Oh the predators. Oh the bastards. Oh, those human piss-pots. I refer to all those who would prey upon the writer in order to bilk them of their last dollar. The stories of the con against the writer are many. The basic rule is that the writer is to be paid. If anyone is asking money directly from the writer, the swindle is on.
And then there is the letter that crossed my desk recently. It came from the publisher that was a press of 10,000 good intentions and is now a press of 10,000 POD books and has become the favorite running joke of the literary community, PublishAmerica. The letter was sent out to writers who have been published with PublishAmerica and a portion of that letter reads:
At first, I thought I had been handed some sort of a joke, but it would seem that the auction is real. My questions to Publish America regarding this auction have gone unanswered.
So let me get this straight: this publishing company who prints its own books in-house and who would best benefit financially from advertising its own authors on the last page of other books in its catalog, has decided to hold an auction to have a writer pay money to advertise in other in-house books. Could I have this right? Really? They don't want to advertise a multitude of their books in their own books? No, they would rather have the highest bidder pay for that golden-ticket opportunity.
Do authors not make little enough in this country (and certainly those tied to POD) that they should be keeping a little less of that money by paying for their own advertising Ebay style? This is absolutely shameless!
I understand now why my requests for comment went ignored.
I have since learned that PublishAmerica is not the first to use this inexcusable and utterly absurd method. I've heard that it's being done by a few POD publishers.
Listen here (my finger is pointing), if you publish the damn book and you are to advertise the damn book, then pay the writer his royalties and don't ask the writer for one damn penny. Stop sitting around a table brainstorming how you are going to take money out of the writer's pocket. Next time you are at the table, consider this whirlwind idea: Advertise the hell out of the damn book and sell the hell out of the damn book. Guess what, you'll make more money and so will that writer who is sitting around wondering how much he can afford to bid in your dog-and-pony-show auction.
Writers pay with their words. They should be asked to pay no more. No more, got it!
This is the very reason Shady Dealings came to be. I want to expose this very type of thing. Whenever this sort of letter lands on your desk or you find yourself victimized by those literary predators, let me know. Write me c/o Whistling Shade, PO Box 7084, St. Paul, MN 55107. These items will be published here and in a Shady Dealings book that is in the works. In the meantime: writers, keep your money. You've earned it, it's yours.
© 2008 by D. Garcia-Wahl.