that time. I do have the strong suspicion that these things were a standing order from the 60s: Most likely at one point in the past the SF/F editor of Heyne got told by management they had to run these adverts so the books could make some money back, and then they never revoked it afterwards. I know how company policies work. It would be something like that. Fans of course got used to it, if it gave them access to the books, why not? But it became more and more grating the more genre literature was accepted into mainstream. And then you actually had a bestseller author like Pratchett jump ship and go to the direct contender (Goldmann), just because one of these stupid stunts. I wonder how that actually was taken by the Heyne CEOs. Back then Pratchett was at the verge of becoming a star in Germany as well, so they lost him just when he was getting big. It might just have been a secondary thing, but I never saw one of these adverts in any novel published after '94. Edit: the old picture from Pyramids was broken, I replaced it with another one from Sourcery, this one even more tacky. So yes, there were multiple ones. Rate this: Share this: * Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) * Click to print (Opens in new window) * Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) * Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) * Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) * Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) * Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) * Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) * Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) * Like this: Like Loading... Related Stuff Books, Goldmann, Iain Banks, Maggi, Publishing, science fiction , Soup, Star Trek, Terry Pratchett - Spam, bacon, sausage and spam [One Page Dungeon] Feedback - 11 responses to "Terry Pratchett and the Maggi Soup Adverts" 1. Pingback: Pratchett, Terry: The Discworld | humanitysdarkerside 2. [aae4]judgedeadd March 15, 2015 at 11:42 pm The picture is broken... (Though can still be found through the Internet Archive Wayback Machine) LikeLike Reply 3. Pingback: Pixel Scroll 9/30/21 We've Replaced Their Files With Scroller's Pixels. Let's See If Anyone Notices | File 770 4. [910d]Alex October 1, 2021 at 8:23 pm I wonder if that was the inspiration for Dibbler's repeated attempts to insert obnoxious adverts into the clicks in Moving Pictures. LikeLiked by 1 person Reply 5. Pingback: The time Terry Pratchett's German publisher inserted a soup ad into his novel. 6. Pingback: #EeekClub2023 Notes and Errata - Pratchat 7. [d2f5]KAOS October 16, 2023 at 7:42 pm @gmkeros.wordpress.com I remember seeing this kind of ads in some books I got from the library in the nineties. Can't remember if I saw exactly that famous one in the Pratchett book, but it's possible. LikeLiked by 1 person Reply + [2bdf]Geoffrey October 17, 2023 at 5:03 pm I do remember them in Star Trek novels as well. LikeLike Reply 8. [e922]Grandalf with an R :kangaroo: October 17, 2023 at 9:36 am @gmkeros.wordpress.com Bloody hell! No wonder he walked. LikeLiked by 1 person Reply 9. [ad0b]MooMoo the Cat October 17, 2023 at 12:31 pm @gmkeros.wordpress.com I've never read anything by Terry Pratchett, though I've been meaning to. This makes me want to read him even more (right after I finish the N.K. Jemisin trilogy I'm listening to). LikeLiked by 1 person Reply 10. Pingback: 2:00PM Water Cooler 11/13/2023 | bare capitalism - Buku Baht Leave a Reply Cancel reply [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] D[ ] This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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All of a sudden a few thousand people have checked my blog again.Can't see where they are coming from though. * Untitled November 13, 2023 12:10 pm A Miscellany of Links pt. VIIIThought Loose Ends from Written Modules (Seed of Worlds) Surprising Surprise rules (Cave of the Dice Chucker) Hobgoblin Monks the Erasers of Afterlife Identity (I cast light!) Be a Creator, Not a Consumer (Grognardia) Dungeon Design Doors on 3d8 (Clerics Wear Ringmail) A Pattern to Arnesonian Dungeons? (Wanderer Bill's New Journal) Random Tables 100 Mundane Settlement Encounters (OSRVault) d100 - Tells for the Impavid Potion Taster (d4...https://gmkeros.wordpress.com/2023/11/ 13/a-miscellany-of-links-pt-viii/ * Untitled November 13, 2023 8:29 am What is it with blogs that don't display date tags? That feels like it's defeating the point of a #blog. * Untitled November 13, 2023 7:24 am did someone already make a list of federated #ttrpg blogs? I feel there's not really a good way of discovering them unless you come across exactly the right post at the right time. * Untitled November 13, 2023 6:14 am it has been some time since I had to get up at 5am to start working at 6.and that on the first day of the week. * Untitled November 12, 2023 9:02 pm About hooks from modulesChekovs Hooks III: Loose Ends from Written Moduleshttps://seedofworlds.blogspot.com/2023/11/ chekovs-hooks-iii-loose-ends-from.html#ttrpg #blogospherefind * Untitled November 12, 2023 8:55 pm Seems slightly too involved to be usefulDungeon Doors on 3d8https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/2023/11/ dungeon-doors-on-3d8.html#ttrpg #osr #blogospherefind * Untitled November 12, 2023 8:53 pm "Surprising" because despite the fact that Gary was the person who organized the #dnd / #adnd rules, he was only better at it than Arneson. He was not actually, you know, good at it.Cave of the Dice Chucker: How to Read the AD&D Rules: A Surprising rule about Encounter Distancehttp:// unfrozencavemandicechucker.blogspot.com/2023/11/ how-to-read-ad-rules-surprising-rule.html#ttrpg #osr # blogospherefind * Untitled November 12, 2023 8:15 pm [The Dark Eye] Retrospective: B13 Der Streuner soll sterbenLet's go through Das Schwarze Auge adventure B13 Der Streuner Soll Sterben (The Vagrant Shall Die) It has the secondary title Das Blutgericht von Thalusa (The Blood Court of Thalusa) which is one of the few times when both titles are equally evocative. Ok, let me preface this: I utterly adore this scenario, even though it has it's problems (dare I say it?https://gmkeros.wordpress.com/ 2023/11/12/ the-dark-eye-retrospective-b13-der-streuner-soll-sterben/ * Untitled November 12, 2023 6:35 pm playing some #Shadowrun right now. my DM was not convinced about my character. considering I made the character after another player claimed the SR3 prio system only can make cookie cutter characters that seems to be a logical outcome. of course part was a different view on how corporations work in SR, and another part was the character not being optimized enough. So I dunno. it was what I wanted. #ttrpg * Untitled November 11, 2023 10:23 pm [Worldbuilding] Goals and TenetsFlammarion Engraving I have been working on my own setting for a while now, and I even used it in a few short games already. But I maybe really should put down what I actually want from the campaign. So there will be a few posts where I will throw some stuff at the wall and check what sticks. Some of the elements are more rules ideas, some more setting ideas.https://gmkeros.wordpress.com/2023/11/11/ worldbuilding-goals-and-tenets/ * Untitled November 11, 2023 10:27 am There's an interesting question I came across earlier in the movie. Does the movie imply Rodan from 1956 is canon? In the beginning of the movie an older scientist directly recognizes Rodan (or Radon...) by name. Which implies that someone had seen the monster before.Which might make sense considering in the Heisei movies the original Gojira (1954) is canon.But considering the loosey goosey approach to continuity even the Heisei movies have that question still might be futile. * Untitled November 11, 2023 10:21 am Watching Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2 (1993) with the kids. The 4yo seems convinced these are kids movies. He's mostly concerned about when the baby godzillasaurus is finally united with papa godzilla.The 90s special effects look very old and charming by now. About the same way the 70s effects looked in the 90s.# godzilla #kaiju * Untitled November 10, 2023 11:38 pm Ah yes the evils wrought by... shop teachers.The Slaying of Joshua Sprague!https://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2023/11/ the-slaying-of-joshua-sprague.html#comic #horror * Untitled November 10, 2023 9:32 pm [Worldbuilding] More VanceDouglas, William Fettes -The Spell (1864) Here's a few ideas about Vancian magic in my setting: Magic is rare Wizards know they know only a tiny amount of the spells that their predecessors knew. Their response to this is typical wizard-like: they guard their existing spells even closer. Only the 1st level spells are easily available and commonly taught as the Canon of spellcraft.https:// gmkeros.wordpress.com/2023/11/10/worldbuilding-more-vance/ * Untitled November 10, 2023 10:59 am Our #Ikea has these puzzle like wooden street tiles in the toy section. They aren't fit for my purposes, but I was thinking if someone was running a modern/cyberpunk #ttrpg or #wargame in a smaller scale (e.g. 1/72 or 20mm) they might be useful. * Untitled November 9, 2023 10:19 pm DEVOTEES OF ORCUS: Hobgoblin Monks the Erasers of Afterlife Identityhttps://icastlight.blogspot.com/2023/11/ devotees-of-orcus-hobgoblin-monks.html#ttrpg #osr # blogospherefind * Untitled November 9, 2023 9:58 pm It's hard, even as a #Tolkien fanAntidepressants or Tolkienhttps: //antidepressantsortolkien.vercel.app/ * Untitled November 9, 2023 2:23 pm the best was that they clearly misspoke when they mentioned the blockchain, I think they tried to leave that particular word out of it as much as possible. the meeting invitation definitely does not mention anything about it.it basically was a glorified sales event for their own idea of making blockchain actually useful, just for company internals. * Untitled November 9, 2023 2:18 pm just was in a presentation about a new project some people in my company are doing. to be fair it's a huge company.blablablayeah but what do you do?blablablawho are you guys even? blablablockchainblaah. got it, half an hour of my life wasted. Fediverse Followers * [mp] Val de l'Isle / @valdelisle * [cebf] HaQadosch / @tave_udayan * [01b4] Volonax / @volonax * [mp] moonboy / @moonboy * [0b87] Engor / @Engor * [ad65] Brandon Webster / @bwebster * [1a6e] Sea of Stars / @SeaofStars * [dc2b] Malin / @malin * [697a] Ryuno-Ki / @RyunoKi * [561b] Unexplainable / @unexplainable 11 responses to "Terry Pratchett and the Maggi Soup Adverts" 1. Pratchett, Terry: The Discworld | humanitysdarkerside Avatar Pratchett, Terry: The Discworld | humanitysdarkerside August 10, 2014 [...] Terry Pratchett and the Maggi Soup Adverts [...] LikeLike Reply 2. judgedeadd Avatar judgedeadd March 15, 2015 The picture is broken... (Though can still be found through the Internet Archive Wayback Machine) LikeLike Reply 3. Pixel Scroll 9/30/21 We've Replaced Their Files With Scroller's Pixels. Let's See If Anyone Notices | File 770 October 1, 2021 [...] his German publisher because they inserted a soup advert into the text of one of his novels. "Terry Pratchett and the Maggi Soup Adverts" at Stuffed [...] LikeLike Reply 4. Alex Avatar Alex October 1, 2021 I wonder if that was the inspiration for Dibbler's repeated attempts to insert obnoxious adverts into the clicks in Moving Pictures. LikeLike Reply 5. The time Terry Pratchett's German publisher inserted a soup ad into his novel. October 5, 2021 [...] Apparently the reason beloved sci-fi writer Terry Pratchett left his German publisher back in the early 90s was because they inserted an ad for Maggi soup into a scene he'd written! (Without his permission, obviously.) According to Pratchett: [...] LikeLike Reply 6. #EeekClub2023 Notes and Errata - Pratchat Avatar #EeekClub2023 Notes and Errata - Pratchat May 25, 2023 [...] inserted extra page, either - they added text to the book to give context to the Maggi logo! This post on the Stuffed Crocodile blog has a good summary of the whole palaver, including a picture of an affected copy of Sourcery. Pratchett wasn't singled out for this [...] LikeLike Reply 7. KAOS Avatar KAOS October 16, 2023 @gmkeros.wordpress.com I remember seeing this kind of ads in some books I got from the library in the nineties. Can't remember if I saw exactly that famous one in the Pratchett book, but it's possible. LikeLike Reply 1. Geoffrey Avatar Geoffrey October 17, 2023 I do remember them in Star Trek novels as well. LikeLike Reply 8. Grandalf with an R :kangaroo: Avatar Grandalf with an R :kangaroo: October 17, 2023 @gmkeros.wordpress.com Bloody hell! No wonder he walked. LikeLike Reply 9. MooMoo the Cat Avatar MooMoo the Cat October 17, 2023 @gmkeros.wordpress.com I've never read anything by Terry Pratchett, though I've been meaning to. This makes me want to read him even more (right after I finish the N.K. Jemisin trilogy I'm listening to). LikeLike Reply 10. 2:00PM Water Cooler 11/13/2023 | bare capitalism - Buku Baht November 13, 2023 [...] Pratchett and the Maggi Soup Adverts" [Stuffed Crocodile]. Pratchett: "There have been a lot of causes for switching to Goldmann, however a deeply private [...] LikeLike Reply | Top Blog at WordPress.com. * Comment * Follow Following + [croppe] Stuffed Crocodile Join 48 other followers [ ] Sign me up + Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now. * + [croppe] Stuffed Crocodile + Customize + Follow Following + Sign up + Log in + Copy shortlink + Report this content + View post in Reader + Manage subscriptions + Collapse this bar %d bloggers like this: [b]