More Authors out of Wicked Pretty Things

[naomi_jay]

I think that makes six withdrawals altogether now, with Ann Aguirre pulling out of a future anthology. It'll be interesting to see what develops next week; I don't see how Running Press can continue with this project. It's going to be forever tainted. 

I feel like if you have to ask the question "why does this matter?" you won't understand the answer. But for what my opinion is worth, this is awesome. I don't want to live in a society where certain parts of that society are considered less worthy than others. I don't want people to decide for me what I should and shouldn't be exposed to. I don't want the experiences of one person to be deemed less valuable than those of another. And I don't want to lend my support (or my money) to people who think being gay is shameful, irrelevant, or something to be dismissed. 

I'm a consumer and I'll be voting with my wallet. 

Comments

[mermaiden.livejournal.com]

Thou art majorly awesome, lady~ :) <3333

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Aw, shucks! It's the authors who are doing the best thing. I hope the publishers do the right thing now and shelf the anthology altogether.

[naeko.livejournal.com]

So, it turns out it WAS the Publisher who decided they didn't want a gay love story? That's crap, man. I need to write the Pub's name in my wallet or phone or something so I can remember never to buy anything from their bigoted asses.

Never mind, I went and checked out Cleo's post, and now I see it's not the Pub, which is a good thing.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

They are currently standing by the editor though, which for me still doesn't sit right.

[naeko.livejournal.com]

I don't know enough about their business dealings with the editor, or about the editor herself, to have an opinion on that. I know nothing about publishing and what sort of contracts they have and what kicking someone out of one might entail.

Granted, now that so many authors are pulling out, and they may scrap the anthology all together, the potential cost might be the same as the loss, but in standing by her initially, they may not have been. *shrug*

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

On the one hand, I get the publisher's position - they've worked with her in the past and have anthologies slated with her for the future. So I can see why they'd stand by her initially, and I guess everyone was hoping this would die quietly. But now it's spreading like wildfire - more authors have pulled out since I posted this, and others have withdrawn from those future anthologies, or expressed their intent to never work with Telep again.

I'd be amazed if the publishers ignore that. I said before I don't think a witch-hunt is the answer, because from the outside looking in, it seems like this is a miscommunication gone wild and handled badly. But it seems odd that they'll state their support of GLBT writing in one sentence and their support of Telep in another, when a big chunk of the writing community currently has it in for her because of her apparent homophobia (I say apparent because I'm still not sure she is homophobic, as opposed to just mouthy and cursed with poor judgement).

*deep breath* I think what I'm basically saying is this has become a Very Big Deal, and I think the publisher needs to take one side or the other with the issue, rather than try to have their cake and eat it.

[naeko.livejournal.com]

This has all happened pretty fast, though, right? Less than a full week. So, say the publisher started out trying to be decent guys, sticking with Telep because it's the mature thing to do*, and it might be contract related. So, a week goes by and now they've lost half their anthology, and they're not only dealing with every day publishing issues, but also with trying to convince the talent to reconsider, AS WELL AS likely trying to get Telep to explain what her side of the story is.

I would assume they're working on trying to find the best way to handle this, and I honestly think that having Telep step forth herself, remove herself from the anthology, and put out a mature, well-written (she's an editor, after all; I'm assuming she could craft something) apology would help immensely. Right now, there are authors with opinions riling up the internet (easily riled, though not necessarily wrong in this case) and pulling out of business dealings.

Telep started this shit, I honestly think it's on her to take the blame. Even though there would be an immediate response to her apology, a mix of good and bad (again, it's the internet), but once someone apologizes, the world generally just stops giving a shit. It might not get the anthology going again, but the stories are written, they will likely show up somewhere else.

Again, I'm not any sort of expert (or journeymen, or even an apprentice) when it comes to publishing; this is all just what my common-sense-fueled brain would assume before getting riled up with the rest of the internet.



*Let's face it, if immediately after the editor made an ass of herself, the publisher went, "that's IT. Despite our history and your business dealings with us, you're off the project! GTFO," it would look bad. Immediately jumping ship, placing blame and turning your back on someone looks bad, even on the part of big companies.

It's like if DWG told you I said that your face is stupid, but then immediately went, "lolno I'm just joshing you. She never said that." If, despite all the good times she and I have had, I decided never to speak to her again, I would be overreacting.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Excellent points. I keep forgetting how fast this has blown up, and how much we don't know.

[yolandasfetsos.livejournal.com]

Amen! I agree. And I'm also extremely proud of all the authors who are pulling out of this project. Like I said the other day, this type of thing should NOT be happening in our society. I also hope they pull this antho.

I definitely won't be buying it, that's for sure.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Me either. Or anything else Telep has edited/will edit. Caitlin Kittredge said that the quickest way to make your voice heard is to hit the profit margin - I think she's right!

I don't plan to boycott all Running Press anthologies though; I still want to support the authors I love.