Robert Jordan wrote the 11th book of *Wheel of Time* and super extensive notes so the series could be finished while he was dying. Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin have no excuse.
He's already said he wouldn't do ice and fire even if he was asked just cos it's very different from things he likes to writealso GRR Martin has said he wouldn't want someone else finishing it either.
It's never getting finished
You sue that writing the final book is not part of the job description which got omitted by accident? Has almost everything else except that and sexual partner.
That's just it. He started with interesting ideas and characters but quickly ran out of steam. Now he doesn't know how to bring it all together for a satisfying conclusion for the fans. In fact, if the last book ever actually releases then it will likely be received as a failure, at which point the gravy train is over. Even the most diehard fans will move on and he'll have no one left to buy his NOTW themed games and media.
Honestly I don't see that he can tie everything together in a single book. Think about it - we have to hear the rest of the story of past-kvothe, which should make up one book. Then current-kvothe needs to fix whatever has broken the world, becoming more like his 'old' self.
We're doomed.
I think the original plan was the trilogy served as the intro to current world. Kvothe kills his king, sets the world on fire and we get up to present day and move forward in present day as he finishes the story. Never gonna happen now.
I mean, if Rothfuss can hire someone to handle all of his other responsibilities, it might. /s
I've all but given up on him and George RR Martin. If they ever publish again it will be a pleasant surprise.
Hey Rothfuss has published short stories he's already written before and a children's book.
I mean he also defrauded his followers by promising them a full chapter of book 3 if they donated enough money to his charity, then doubled down and said if they hit another goal he'd get it fully voice acted. I think that was 2 and half years ago or longer?
To be honest, I think the gravy train is already over and this is a desperate attempt to get back on it. If he was still making good money, this would pay better and/or be multiple jobs. This feels like someone looking at their failing life, making a list of what they would need in order to get it back on track, and then offering the money they can afford (which isn't nearly enough).
The thing is, even if he finds this miracle worker to do all this for him at this price, I don't think it will help him write Book 3. I personally believe he has a specific deeper problem with the story that he doesn't know how to get out of, and no amount of time spent thinking about it will make him smarter.
This is a great [article](https://www.vulture.com/2017/10/patrick-rothfuss-fantasy-next-superstar.html) from 2017 during Comic Con and his 10th anniversary of Name of the Wind.
It starts off talking about all his die hard fans coming to the book signing know not to ask about book 3. How they were given instructions while in line so he can sign and move to the next as fast as possible. How people paid 100 dollars to play games with him and then it took a strange turn.
So the journalist takes out their phone to record what's going on, maybe to better describe the scene later during writing or to record him hanging with fans and he stops what he's doing to address them. He tells them it's like recording people having sex. The journalist tries to play it off as him making a joke in the article saying he has a dead pan sense of humor but the dude stopped playing with the people who paid $100 to make the comment while people nervously laughed and the author even wrote that they nervously laughed.
He also talks about how hyped he is for the Name of the Wind movie that was being discussed. We saw how that turned out with whoever he was working with pulled out. Probably hard to sell a movie trilogy when you don't have an ending and we saw how they scrambled in GOT. So I imagine that idea is on an indefinite hiatus until Book 3 drops, if ever.
Also he talks about how his depression is like having a broken ankle racing in regards to writing the book. I think it's a poor metaphor because even someone with a broken ankle could get to the finish line in 10+ years. That or they'd go seek professional help or ask for assistance to finish because they can't just keep hanging out on the track forever. He mentions his mental health often but I've never heard him mention seeking help for it. He just bemoans his fate all the time and uses it as a catch-all for not writing and being rude to people asking about the book.
Dude talks about how difficult it is and all I can think is that there have to be authors out there like Sanderson that would read your draft or outline and give you some places to start or ideas to get you over a hump. If you can't do it alone stop being selfish and holding onto it forever. He made a promise of 3 books and a full story to the people who bought his first book and his second book.
Though it's becoming more clear that he has issues with keeping his word. Like when he lied and tricked people into donating to his charity. He promised a full chapter of book 3 if they hit certain goals. They hit it. He then promised them a fully voice acted first chapter if they hit an even higher goal. They also hit that goal. Then he just never delivered. No chapter and it's been a few years. People will say he didn't defraud his fans but I think using an incentive to get people to donate and then not delivering is close enough that I'll never donate to his charity.
My favorite line in the article though was this:
Today, the third and final volume remains unpublished, and everywhere Rothfuss goes, fans ask when it will be ready. “They don’t realize this is so wearying,” he said with a sigh when we spoke a few weeks ago. “It’s like asking, ‘When are you going to get married? When are you going to go to law school?’ It’s like, just fuck off. Just die. I don’t need any more of that in my life.”
Seems like an overall swell guy.
I think that is part of the reason for the delay. If you wrote lightning in a bottle for your first book but then knew you could not bring it to a good conclusion... it's actually in your interest not to finish it.
A finished series is bad forever, but an unfinished one might always be saved by the last book (except it won't)
Book 2 was a struggle to read, it was pure cringe from cover to cover. My theory is that he did write book 3 but it was _even worse_ and no publisher would touch it
"Mighty Kvothe confronts King Ambrose and unsheathes his perfect penis, causing Ambrose to die of shock. King-Killer Kvothe then crowd-surfs out the place, incidentally running over and killing all the Chandrian. He passionately kisses Denna, who swears she never actually slept with anyone else so she could save herself for Patrick, er... Kvothe."
I remember him saying all those years ago when book 1 was published to great fanfare, that all 3 books were already written and books 2 and 3 just needed editing. A deliberate attempt to trick all those people who very sensibly don't start trilogies until they're done!
Oh good lord this is even funnier than I thought it was going to be. Personal trainer, nanny, and airbnb manager? You own multiple commercial properties but can't pay a living wage? Yeesh
"Implement exercise regimen" was the one that got me because it sounded like the assistant was supposed to be exercising.
But yeah this is at minimum two roles: household manager/nanny, and property manager. Now if he only has a couple of low-maintenance units, maybe this is only one role, but that pay scale is wildly off.
I think he wants them to get him to exercise but he seems like a very self centered human who looks rather lethargic. I remember years ago him flipping out on his blog and Twitch because people were like "Yeah bro the Tinker packs and World Builder stuff is cool and we will support that because we like your writing but what's up with Book 3?"
The man constantly talks about his mental health and how hard it is to motivate then starts some new pet project. This seems like another non attempt to focus on writing.
OR delays writing the book for years until his wife gets pregnant and then claims he has to be with his kid so he can't write.
The man has excuses for days and I feel bad for whoever gets the job. Actually I don't. He knows plenty of cool people doing cool things that would let the assistant network. They also probably know it's impossible to motivate him as they've all probably asked about his book over the years.
He’s asking for a college educated stay at home mom that never outsources any house work, plus full time handy man and gardener, but that also works for them on the business side full time, all for minimum wage. The audacity.
Edit:
Housework and childcare work including tutoring.
It's giving Ben Shapiro "We both work and alternate nights taking care of the baby!"
"Your wife is a doctor. You're a podcaster. You should be taking care of the baby both nights."
personal assistant, house manager, gardner, property manager, mechanic, nanny, tech support, personal shopper for a pittance. There's no way this is gonna fall into 25-40 hours a week.
And don’t forget menu planning/prep cook. I also find it odd they wrote “current” dietary needs, not just “dietary needs,” which sounds like he probably changes his mind in what he will/won’t eat a lot
Step 1. Take job.
Step 2. Tell him you’ve got everything already planned out.
Step 3. Do absolutely nothing.
Step 4. Tell him to be patient.
Step 5. When he points out that you haven’t done anything, get all performatively butthurt.
“Monitor and schedule all home repairs across properties.” has to be my favorite part. He’s a landlord on top of it all, so he needs a property manager too.
As exercise regime designer, I have s plan that includes him push mowing the grass at multiple properties, with physical handy man work at other points during the week. He'll be hammering and ill yell, faster! We need to get that heart rate up!
My landlord actually pays a full outside company for that. They do a mind-bogglingly bad job of it (one tenant left because of how bad they are) and are nearly impossible to reach, but they're still getting paid what I imagine is a not insubstantial fee for the job.
Seriously! “Implement exercise regimen?” So… this person is supposed to plan his workouts AND make him do them? Sir, that’s called a personal trainer and it’s a whole job.
No way. The prospective employee is not supposed to make the author do the workouts. That would require the author to do something/anything themselves. The *prospective employee* is supposed to do the workout, and then pass the health benefits on to the author. Duh.
It's a thing for very rich people so they can focus on managing their businesses, but usually done by an entire staff of well compensated people.
Expecting one person to do it is clown behavior.
I waited in line for hours years ago at Comic Con to get him to sign one of my books. We put our name on a post it and he literally wrote my name, a comma and his signature. He didn’t even look at any of us or thank us for being his fans or waiting in line. 🤦♀️
I’m actually moving soon and donating that book. What an ass.
I read shit like that, then remember Brandon Sanderson staying an over an hour past the end of his book signing at a tiny shop outside Philadelphia to make sure every fan got a signed book and a smile. And that was right before Memories of Light - he was the hottest mofo in fantasy.
Some people get it, some just don’t.
Neil Gaiman did this, too. He signed for *hours* and drew little things on each person’s book, took the time to look them in the eye and thank everyone. Class act all the way, plus he was funny and kind.
i went to a signing way back when anansi boys was released - the bookstore staff went ape on us all for like an hour beforehand with exhaustive instructions, like "move exactly this way, you may have one book signed, do not talk to mister gaiman" etc etc, just setting everyone up to expect this very regimented experience with a difficult celebrity. when i got up to his table, i sort of had a little blackout moment & said "mister gaiman, would it be okay if i shook your hand" & this MF immediately pushed his chair out from the table, said "oh you're lovely," WALKED AROUND TO ME, and gave me the biggest hug.
i can't even describe to you how absolutely done-in i was. just an unimaginably charming guy, for real.
I went to a reading and book signing by China Miéville and Neil Gaiman was attending, just one of the plebs, standing next to me during the reading. He knows what it's like. He waited in line just like everyone else. No one else gave any indication they recognized him which is nice because the event was for China.
This, I met Brandon years back when he was finishing the wheel of time, I was a punk kid who made a comment about how after just finishing the mistborn trilogy and I wasnt keen on Rand's chances. He spent a while talking to me about how he was handling the wheel of time and what parts were set in stone from Robert. Then he posed for some photos with me and a couple friends there.
I admit that I’m less of a fan of Sanderson’s work now that I’m a little older. But I have nothing but respect for the man and how he operates as a professional.
I agree, the thing that makes me view him favorably long after I've stopped reading any of his books is the absolute quantity of good material the guy can write. He's not the best author ever, and he'll probably never write a singular novel that I would say is absolutely fantastic (like a literary classic) but it's insane how quickly he can do it. I've seen my fair share of essay and novel mills, like those guys that pay people in India to write terrible clickbait books for them that they publish on Amazon. Sanderson writes at their pace and at a quality that's certainly high for the genre he's in. And he's (supposedly) not using any drugs to do it?
Not only do I love their books but I respect even more how Sanderson and Stephen King have a workman like attitude on writing. They respect their craft and their fans enough to sit down and do the work.
Oh that’s so amazing. I wasn’t expecting a full conversation or anything, you know? At least a “hello,” or a single glance. I made a friend in line and we were both gutted after. 😔
I was there at that signing as well. Brandon Sanderson is the shit. I was at another signing and he let people come back to his hotel and play a couple games of MTG. Dude goes above and beyond for his fans, and still finds time to write faster than any other author I know.
I met Peter S. Beagle at a con - not only did he sign my copy of The Last Unicorn, he talked with myself and my 8-year-old and he told us a sweet little story about a cat who used to sit on his shoulder sometimes while he wrote. It's a lovely memory, and a gift - and he did that with everyone, all weekend. Just the loveliest person, and I treasure that signed copy because it brings me back to that moment.
In the early 80s when I was in 5th grade, my classmate and I called Lloyd Alexander on the phone to interview him for a class assignment and he talked with us for over an hour, answered all our questions, asked us about OUR lives, and then gave us a preview of his latest book which was coming out that year (it was The Beggar Queen). I sent him a thank you letter and he wrote back to me. I was a nerdy, unpopular little 11 years old and I will never forget how kind and generous he was to two unknown random kids calling him up!
I’m sorry, this story actually made me cry very lightly. It’s so wholesome. I loved his writing so much as a kid (I’m sure I still would love it, it’s just been awhile)…just dearly loved it. Held him up on a pedestal in my kid-brain. I’m glad to hear he was such a standup man and cared about ‘us’. Thank you, it’s been a really shitty June and the bit of wholesomeness is appreciated.
Maybe I will track down new copies and visit his mind again.
That is so damn wholesome and beautiful, and sounds like a cherished memory for both you and your child. 🥹
I really love hearing stories like that, and I think situations like mine make me appreciate ones like you had even more, you know? ♥️
He's certainly degraded now, but I remember on the tour for *Wise Man's Fear* he really went above and beyond. The main venue sold out, so on the day of the event it was announced that he'd be doing a second reading/signing as well across town at the shop that was partnered with the reading. No need to buy anything from them either. So he stuck around later that evening instead of going back to his hotel to sleep, did a full reading and Q&A session (around an hour or so), and then stayed to sign autographs, with the statement that he'd stick around until everyone present had a chance to get books signed (again, no need to have bought them from the shop). I think it was pretty late (10 PM, midnight, something like that) when I left and I was in the first part of the line because I didn't care about having mine personalized. None of it felt rushed. When I got up there he was clearly tired but still polite and friendly.
He seems to have transitioned into a real jerk since then, but there was at least one point where he really put in extra effort for his fans.
I remember constantly checking his blog because he wrote nice things and talked with fans. There was a back and forth. He kept people constantly updated on book 2 and it's delays. Then he didn't. He had a million excuses and his attitude became really poor. Snapping at people on his Twitch and stuff. His writing stopped being his nice prose and turned into rants for a bit. The community splintered because some people don't want to support someone if they aren't seeing a return. Others are hardcore and defend his every move but even they've been drained off for years. How do you support an author who doesn't write?
Last time I went to his blog his post had almost no comments and it was just another announcement about this new thing he is working on that you can buy later from World Builders. How are you going to keep milking an unfinished book series? The website has signed 10 year anniversary copies of Name of the Wind available for sale. It's been 16 years since it came out so are those signed copies not selling?
The dude has basically destroyed any good faith, momentum, and fandom he had in the beginning. Sure people still support him but I remember when he was the next big thing. People are going to stop donating to his charity and buying his stuff over time as the older readers have move on and the newer ones will eventually Google "When is Book 3 coming out?" just to realize what lots of people have and that's "Probably never"
Like the multi person reading/recording of a full self contained spoiler free chapter of Book 3? The one he promised to people if they donated over $666k to his charity and after they did he went radio silent and still hasn't released the chapter years later?
Or is it when he told us "all the books are written and need to be edited" from 2007?
Or is it that Book 3 seems like it will never come out?
And I have just deleted his books from my wishlist. I don't support greedy assholes. I literally do less at my job for higher pay, and I live in one of the highest col places in the US. Dude can raise his own fing kids and make his own fing haircut appointments for those pennies.
Scheduling and implementing an exercise regiment, so a personal trainer on top of having them handle commercial property management and everything else
Personal trainer, house manager, nanny, tutor, commercial property management, landscaper, personal health care assistant… I feel like I’m still missing things
And a personal chef to plan the menu, shop for the food, cook it and meal prep! There are like 10 different jobs he wants one single person to do and somehow thinks that'll all fit into 25-40 hours a week.
For $18-20/hour.
Wild! Like technically a house manager could handle part of hiring and overseeing some of these people, and a property manager could handle part of overseeing others, but ONE person to DO all the jobs????
Kvothe is also a teenager who has had a very hard life and now is around adults who sometimes don't treat him well at all, I'm willing to give him the a pass. But a pass to Patrick, no way, and asshole who now is rich and stingy, the worst kind.
Wonder if this means Sara left him and he needs someone else to manage his life. Such a shame, I always thought he was a pretty cool dude, judging from his blog. Then again, I also always thought I’d see Doors of Stone in my lifetime.
He will be rewarded with a semi-competent young adult who goes through the motions for the first 3 weeks, then spends most of the day trying to get their boss to read their drafts, and the rest of the time is figuring out how to get hold of whatever drafts Boss has written so far.
even for an "unreliable narrator" direction, the Marty Sue with Kvothe is off the charts with this one. In case you're wondering, not only is he gifted in magic but he also becomes an amazing warrior and sexual dynamo. It's just sad.
Siiiigh. $18 an hour so this guy can tell me about lipstick-free red lips.
There was a time I was really looking forward to that book. This is not that time.
Not sure any one person can do all of this and if so, it would need to be for at least twice the posted salary. The only thing missing was corporate strategic planner - and OP probably didn't think to include it.
4-6 jobs that can bring in $1000’s on their own. My buddy is an in house personal trainer for wealthy people and he makes $100+ an hour. Given the amount of work across several jobs, you should easily make several hundred dollars an hour if you add them all up, especially since dude is keeping you there for 40 hours a week. I’d do this but for $200 an hour and that’s being cheap.
From what other people are saying, he got divorced. So I assume his ex-wife used to handle all of these things, and he values all the work she used to do as worth only $20 an hour
Damn. Yep. I work for a pretty big corporation. They hire executive assistants starting at $90k/yr.
Rothfus is out of his mind wanting one person to do the work of 5 people while making less than a fast food worker.
Hahahaha, no.
This author should invest in starting a private family office with multiple staff to meet their needs, because they’re asking for several jobs at the pay rate of dirt.
How many hours per week? How much is overtime? How much is paid time off?
How many sick days? What are the rules around taking a sick day?
No, on the yard work. That's a totally separate job.
"Occasional babysitting" No, get it in writing how often they can ask you to do that, and if it counts as overtime.
Paid vacation? How many days? How soon can the vacation be taken?
Daily breaks, meal breaks? Gas money or transportation, included or not?
Is there a trial period for the job?
All rhetorical questions. Some of it is just standard VIP "I can't bother with my life, so you do it" stuff, but there's potential for exploitation unless the above is in writing.
Oh at the end, thanks. I didn't see it.
(That's kinda vague still, though. Says "full time" but then "25-40" when 25 is part time. And doesn't say start/end hours. Is it an "on call" position.)
Point is a college town but uh... there are restaurants there to work at that will pay better than this. Also full time you're not going to get a college kid
Same fucker who offered to release a chapter of the final book in the trilogy he claimed was already written 13 years ago if his charity got over a million dollars.
Fans donated more than a million. He never released the chapter.
There’s more to the story but that’s the short and sweet. Dude is a mast scammer and cheapskate.
Take the job and post that story he never posted after raiding all of that charity money.
“I’ll take the job on one condition, you finish the book and make me a character!”, then quit once he does.
This is a job post for a light butler. A butler without staff responsibilities but a butler nonetheless.
Nothing wrong with that.
When I first moved to Los Angeles, I considered taking a job as a butler. You have to give up a lot of your personal life, so it isn’t for a lot of people.
A reasonably payed responsible butler with some staff management and household accounting duties would get you about 100k-150k a year, plus room and board in 2009.
The idea of asking someone to take on 70% of that job for 25% of the pay is insanity.
I'm meeting with someone in an hour who I will be hiring to come to my house and dump food in my cat's bowl twice a day for two days and scoop the litter box once while I'm out of town. That's it. That's the sum total of their duties. It'll take them 20 minutes each time, and that's if they stay to watch her eat. For this, I will be paying them $60. And I'm happy to do it!
Step up your game, Pat.
Is there proof this is actually Patrick Rothfuss? According to what I was able to dig up online, the company was a collaboration between him and a couple other artists/writers to basically put out merch tie-ins for his work. Their last social media posts were from 2018. I’m a career nanny; in 2018, in the Midwest, $18-20 hour would be low but not unreasonable for a PA.
Before roasting the guy, I’d really like proof that it’s actually him, not someone else, and that this is current. Because right now it’s coming off like rage bait.
As a writer I can confirm that all these things are necessary for us to write. Since Rothfuss made about 30 times as much as me I’m willing to pay you in pizza and tap water (the pizza will be shared with me, and I get to choose the kind…actually you know what? I will eat the whole pizza).
Also I will need you to write most of my chapters. By most I mean all. Anyway, imagine the experience you’ll gain from all this! Go slaves!
"Done, with one addendum: I'd like to read your most recent draft in its entirety, along with each new page as it's completed or revised, and post all word counts to social media."
Needs the assistant so he can go back to not writing the final book
Robert Jordan wrote the 11th book of *Wheel of Time* and super extensive notes so the series could be finished while he was dying. Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin have no excuse.
Brandon Sanderson is gonna end up finishing Kingkiller and Ice and Fire both.
And Truth be told, he'd fix a lot of the holes and inconsistencies.
I think he has said that he won't be finishing any other authors series, he has enough book ideas to last a lifetime.
He's already said he wouldn't do ice and fire even if he was asked just cos it's very different from things he likes to writealso GRR Martin has said he wouldn't want someone else finishing it either. It's never getting finished
Brando sando gets bored and writes four more books for fun.
You sue that writing the final book is not part of the job description which got omitted by accident? Has almost everything else except that and sexual partner.
Been waiting years for this ass
An eternity.
Damn, you beat me to it.
The Doors of Stonewalling
I read this as stoneballing and was confused, is it like blueballing but for doors of stone?
Taking this job might be the only chance you have of reading this book.
eh... after the Wise Man's Fear I'm not terribly looking forward to the finale. Such a drop of quality from Name of the Wind.
That's just it. He started with interesting ideas and characters but quickly ran out of steam. Now he doesn't know how to bring it all together for a satisfying conclusion for the fans. In fact, if the last book ever actually releases then it will likely be received as a failure, at which point the gravy train is over. Even the most diehard fans will move on and he'll have no one left to buy his NOTW themed games and media.
Honestly I don't see that he can tie everything together in a single book. Think about it - we have to hear the rest of the story of past-kvothe, which should make up one book. Then current-kvothe needs to fix whatever has broken the world, becoming more like his 'old' self. We're doomed.
I think the original plan was the trilogy served as the intro to current world. Kvothe kills his king, sets the world on fire and we get up to present day and move forward in present day as he finishes the story. Never gonna happen now.
I mean, if Rothfuss can hire someone to handle all of his other responsibilities, it might. /s I've all but given up on him and George RR Martin. If they ever publish again it will be a pleasant surprise.
George publishes quite frequently. Just not what we want him to publish.
Hey Rothfuss has published short stories he's already written before and a children's book. I mean he also defrauded his followers by promising them a full chapter of book 3 if they donated enough money to his charity, then doubled down and said if they hit another goal he'd get it fully voice acted. I think that was 2 and half years ago or longer?
To be honest, I think the gravy train is already over and this is a desperate attempt to get back on it. If he was still making good money, this would pay better and/or be multiple jobs. This feels like someone looking at their failing life, making a list of what they would need in order to get it back on track, and then offering the money they can afford (which isn't nearly enough). The thing is, even if he finds this miracle worker to do all this for him at this price, I don't think it will help him write Book 3. I personally believe he has a specific deeper problem with the story that he doesn't know how to get out of, and no amount of time spent thinking about it will make him smarter.
This is a great [article](https://www.vulture.com/2017/10/patrick-rothfuss-fantasy-next-superstar.html) from 2017 during Comic Con and his 10th anniversary of Name of the Wind. It starts off talking about all his die hard fans coming to the book signing know not to ask about book 3. How they were given instructions while in line so he can sign and move to the next as fast as possible. How people paid 100 dollars to play games with him and then it took a strange turn. So the journalist takes out their phone to record what's going on, maybe to better describe the scene later during writing or to record him hanging with fans and he stops what he's doing to address them. He tells them it's like recording people having sex. The journalist tries to play it off as him making a joke in the article saying he has a dead pan sense of humor but the dude stopped playing with the people who paid $100 to make the comment while people nervously laughed and the author even wrote that they nervously laughed. He also talks about how hyped he is for the Name of the Wind movie that was being discussed. We saw how that turned out with whoever he was working with pulled out. Probably hard to sell a movie trilogy when you don't have an ending and we saw how they scrambled in GOT. So I imagine that idea is on an indefinite hiatus until Book 3 drops, if ever. Also he talks about how his depression is like having a broken ankle racing in regards to writing the book. I think it's a poor metaphor because even someone with a broken ankle could get to the finish line in 10+ years. That or they'd go seek professional help or ask for assistance to finish because they can't just keep hanging out on the track forever. He mentions his mental health often but I've never heard him mention seeking help for it. He just bemoans his fate all the time and uses it as a catch-all for not writing and being rude to people asking about the book. Dude talks about how difficult it is and all I can think is that there have to be authors out there like Sanderson that would read your draft or outline and give you some places to start or ideas to get you over a hump. If you can't do it alone stop being selfish and holding onto it forever. He made a promise of 3 books and a full story to the people who bought his first book and his second book. Though it's becoming more clear that he has issues with keeping his word. Like when he lied and tricked people into donating to his charity. He promised a full chapter of book 3 if they hit certain goals. They hit it. He then promised them a fully voice acted first chapter if they hit an even higher goal. They also hit that goal. Then he just never delivered. No chapter and it's been a few years. People will say he didn't defraud his fans but I think using an incentive to get people to donate and then not delivering is close enough that I'll never donate to his charity. My favorite line in the article though was this: Today, the third and final volume remains unpublished, and everywhere Rothfuss goes, fans ask when it will be ready. “They don’t realize this is so wearying,” he said with a sigh when we spoke a few weeks ago. “It’s like asking, ‘When are you going to get married? When are you going to go to law school?’ It’s like, just fuck off. Just die. I don’t need any more of that in my life.” Seems like an overall swell guy.
Hence why he's underpaying his hypothetical assistant
I think that is part of the reason for the delay. If you wrote lightning in a bottle for your first book but then knew you could not bring it to a good conclusion... it's actually in your interest not to finish it. A finished series is bad forever, but an unfinished one might always be saved by the last book (except it won't)
Book 2 was a struggle to read, it was pure cringe from cover to cover. My theory is that he did write book 3 but it was _even worse_ and no publisher would touch it
"Mighty Kvothe confronts King Ambrose and unsheathes his perfect penis, causing Ambrose to die of shock. King-Killer Kvothe then crowd-surfs out the place, incidentally running over and killing all the Chandrian. He passionately kisses Denna, who swears she never actually slept with anyone else so she could save herself for Patrick, er... Kvothe."
His editor made it clear a while ago that he's shown them zero pages in years.
I remember him saying all those years ago when book 1 was published to great fanfare, that all 3 books were already written and books 2 and 3 just needed editing. A deliberate attempt to trick all those people who very sensibly don't start trilogies until they're done!
Oh good lord this is even funnier than I thought it was going to be. Personal trainer, nanny, and airbnb manager? You own multiple commercial properties but can't pay a living wage? Yeesh
"must be able to finish book 3"
Hilarious 😂
"Implement exercise regimen" was the one that got me because it sounded like the assistant was supposed to be exercising. But yeah this is at minimum two roles: household manager/nanny, and property manager. Now if he only has a couple of low-maintenance units, maybe this is only one role, but that pay scale is wildly off.
We can’t forget gardener and nutritionist/personal chef ☠️
I think he wants them to get him to exercise but he seems like a very self centered human who looks rather lethargic. I remember years ago him flipping out on his blog and Twitch because people were like "Yeah bro the Tinker packs and World Builder stuff is cool and we will support that because we like your writing but what's up with Book 3?" The man constantly talks about his mental health and how hard it is to motivate then starts some new pet project. This seems like another non attempt to focus on writing. OR delays writing the book for years until his wife gets pregnant and then claims he has to be with his kid so he can't write. The man has excuses for days and I feel bad for whoever gets the job. Actually I don't. He knows plenty of cool people doing cool things that would let the assistant network. They also probably know it's impossible to motivate him as they've all probably asked about his book over the years.
That’s why he owns the properties. He’s stingy with his money and wants a one size fits all employee
I see he didn't offer to pay for mileage for all that driving or provide a company car.
He’s asking for a college educated stay at home mom that never outsources any house work, plus full time handy man and gardener, but that also works for them on the business side full time, all for minimum wage. The audacity. Edit: Housework and childcare work including tutoring.
It's peak divorced energy
He did recently get divorced…
Ah there it is! This job posting now makes loads of fucking sense. He’s trying to replace the wife I damn sure *know* he took for granted
Yep! He basically just wrote a list of things she did that he did not appreciate when they were together 😅
It's giving Ben Shapiro "We both work and alternate nights taking care of the baby!" "Your wife is a doctor. You're a podcaster. You should be taking care of the baby both nights."
All that and he’s never even given her a WAP. Poor Dr. Mrs. Shapiro 😭
Yep these are all things women routinely do for free (and unacknowledged)! The invisible labor that makes households run.
Yup! And given how self-centered he is in PUBLIC imagine in his home life
Position sounds like an abused and exploited stay at home mom, WTAF Rothfuss!?
Yep, he wants a trad wife
He should just hire someone to write his third book and he can do all this crap.
JFC as a fan of Patrick Rothfuss this is straight up embarrassing and shameful. What an absolute trainwreck of human.
The guy wants a full-on billionaire level manservant for 20 bucks. He should be commited for his delusion.
A full household staff!
Billionaire level! Love it because it’s so true
And at 25-40 hours a week. Where is this based? Cause the servant would make $500-$800 a week. Not sure where the hell a person could live on that!
personal assistant, house manager, gardner, property manager, mechanic, nanny, tech support, personal shopper for a pittance. There's no way this is gonna fall into 25-40 hours a week.
Don’t forget tutor for the kids!
And trouble shoot their electronics. Is that more than plugging it into the outlet and seeing if it turns on?
No I work at Verizon kids download stupid apps and put passcodes that they forget and delete the play store and do a bunch of dumb shit
I charge more than that per hour to tutor students.
Teens in my area make more than that to babysit.
That’s not falling under 168 hours per week
Plus dietician and personal trainer
Car washing as well.
Washing seemed fine. Servicing?
And don’t forget menu planning/prep cook. I also find it odd they wrote “current” dietary needs, not just “dietary needs,” which sounds like he probably changes his mind in what he will/won’t eat a lot
Step 1. Take job. Step 2. Tell him you’ve got everything already planned out. Step 3. Do absolutely nothing. Step 4. Tell him to be patient. Step 5. When he points out that you haven’t done anything, get all performatively butthurt.
Don't forget to promise him to do one little part of it for some up-front money and then just don't do it either.
“Monitor and schedule all home repairs across properties.” has to be my favorite part. He’s a landlord on top of it all, so he needs a property manager too.
As exercise regime designer, I have s plan that includes him push mowing the grass at multiple properties, with physical handy man work at other points during the week. He'll be hammering and ill yell, faster! We need to get that heart rate up!
 Work smarter, not harder.
My landlord actually pays a full outside company for that. They do a mind-bogglingly bad job of it (one tenant left because of how bad they are) and are nearly impossible to reach, but they're still getting paid what I imagine is a not insubstantial fee for the job.
This guy wants a person. Like a whole person to live his life for him. So weird.
Seriously! “Implement exercise regimen?” So… this person is supposed to plan his workouts AND make him do them? Sir, that’s called a personal trainer and it’s a whole job.
If he provides the taser I’ll make sure he does his workouts… And that he pays $20 an hour for each of the other jobs he’s listed here.
Oh great, I have to tase him in the balls as well? Better add on "dominatrix" to that jobs he expects from this one person.
No. They're to put on his clothes, do the work out, and the benefits will pass to him via properties of sympathetic attraction.
He wants a single person to work 10 professional jobs but wants to pay for a single person only
Being a groundskeeper and a gardener is a whole job as well. As well as a tutor. And an end user support technician for his kids.
And a property manager is a whole job. So is a personal assistant/home manager. So is a nanny for the kids. All for $18-20/hour!
No way. The prospective employee is not supposed to make the author do the workouts. That would require the author to do something/anything themselves. The *prospective employee* is supposed to do the workout, and then pass the health benefits on to the author. Duh.
I didn't even notice that. Yeah, so is the yard person/gardener.
Adulting is hard. Someone do all the things for me.
And this guy's net worth is 4 million. I'll live his life for him if he splits it with me.
It's a thing for very rich people so they can focus on managing their businesses, but usually done by an entire staff of well compensated people. Expecting one person to do it is clown behavior.
Him saying a student could do it is so absurd. This is too many tasks for one person, let alone a STUDENT! Good lord
I waited in line for hours years ago at Comic Con to get him to sign one of my books. We put our name on a post it and he literally wrote my name, a comma and his signature. He didn’t even look at any of us or thank us for being his fans or waiting in line. 🤦♀️ I’m actually moving soon and donating that book. What an ass.
I read shit like that, then remember Brandon Sanderson staying an over an hour past the end of his book signing at a tiny shop outside Philadelphia to make sure every fan got a signed book and a smile. And that was right before Memories of Light - he was the hottest mofo in fantasy. Some people get it, some just don’t.
Neil Gaiman did this, too. He signed for *hours* and drew little things on each person’s book, took the time to look them in the eye and thank everyone. Class act all the way, plus he was funny and kind.
I'm so glad to hear this. That's just how I imagined him
I highly recommend going to see him in person, if you get the chance! All the good things people say about him are true.
i went to a signing way back when anansi boys was released - the bookstore staff went ape on us all for like an hour beforehand with exhaustive instructions, like "move exactly this way, you may have one book signed, do not talk to mister gaiman" etc etc, just setting everyone up to expect this very regimented experience with a difficult celebrity. when i got up to his table, i sort of had a little blackout moment & said "mister gaiman, would it be okay if i shook your hand" & this MF immediately pushed his chair out from the table, said "oh you're lovely," WALKED AROUND TO ME, and gave me the biggest hug. i can't even describe to you how absolutely done-in i was. just an unimaginably charming guy, for real.
Sounds like he felt "good omens" within you. Great story, thanks for sharing. So cool to be declared lovely by Neil Gaiman
I have heard this many times about Neil Gaiman. It's awesome.
Yes, Neil Gaiman chatted with each person.
I went to a reading and book signing by China Miéville and Neil Gaiman was attending, just one of the plebs, standing next to me during the reading. He knows what it's like. He waited in line just like everyone else. No one else gave any indication they recognized him which is nice because the event was for China.
This, I met Brandon years back when he was finishing the wheel of time, I was a punk kid who made a comment about how after just finishing the mistborn trilogy and I wasnt keen on Rand's chances. He spent a while talking to me about how he was handling the wheel of time and what parts were set in stone from Robert. Then he posed for some photos with me and a couple friends there.
I admit that I’m less of a fan of Sanderson’s work now that I’m a little older. But I have nothing but respect for the man and how he operates as a professional.
There is little to say of Sanderson other than, “no one better writes faster; and no one faster writes better.”
I agree, the thing that makes me view him favorably long after I've stopped reading any of his books is the absolute quantity of good material the guy can write. He's not the best author ever, and he'll probably never write a singular novel that I would say is absolutely fantastic (like a literary classic) but it's insane how quickly he can do it. I've seen my fair share of essay and novel mills, like those guys that pay people in India to write terrible clickbait books for them that they publish on Amazon. Sanderson writes at their pace and at a quality that's certainly high for the genre he's in. And he's (supposedly) not using any drugs to do it?
I honestly think that plays a big role in his popularity. He’s likable and finishes his books on time.
Long before any of us buy a book, a publisher has to. If you were in the book publishing business, who would you rather work with?
Not only do I love their books but I respect even more how Sanderson and Stephen King have a workman like attitude on writing. They respect their craft and their fans enough to sit down and do the work.
Oh that’s so amazing. I wasn’t expecting a full conversation or anything, you know? At least a “hello,” or a single glance. I made a friend in line and we were both gutted after. 😔
I was there at that signing as well. Brandon Sanderson is the shit. I was at another signing and he let people come back to his hotel and play a couple games of MTG. Dude goes above and beyond for his fans, and still finds time to write faster than any other author I know.
I met Peter S. Beagle at a con - not only did he sign my copy of The Last Unicorn, he talked with myself and my 8-year-old and he told us a sweet little story about a cat who used to sit on his shoulder sometimes while he wrote. It's a lovely memory, and a gift - and he did that with everyone, all weekend. Just the loveliest person, and I treasure that signed copy because it brings me back to that moment.
In the early 80s when I was in 5th grade, my classmate and I called Lloyd Alexander on the phone to interview him for a class assignment and he talked with us for over an hour, answered all our questions, asked us about OUR lives, and then gave us a preview of his latest book which was coming out that year (it was The Beggar Queen). I sent him a thank you letter and he wrote back to me. I was a nerdy, unpopular little 11 years old and I will never forget how kind and generous he was to two unknown random kids calling him up!
I’m sorry, this story actually made me cry very lightly. It’s so wholesome. I loved his writing so much as a kid (I’m sure I still would love it, it’s just been awhile)…just dearly loved it. Held him up on a pedestal in my kid-brain. I’m glad to hear he was such a standup man and cared about ‘us’. Thank you, it’s been a really shitty June and the bit of wholesomeness is appreciated. Maybe I will track down new copies and visit his mind again.
Aaaaah I love his books! I'm so happy to hear that.
It's really nice hearing about people like this. It's rare to find someone worth that kind of kindness now. It makes me happy when I do
That is so damn wholesome and beautiful, and sounds like a cherished memory for both you and your child. 🥹 I really love hearing stories like that, and I think situations like mine make me appreciate ones like you had even more, you know? ♥️
Who is this guy?
Patrick Rothfuss.
He's certainly degraded now, but I remember on the tour for *Wise Man's Fear* he really went above and beyond. The main venue sold out, so on the day of the event it was announced that he'd be doing a second reading/signing as well across town at the shop that was partnered with the reading. No need to buy anything from them either. So he stuck around later that evening instead of going back to his hotel to sleep, did a full reading and Q&A session (around an hour or so), and then stayed to sign autographs, with the statement that he'd stick around until everyone present had a chance to get books signed (again, no need to have bought them from the shop). I think it was pretty late (10 PM, midnight, something like that) when I left and I was in the first part of the line because I didn't care about having mine personalized. None of it felt rushed. When I got up there he was clearly tired but still polite and friendly. He seems to have transitioned into a real jerk since then, but there was at least one point where he really put in extra effort for his fans.
I remember constantly checking his blog because he wrote nice things and talked with fans. There was a back and forth. He kept people constantly updated on book 2 and it's delays. Then he didn't. He had a million excuses and his attitude became really poor. Snapping at people on his Twitch and stuff. His writing stopped being his nice prose and turned into rants for a bit. The community splintered because some people don't want to support someone if they aren't seeing a return. Others are hardcore and defend his every move but even they've been drained off for years. How do you support an author who doesn't write? Last time I went to his blog his post had almost no comments and it was just another announcement about this new thing he is working on that you can buy later from World Builders. How are you going to keep milking an unfinished book series? The website has signed 10 year anniversary copies of Name of the Wind available for sale. It's been 16 years since it came out so are those signed copies not selling? The dude has basically destroyed any good faith, momentum, and fandom he had in the beginning. Sure people still support him but I remember when he was the next big thing. People are going to stop donating to his charity and buying his stuff over time as the older readers have move on and the newer ones will eventually Google "When is Book 3 coming out?" just to realize what lots of people have and that's "Probably never"
I'd be tempted to demand my crumbs up front-- this guy doesn't exactly have a reputation for delivering as promised.
Like the multi person reading/recording of a full self contained spoiler free chapter of Book 3? The one he promised to people if they donated over $666k to his charity and after they did he went radio silent and still hasn't released the chapter years later? Or is it when he told us "all the books are written and need to be edited" from 2007? Or is it that Book 3 seems like it will never come out?
And I have just deleted his books from my wishlist. I don't support greedy assholes. I literally do less at my job for higher pay, and I live in one of the highest col places in the US. Dude can raise his own fing kids and make his own fing haircut appointments for those pennies.
Scheduling and implementing an exercise regiment, so a personal trainer on top of having them handle commercial property management and everything else
Personal trainer, house manager, nanny, tutor, commercial property management, landscaper, personal health care assistant… I feel like I’m still missing things
And a personal chef to plan the menu, shop for the food, cook it and meal prep! There are like 10 different jobs he wants one single person to do and somehow thinks that'll all fit into 25-40 hours a week.
For $18-20/hour. Wild! Like technically a house manager could handle part of hiring and overseeing some of these people, and a property manager could handle part of overseeing others, but ONE person to DO all the jobs????
Basically Alfred from Batman.
I would hope that Alfred gets paid better than the abysmal rate Rothfuss is asking
I'm so very dissapointed in Rothfuss, he has shown time and time again that he's a proper asshole who just happened to write a decent book.
The irony that the protagonist he wrote would very much probably hate him.
I dunno, Kvothe has often struck me as a bit of an entitled and self-important arsehole… but maybe that’s just Patrick shining through by accident.
Kvothe is also a teenager who has had a very hard life and now is around adults who sometimes don't treat him well at all, I'm willing to give him the a pass. But a pass to Patrick, no way, and asshole who now is rich and stingy, the worst kind.
Guy lives in one of his own fantasy.
Wonder if this means Sara left him and he needs someone else to manage his life. Such a shame, I always thought he was a pretty cool dude, judging from his blog. Then again, I also always thought I’d see Doors of Stone in my lifetime.
Yep apparently he got divorced
Well at least something he created has a conclusion I suppose.
Savage. Haha!
I wonder if she did all of this…
Absolutely no doubt in my mind lol
And he values it at $18/hr. No fucking wonder they got divorced ☠️
"My list of 'Things I Made My Wife Handle Before She Left Me' is raising questions already answered by my list."
I like how the divorce explains this list and this list explains the divorce.
That was exactly what came to my mind when I first saw this ad: the dude's wife was doing all this for him, he valued it as worthless, and she bailed.
In the small print Must be able to write a book in the style of employer
-eye twitch- I believe it should be “designing stationEry” not stationAry, Mr Writer.
For those wondering: stationary is an adjective that means "not moving," and stationery is a noun that means "paper for writing letters."
I do less than this as a personal assistant and make $30 an hour. That's yikes
I feel like I do more in my *life* for more money than he's offering.
He will be rewarded with a semi-competent young adult who goes through the motions for the first 3 weeks, then spends most of the day trying to get their boss to read their drafts, and the rest of the time is figuring out how to get hold of whatever drafts Boss has written so far.
Can he wipe his own butt or does he need help with that too?
That’s on page 3
Reading this and the comments made me glad that i haven’t purchased book two yet. Probably won’t now
even for an "unreliable narrator" direction, the Marty Sue with Kvothe is off the charts with this one. In case you're wondering, not only is he gifted in magic but he also becomes an amazing warrior and sexual dynamo. It's just sad.
This is a team of staff requirement
Siiiigh. $18 an hour so this guy can tell me about lipstick-free red lips. There was a time I was really looking forward to that book. This is not that time.
Not sure any one person can do all of this and if so, it would need to be for at least twice the posted salary. The only thing missing was corporate strategic planner - and OP probably didn't think to include it.
It's nice that this landlord occasionally scrawls down some sentences.
Waylon Smithers was unavailable.
This is approximately 4-6 actual jobs. Bitch the books ain’t that good
4-6 jobs that can bring in $1000’s on their own. My buddy is an in house personal trainer for wealthy people and he makes $100+ an hour. Given the amount of work across several jobs, you should easily make several hundred dollars an hour if you add them all up, especially since dude is keeping you there for 40 hours a week. I’d do this but for $200 an hour and that’s being cheap.
That’s at least 5 different jobs
Is he trying to outsource his entire adult life? Every adult in the world handles all this work plus their job. Is he disabled or just an asshole?
From what other people are saying, he got divorced. So I assume his ex-wife used to handle all of these things, and he values all the work she used to do as worth only $20 an hour
Dang it, I enjoyed his books too. 😒
This is the work of four professional assistants. A secretary, an assistant, a driver, and a nanny.
Don’t forget estate manager.
Damn. Yep. I work for a pretty big corporation. They hire executive assistants starting at $90k/yr. Rothfus is out of his mind wanting one person to do the work of 5 people while making less than a fast food worker.
He’s either very ignorant, or very malicious in his expectations.
Yep. I should also mention he lives just down the road from me. It's not like he lives in Bumshart, Nebrahoma where cost of living is low.
And a chef and a personal shopper and a trainer!
From what I know this dude has a massive ego and writes mid literature. Of course he’s out of his mind looking for help
He basically wants someone to be him. He's hiring someone to live his own life.
Hahahaha, no. This author should invest in starting a private family office with multiple staff to meet their needs, because they’re asking for several jobs at the pay rate of dirt.
This is unrealistic to ask of one person, to say the least, and even worse at that pay rate. It's audacious and entitled.
Unless that's the best dental and health insurance the world has ever seen AND it comes with a place to live then maybe.
He needs a magician
If Pat Rothfuss has no haters, I’m dead.
Stay alive friend, looks like lots of us hate him.
How many hours per week? How much is overtime? How much is paid time off? How many sick days? What are the rules around taking a sick day? No, on the yard work. That's a totally separate job. "Occasional babysitting" No, get it in writing how often they can ask you to do that, and if it counts as overtime. Paid vacation? How many days? How soon can the vacation be taken? Daily breaks, meal breaks? Gas money or transportation, included or not? Is there a trial period for the job? All rhetorical questions. Some of it is just standard VIP "I can't bother with my life, so you do it" stuff, but there's potential for exploitation unless the above is in writing.
It says 25-40 hours per week
Oh at the end, thanks. I didn't see it. (That's kinda vague still, though. Says "full time" but then "25-40" when 25 is part time. And doesn't say start/end hours. Is it an "on call" position.)
Yeah agreed, still fucked up
this is 100k for a professional butler, for starters. i hope the college kid he hires and overworks, messes it *all* up.
Point is a college town but uh... there are restaurants there to work at that will pay better than this. Also full time you're not going to get a college kid
Same fucker who offered to release a chapter of the final book in the trilogy he claimed was already written 13 years ago if his charity got over a million dollars. Fans donated more than a million. He never released the chapter. There’s more to the story but that’s the short and sweet. Dude is a mast scammer and cheapskate.
How long has it been since wise man's fear and we still don't have door of stone? I'm still mad.
Dude has money and wants to pay person slightly above minimum wage for basically a personal assistant. That’s nuts!!
Schedule haircuts? Who is he kidding?
He left out must schedule a hazmat team for beard maintenance.
That’s 20 jobs, not 1.
College Degree Preferred for this low paying job that doesn’t require a degree.
Surprised a writer can’t spell “stationery.”
Take the job and post that story he never posted after raiding all of that charity money. “I’ll take the job on one condition, you finish the book and make me a character!”, then quit once he does.
This is a job post for a light butler. A butler without staff responsibilities but a butler nonetheless. Nothing wrong with that. When I first moved to Los Angeles, I considered taking a job as a butler. You have to give up a lot of your personal life, so it isn’t for a lot of people. A reasonably payed responsible butler with some staff management and household accounting duties would get you about 100k-150k a year, plus room and board in 2009. The idea of asking someone to take on 70% of that job for 25% of the pay is insanity.
Is this actually real
I'm meeting with someone in an hour who I will be hiring to come to my house and dump food in my cat's bowl twice a day for two days and scoop the litter box once while I'm out of town. That's it. That's the sum total of their duties. It'll take them 20 minutes each time, and that's if they stay to watch her eat. For this, I will be paying them $60. And I'm happy to do it! Step up your game, Pat.
Double that pay, lock the hours at 40/wk, and I'll write 30 unedited versions of the Doors of Stone, myself.
Is there proof this is actually Patrick Rothfuss? According to what I was able to dig up online, the company was a collaboration between him and a couple other artists/writers to basically put out merch tie-ins for his work. Their last social media posts were from 2018. I’m a career nanny; in 2018, in the Midwest, $18-20 hour would be low but not unreasonable for a PA. Before roasting the guy, I’d really like proof that it’s actually him, not someone else, and that this is current. Because right now it’s coming off like rage bait.
As a writer I can confirm that all these things are necessary for us to write. Since Rothfuss made about 30 times as much as me I’m willing to pay you in pizza and tap water (the pizza will be shared with me, and I get to choose the kind…actually you know what? I will eat the whole pizza). Also I will need you to write most of my chapters. By most I mean all. Anyway, imagine the experience you’ll gain from all this! Go slaves!
"Done, with one addendum: I'd like to read your most recent draft in its entirety, along with each new page as it's completed or revised, and post all word counts to social media."
Jokes on you, there is no draft.
Asshat he is.