This………… weekinpublishing
First up, for those who are in the San Francisco Bay Area and who also happen to write suspense or thrillers or related materials, I will be meeting with the SF Sisters in Crime tomorrow at noon out in the Sunset. Dana promises to follow with details in the comments section, so if you want details: Dana has them.
Also, if I don’t turn up to blog on Monday, well, my obituary will probably read that I should have known better than to agree to meet with a group that calls themselves Sisters in Crime.
In friend-of-the-blog news, Stuart Neville aka Conduit is celebrating the release of the terrifically-reviewed THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST (congrats, Stuart!) with a very cool Twitter contest. If you fancy that you could write a scary story in 124 characters: you too could be a winner.
You may have heard about the Twitter books, but did you hear that a man’s Facebook status was given a book deal? The Onion, as always, is there with the crucial details. (via Erin Clifford)
In e-book news, they announced…. wait… no! Don’t skip the paragraph!! I have to report on this stuff!!! Darn it. The e-book news always scares them away. Anyway, for the two people still reading, I’ll make this as fast as possible: Sony and Smashwords partnering up, Daily Beast and Perseus teaming up for rapid e-books, maybe publishers withholding e-books actually kinda makes sense after all (except for readers), Amazon settling lawsuit with angry kid whose Orwell notes were deleted, and Simon & Schuster is going wild for Vooks, aka video books with web stuff.
Oh. And remember all that news about how the Dan Brown e-book was outselling the print book and much more than the usual 5%? Yeah, not so much.
Kristin Nelson has a must must must must must (that’s five musts) read guest post by Megan Crewe obliterating the widespread myth that you have to have connections in order to get a book deal. Now, obviously I am not exactly the poster child for puncturing this myth, but luckily Megan’s there with actual stats.
Neil Vogler passed along a great post from the Independent that looks back on some classic bedtime stories that are actually pretty gruesome and terrifying.
In book piracy news, as a reminder of how book piracy has been with us forever, GalleyCat has an awesome post about how angry Charles Dickens was about rampant piracy of his books in the US. And the post has actual video footage!! Or old episodes of Bonanza. Either way.
If you’re not reading anonymous agency assistant The Rejectionist, well, make ye haste, people. Make ye haste. R has a post that is both hilarious and helpful about the many book topics that are not in fact inherently interesting. In other words: yes, you can write a book about these topics. But you’re going to have to work at it.
And finally, this week….. in rice harvest:
Photo by my dad.
Have a great weekend!
Wow. I just read through the comments. Kudos to the smiling happy SinC!
Is it just me, or has this week been a little heavy on interpersonal brutality online?
I am going to hole up with my KINDLE and enjoy whatever e-book I feel like downloading. 🙂 I always read your e-book news. I am addicted.
"Vooks"??? Now I have heard everything. I get the point of keeping up with technology and changing times, but "vooks"?? I am overwhelmed by it all. What happened to just writing a book, being lucky enough to get contract and seeing a copy of it on shelves in a store near you.
I am just starting to get my head around Kindle and so on, but baby steps firts!
Cheers, Jill
http://www.jilledmondson.blogspot.com
Oh gosh. Now all I want to do is help your dad with the rice harvest. Too lovely.
Skeptic – I really hope my remarks didn't sound brutal. I didn't intend them that way! Well, maybe the unethical one.
Well, in a week where I don't even have time to go see Nathan, I certainly don't have time to get into a blog battle, especially with Nathan and Ink, both people I really respect and appreciate.
So, um, okay. I'm wrong.
That said, Rejectionist, from my stance you are both a kid and good. However, as a Social Worker, I completely acknowledge your right to self-identify as elderly and bad to the bone.
And congrats on your book, btw.
Rice fields are so pretty. I live in a rural area of Japan and I can't stop gazing at them…
Ducks and Geese are pirates of rice…
Haste yee back 😉
Great links. Great photo, too.
So – to the important stuff….
How the heck is Stanford 3 & 0?
I do so love harvest season.
Nathan, I am sooo gunning for you when I need someone to rep my adult stuff. An agent who posts pics of farm equipment! How amazing is that? Would it help me out if I mentioned that I bring along my laptop top in the truck to do revisions while my husband loads the trailer with hay and my three kids wage WWIII in the backseat? I'm dedicated. Honest.
LC – wow. You've got your hands full.
Good for you – I'm rooting for ya!
🙂
I checked out The Rejectionist link, but the tone of the site was too shrill for my tastes.
–Hoogly
Interesting debate going on about The Rejectionist and The Intern – I also had my doubts about the latter, but of course it's always rather unproductive to complain about people who are obviously popular and aren't hurting anyone by being that way.
As for the vooks thing, it's an interesting idea, but I really think it just sounds like the kind of ingenuity already brought about by the internet. I don't think vooks can or will – or should, considering the literacy "crisis" of today – replace the traditional book medium. We'll have to see what happens.
"I also had my doubts about the latter, but of course it's always rather unproductive to complain about people who are obviously popular and aren't hurting anyone by being that way."
I guess this is a healthy way to look at it. After all, it all comes down to choice. I choose not to read blogs like The Rejectionist or The Intern. It's already been done too many times.
I just hope people aren't paying hard earned money to get advice from someone who won't give an official list of publishing credits or a real name. This is the part that bothers me, and I don't care how popular they are.
So you're posting anonymously that people should disclose their names in order to be taken seriously?
Shoot my whole WIP is about an amulet discovery! That was funny as hell. Needed the laugh too.
Anon 5:30 is not charging money.
"So you're posting anonymously that people should disclose their names in order to be taken seriously?"
First, I'm not charging anyone money, I'm not trying to get a following, and I'm not handing out advice. I'm commenting in a blog thread. I don't care about being taken seriously.
Second, I said, if you were paying attention to what I wrote, that anon blogs are fun and some people like them. I don't. But they are fine for other people. Some are even hysterical. I hate giving examples, but I think it's safe to say that "Miss Snark" was the ultimate of anon bloggers. She helped writers and entertained them. But I doubt Miss Snark would have charged anyone money for anything.
Third, if you don't think that people can create fictional personas through blogging, then you haven't been reading blogs very long. Anyone can create a publishing blog and use any name they want. In other words, you might think you're reading a blog by a publishing professional. But it could be anyone. It would be creepy at best if someone did this, but the internet can be a very creepy place.
Well, I pretty much agree with Anon.
I feel bad saying this, because I get what you're saying Nathan – people gotta eat – and the intern does seem like a good kid. (I'm sorry, I can't help it. You pass a certain age, and suddenly everyone becomes a 'good kid.' If it hasn't happened to you yet, it will. You'll see.) But people also need to make money in an upfront and ethical manner.
The Intern is charging 50 bucks for query review and 100 bucks for book proposal reviews. That's not chump change.
Who is the person, and can they justify charging that much money? Do they have results? Can they prove that they have actually helped people get published?
Writers are vulnerable. Yes, they can choose not to read, but again, when someone is linked through agent or editor blogs, they are given a certain industry stamp of approval.
I don't like pointing fingers, but…well, I am. And this is a bigger issue than particular people. It's about the larger industry, and standards of practice.
mira-
First off, I think it's very condescending to call someone who has graduated from college and is of working age a "kid."
I also don't see how it's unethical for editors or former editors to have freelance side work.
If you don't feel that the person is charging a fee that is commensurate with their experience there's a simple solution: don't pay them to critique your work. If you're going to miss $50: don't pay anyone $50 to critique your work.
But just because you don't personally feel that it's worth it doesn't mean it's somehow unethical.
Nathan,
I'm calling someone a 'kid' based on their age, not their credentials. But I don't mean to offend – my apologies if I did. It's certainly not meant to be condescending.
I agree – it's not unethical for editors to offer freelance sidework.
And I didn't say it wasn't worth it. For all I know, the Intern does a 'bang-up' job doing critiques.
What I said is that the only credentials that she is offering is that she has a blog that is linked through other industry blogs. This gives her an unearned legitimacy.
I believe charging money for something based on that is unethical.
mira-
I don't think you could really read her blog and think she's perpetrating some great online ruse and is somehow faking that she's actually a publishing intern. You don't just get a sense of the inner workings of editorial meetings through divination alone. And beyond that, I don't think the Intern is trying to claim any credentials other than that she's an Intern.
I really don't understand how all of this is cause for great concern.
Of great concern? Well, now you've made me wonder…is it?
I guess it's becoming more apparent to me lately how unregulated the publishing business is. This seems like an example of it. An anonymous intern can create a blog and start charging writers $100 a pop for evaluations, and she's given the green light by other industry blogs……
I guess it's not a great concern, it's more of one of those flashing red lights: something is wrong with this picture.
Again, without calling the Intern anything, I will acknowledge she seems like a good person. Smart, funny, witty. More power to her in terms of making money at her profession. Just…..there's a larger issue here.
Isn't there? Stop making me doubt myself, Mr. Bransford. 🙂
I don't know what you mean by "green light by the industry." Are you saying I'm responsible for the activities of not only the people I link to, but who the people I link to link to?
But anyway, your concern seems to be that someone can start a website and start charging people to read their queries. But anyone could do this (except, of course, for agents who abide by the rules of the AAR). You could do this right now. It's a free country.
What would be unethical is if someone is lying about their credentials. But even you don't really seem to think that is the case here.
This is really much ado about nothing.
No, of course you aren't accountable for links that follow links.
But the intern is linked by Editorial Anon, a site that is well-respected.
Nathan, I'm surprised that you don't see the red light here, but the fact that you don't gives me pause. You do tend to be on target ethically. So, I'll think about this….other than that I hope we can agree to disagree, because I think I've reached my capacity for going up in opposition to you.
I might start offering my own service to writers on my blog. For only fifty dollars, I'll read their manuscripts and critique them. For queries and things like writing back cover copy, I'll charge twenty-five. I have more experience than an intern, and I work fast. The only catch is that I'm not going to tell you my real name or my official credentials. You're just going to have to trust me on this because I sound like I know what I'm talking about.
Now, didn't that just sound awfully shabby?
It's all about the name and the credentials. It's not about the service. I've seen many wonderful editorial services offered by industry professionals over the years. But I can't think of one that didn't stand behind a name.
It's really amazing to me the stuff people can get worked up about.
anon – you're anon. Intern has a blog demonstrating that the Intern has publishing knowledge.
No one is forcing anyone to part with money. Intern has obvious qualifications and is not trying to pretend she's editorial director of a publishing house. If you don't want to pay for the service it's simple: don't pay for the service.
Its…….realityshowcliptime
Interesting.
Nathan – Are you telling me that there is absolutely no merit to my argument? That I'm worked up about nothing?
No. I'll agree to disagree, but I won't agree to that.
There is a larger issue here. One that I will, however, re-consider.
But I really have to stop here. I am not posting anonymously.
Thank you for giving me the forum to speak my truth – especially since we so clearly disagree. As always, I appreciate and admire your openness.
I'm the anonymous poster that has been agreeing with Mira. I hate commenting about anything even slightly confrontational. But I agreed with Mira so stronly on this one I couldn't keep my big mouth shut. Sorry, Nathan 🙂
And I might sound overly paranoid in the comments, but I don't think I made any comments that were false or could be considered in bad taste.
So I'll also agree to disagree, politely and without another word.
Thanks Malia. I didn't have a problem with you posting anonymously, btw. But it's nice to know who you are, and I know that took some courage. Thanks.
I'd have to side with Nathan on this one.
Someone has a website or blog and on it they advertize certain services. To me this is simply basic business – it happens everywhere. People who see it can determine whether or not they wish to pay for such services based on the content of the blog or website. Yay for a free economy! I don't see how this is a problem.
If you don't want to pay an anonymous internet person for their services, then don't hire them. I wouldn't. If they're a fraud, they can be prosecuted for it. If not I don't really see a problem. If someone wants to spend their money that way I'm pretty sure that's up to them. It's not really our job to protect people from risky decisions, though we can advise against it.
Good points, Ink. 🙂
So, I know probably no one is reading this post anymore, but it's been haunting me.
I think I'm glad I spoke up here, partly just because it was important to Melia. And partly because I have this terrible on-going struggle around speaking my truth vs. picking my battles, and I'm not always sure the latter should win….
But I also tend to start fights on the internet when I'm really stressed, which is more difficult to justify.
I guess my struggle here is I keep worrying that I hurt people here. I do NOT want to hurt people.
But I want to stand up for principle too. So, I think what I've learned from this post is to wait to address topics when they are not so personal, and when there isn't direct finger-pointing.
I know everyone's intentions are good…..
So, for the record, if anyone other than Nathan reads this post, I apologize. Not for the principle of the thing, because I do agree with Melia, but for making it personal.
I'm sorry.