A tad harsh, don’t you think, Jordan?
I, too, was disturbed by Ed’s cry out. Not, apparently, in the manner in which you ere, however; I felt saddened by it, and scared, too, for I’m just beginning to travel this road of publication and I honestly want my anthology to do well, for the sake of the author’s within it and for the sake of the genre to boot. Even for the sake of the reading public.
I did not plan to purchase Ed’s anthology simply because I’m not interested in reading it. Yet I feel for him and, due to his post, I have considered buying a copy. This I would do in support, a show of solidarity. I still doubt I’d read it, but I have several things I could do with the book – I donate to the local Veteran’s Hospital and I hold contests on my blog, for two ideas.
I agree with you that this is unnerving and uninspiring – but I don’t join with you in condemning him.
I was going to blog about this again, so Jason’s comment was the perfect excuse.
There is one cardinal rule of writing, and indeed publishing, and it is this: “Money should flow towards the writer”. This is true even in television and movie writing. Scam artists often unmask themselves because they violate that rule (they charge reading/editing fees).
The only place where this rule doesn’t apply is Vanity Publishing (or many of the “self-publishing houses” like Authorhouse, which itself is only a thinly disguised vanity publisher). When a publisher asks authors to purchase books, in effect they are violating this rule, and what does that make them? Yes, it makes them a vanity publisher. Personally, I want my writing to get published because it touches or moves people, not just because I want to see my words in print. If the only people that are buying my books are doing so because they eventually want to get published themselves, then my efforts at writing a compelling story amount to nothing more than mental masturbation.
A publisher’s job is to connect people who want to read amazing fiction with people who write compelling stories. A publisher who calls on authors to support markets simply so they can remain afloat is a publisher who isn’t doing their job, and we need to shout it from the rooftops.
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So you are telling me in advance that, if in 6 months I announce The Return of the Sword has hit hard times and the only way I can keep the anthology in print and the ‘Flashing Swords Presents’ anthology line itself alive is if I can sell another 25 copies, you will publicly condemn me as well – for by these statements you’re claiming I would not be doing my job as a publisher, not funneling the money and support to my authors, and in fact, was only being self-serving in the pleading for the survival of my baby?
I am again saddened. I may not ‘beg’ in the way Ed has done, but realistically, while the wording of my theoretical announcement would be different, the underlying theme and motive would not. We’d both simply be pursuing the survival of our progeny. I cannot find so much fault with anyone for doing so, not so easily nor scornfully as you do.
The world of publishing is cutthroat – we all know that. Why you’d want to be the guy holding the knife is beyond me, dude.
Jason,
I think you are taking things out of context. I’m certainly NOT holding the knife to anyone’s throat. I’m just tired of publishers trying to extort money from authors instead of trying to, you know, sell books.
I’ll buy books because they’re good, so if The Return of the Sword gets good reviews, then I’ll pick up a copy. To do otherwise… to buy out of “pity” as you seem to be advocating is insulting to the authors that put their heart and souls into those stories.
See, now, that is where we seem to be disagreeing: You say ‘pity’ while I say ‘solidarity.’ Do I pity a man when I see him kneeling by his flat tire on the highway and pull over to help him? Or do I feel for the guy and know what it’s like to want to get home and get out of the world – and practice the paying it forward concept of doing unto others what I’d, you know, like them to do for me.
I don’t buy anything for pity’s sake. We’re discussing a publisher and a man who not only has previously put out quality material but written it as well. A man who has stated he makes little money off much of what he does – but he does it because he desires to help all the publishers and authors he can.
Do you honestly think those authors in that anthology are insulted that he’s asked for help? I’ve no idea what, or if, they’ve been paid, but if they haven’t, simply from the monetary view you better believe they hope he gets his support. But pay is so minimal in these small press venues, you say. I agree. So how about those authors wanting their story to remain in circulation – isn’t that motive enough? Every single author in the ill-fated Flashing Swords Annual eZine was thrilled beyond belief that they would have another opportunity for their stories to surface and be seen again. All of them explained their sorrow at that anthology’s swift disappearance.
All I am expressing, Jordan, is a desire to NOT see another publishing venue, another intelligent and experienced publisher, vanishing down the drain hole of this world we’re living in. So rather than turning on the spigot and dumping more water upon him furiously treading water – I’m more inclined to toss him a branch that’s too big to fit down the drain. It’s not enough to truly save him – just enough to leave him dangling over the pit, legs a-kicking as he works himself out of the hole he’s in.
Here’s the problem with what you’re saying:
I’m trying to follow your logic here, Jason. You want people to buy a book simply to support the small press, and not, you know, because they want to read it?
People buy books because they want to read them. When they buy books for other reasons, say to support a small press, they are unlikely to read the thing. How does this help authors?
A better thing to do, and something Ed should have asked for, is to help with publicity. Have everyone stumble his website. Ask everyone to post on their blogs about the book. Have people flood review sites like SFReader and The Fix with reviews. Have them write positive reviews for Amazon’s site. I have no problems doing this, and it just might get new readers into the genre.
When EDF eventually publishes anthos, we will be asking for help. We won’t, however, be coming to anyone with our hands out.
Again, Jordan, you are caught up in what he’s specifically asked for. You cannot do any of your suggestions without Ed’s asking? It really takes a man demonstrating his need for you to see it?
And no, I am not proposing ‘people’ should buy a book simply to buy it. I told you what I considered doing – and why. Me. I have options, so for me it is not a waste of money. Someone will benefit by my purchase if I choose to make it. If there is absolutely nothing a person can think of to do with the book, well then by all means do not buy it. I am not advising anyone to waste their money. This, of course, means that a person knows no one in their lives that might read speculative fiction of this stripe and might find it a pleasant gift come Christmas, why, a holiday fast approaching.
You, on the other hand, are wanting people to flee from Journey Books and Ed Knight because he begged. Because he did not ask for what you thought he should. If the homeless man on the corner asks you for a dollar for a soda, do you tell him no, he should have asked for milk? Not to paint myself the saint here, as I don’t give money to the homeless either, but that in essence is what you’re saying.
Jason,
I have never said, “Don’t buy this book.” What I >have< said is that in this case, the publisher appears to not be doing their job properly. My complaint is a professional one that has nothing to do with the content of the anthology. I know several of the authors therein, and they're all top-notch. I'm publishing Michael Ehart in EDF, and I know he's also in Unparalelled Journeys II.
And no, I’m not saying that the homeless person should ask for milk. I’m asking that the homeless person earn his own milk. If I see a guy busting his balls to make it, I’m likely to help, in fact, I want to help because I want to be a part of his success.
I’m not going to do all these things to help out because the publisher didn’t ask me to do them. Instead, he asked for pity money (and make no mistake, from the way he phrased his request, that’s what it was).
You’re buying into the cycle of victimization that has hit the industry recently. People feel like there’s no hope and the whole genre has taken to cannibalizing itself like a snake eating its own tail. The genre can be saved. We just need to stop being the homeless guy, and start being the guy who’s pulling himself out of the gutter.
Mr. Lapp,
First of all, let me say that it does concern me that you’ve completely blown one simple post on a discussion board into an attack on the company that I have spent the last 11 years of my life building.
The post you seem to be so greatly offended by was offered as a request for members on one discussion board (one on which I have posted frequently for years and consider the membership to be friends of JBP).
As (like many small presses) we have fallen on some lean times, I thought the writers of SFreader.com (many of whom have been published in our print publications) would consider buying a copy of our new project. My mistake was in using the word “begging” in the title of the thread. That was a mistake and was taken out of context by you and several others. I made a simple request of a group of people I am (at least electronically) acquainted with. That was a request for one group of people to consider adding a few dollars to the JBP coffers. It was not a plea for the whole writing world to come to our aid. Yet you seem to have taken personal offense in this, somehow.
From that, you have decided to degrade Journey Books Publishing and in doing so all hundreds or so writers who have been published with us by slurring our company’s name.
Yes, we are a small (even “micro” to some) press. But we have always taken great pride in our professionalism. We pay writers by the word, a minimum 1/2 cent and max 3 cents a word (more, I think, than you). We have never signed (yes, we use real contracts) an authur for any project in which the writer did not receive at least one free author’s copy of the work. We’ve been reviewed in multiple venues including Locus and Tangent.
We’ve put 14 collections of short works into print. That’s real paper and ink, perfect bound books. We’ve had distribution agreements with Ingram and Baker and Taylor at at least some point in our history (neither of those are current but they could be revied if we felt the need). For a press our size that is almost unheard of.
Many of the writers who were first published by us have moved on to do some pretty cool things. Take Bill Snodgrass of Double Edge Publishing (Sword Review, Dragons Knights and Angels, and Ray Gun Rival) for instance. He published his first ever work at JBP and look what he’s done for all of us since. How about Nathan Meyer? He published first with JBP and now he’s signing multi-book contracts. Let’s see, can’t leave out Rob Santa. He graced our pages some years ago and now he runs Ricasso Press. I could spend all night talking about the writers who have went far after being published by JBP. I haven’t even scratched the surface.
Yet you call into question our motives, our integrity, our professionalism. That sticks deep my friend. Who are you to do that and why do you feel the need to question the integrity of a business that has never been anything but a friend to writers and a supporter of small presses everywhere?
Sincerely,
Edward Knight
Mr. Knight,
I’m hesitant to answer this comment, because you seem to be responding to a different blog posting. Nowhere did I insult any of JBP’s authors, their work, or even the books you personally have put out.
I’m sorry that you feel like my attack was overblown, but I was ranting not just about your plea, but also about the current trend in publishing (the publishamerica model) to sell to authors. Begging the readership of SFReader to buy your work, not because of how awesome the book is, but simply to support a small press is wrong headed and makes for poor business. That is the nature of my beef. If you read my posts again, you’ll see that they worst thing I called you was “unprofessional” (in fact, I reiterated that in the comments). Surely you can see how begging is unprofessional?
As for personal attacks, well, I’m none too pleased with your condescending attacks on EDF (a market that is actually doing quite well, thank you) examples of which can be found in your comment above. If we pay our authors a dollar, well we certainly offer them more exposure in a day then your print run is likely to be. You scoffed that our readership is 50% non-author after doing >zero< research, in effect calling me a liar? As for real life books, we're putting those together as well in the form of a print anthology.
So once more, I know and respect many of the authors that you have published (indeed, I've >also published them). It also looks like you put out a quality product. But to claim that I can’t call you on some unprofessional behaviour because you’re some kind of altruistic saviour of the small press is ludicrous.
By insulting our press you insult everyone associated with it. In this business call someone unprofessional is the greastest possible insult. I’d rather be called and MFing SOB than unprofessional.
I’m tired of this tired argument. So I’ll let it go at this point. But I believe our respect for each other is greatly damaged–a sad thing in my opinon. I regret that perhaps most of all.
I fear this discussion as a whole has damaged both our reputations. And in this business that is dangerous.
I will refrain from making further comments about you, your press, or your continued efforts to damage JBP. This in’t doing either of us any good. I’m done with it. Rant on if you wish.
Mr. Knight,
Once again, I was not insulting your press. I said that >you< were behaving in an unprofessional manner, and conflating my arguments into an attack on all your authors is another example of this.
I’m not sure you ever had much respect for me, judging from your comments about EDF on SFReader, and our other correspondences, so the loss thereof means little to me.
As for “continued efforts to damage JBP”, I’m done with my rant now and, if I am asked, will do what I can to help promote your products simply because I do, in fact, want to support the small press.