Wicked Pretty Things: Damage Control Makes It Worse

[naomi_jay]

There's a pretty detailed update of all the WTFuckery thus far here. Apparently Running Press are now contacting the authors who withdrew asking them to pretty please come back. I understand Verday's story has now been replaced, so I guess the publishers are determined to go ahead with the anthology even though every day it becomes more of a clusterfuck than it was before.

Jessica Verday posts her final thoughts here, and continues to be awesome about the entire affair, despite this whacked-out article on Publisher's Weekly from Running Press publisher Christopher Navratil, in which he claims Verday "accused Running Press of intolerance and censorship."

Um, no she didn't.

Running Press's approach to this whole affair just baffles me. They stand behind Trisha Telep one day, then insist that they have "no contact with that editor" in the PW article. Either support Telep or don't. It's too late now to try to distance yourself from the mess by insisting you had no idea what happened here. And truthfully, while I still find Telep's original comments misguided and dubious, I also find it hard to believe she just pulled this whole "no alternative lifestyle" shit from thin air.

Just in case the article wasn't dumb enough, it also makes a valiant attempt to paint Verday as the villain of the piece for talking about what happened. Never mind that Verday is pretty much the only person involved who's shown any class or composure from the start (I'm not including other authors who have withdrawn stories from RP anthologies here; that should go without saying). Basically, RP's stance now seems to be that Verday should just have backed down, shut up, and given up her principles. Also she was mean to them, you guys. Nice one, Running Press.

I fail to see the point in RP continuing with this anthology, really. It was bad enough when it was The Anthology Where Gay People Don't Exist. Now it's The Anthology Where Gay People Don't Exist And STFU Authors. Rather than insisting that this is all someone else's fault and pretending that WPT can go ahead despite the massive black cloud hanging over it, why aren't RP pulling the anthology altogether? Yeah, that would be bad for the authors involved who still have stories in there, and it would be awful if they all suffered because of someone else's stupidity, but the more I read about this mess, the worse it gets.

Comments

[naeko.livejournal.com]

Technically, Verday did initially accuse the publishers of intolerance. And, if it had actually been them being intolerant of the m/m story, she would have been COMPLETELY justified in doing so. Just because she edited the post to point out that it was the editor who's an idiot, doesn't mean the initial, "Hey, these guys are doing something I don't approve of" post didn't exist.

I'm still in a place with this where I don't care enough to have much of an opinion, but DWG was showing me some of the other cracked out WTFery coming from Telep, both recently and in the past, and I'm really confused. I think it has to be some legal hold that Telep has because she really just seems to be a super dim screw up. With all the clusterfuck this has caused, I think that the only thing keeping them from actually distancing themselves from her must be contractual or money- based.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

I think Verday has acted appropriately in clarifying her position though. I know we don't know what happened behind the scenes, but it appears that she was initially told the publishers didn't approve of her story, rather than Telep. Once Telep left her first comment, Verday was sure to edit her post accordingly, so in my mind, she took steps to rectify any crossed wires and present what happened as clearly as possible.

Other WTFery from Telep? Colour me intrigued. I've met her once - got the impression she was scatty and outspoken, but not ill-intentioned. Obviously one two-hour meeting teaches me nothing concrete, but like you, I'm confused. And the more I find out, the more confused I get.

[naeko.livejournal.com]

There was something about Telep (I'm going to screw this up; my memory is not good) being contracted (?) for a 24-author anthology, but only actually putting it out with 19, or 14 authors, and Amazon still has the wrong info. I think there was something else, too, but it's mainly the fact that she should KNOW, having supposedly worked with RP for awhile, that they are open to gay love stories! The fact that she would suddenly claim they don't is just completely weird.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

The fact that she would suddenly claim they don't is just completely weird.

This is one of the things I find weirdest about the whole thing. I see two possibilities (I'm not claiming either is correct, or that there aren't more, these are just the ones I can think of).

1. Telep is just a homophobic bigot, wasn't comfortable with the story, but used "RP don't like GLBT content" as an excuse because "I hate gay kids" isn't going to fly with anyone. Now she's been caught out and had to back up.

or 2. Someone within RP let it be known that GLBT wasn't wanted for this anthology for whatever reason. Now it's all blown up, Telep makes a convenient scapegoat and RP can fall back on it's reputation for supporting GLBT literature.

Like you say, the fact that she should know RP's stance on the matter makes it all just that much crazier.

[yolandasfetsos.livejournal.com]

OMFG! This is spinning out of control. I didn't like that PW article. I thought it wasn't needed, to be honest with you. And I still respect Jessica's decision, as well as the other authors who decided to stand down.

I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again: I will not be buying this anthology. I don't care what the publisher's trying to scrape together, not buying.

Man, I think making Jessica Verday into a villain is a horrible thing to do, btw.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

The whole thing gets worse every time someone speaks up about it! I'm sure RP have a "plan" for managing the situation, but it doesn't seem to be doing them any favours...

[kaz-mahoney.livejournal.com]

*grits teeth*

*smiles*

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

:( I hope this post isn't the reason for the gritted teeth. I know how difficult this must have been for you personally.

[kaz-mahoney.livejournal.com]

Oh no, of course not! The whole thing, dude.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

Phew! :) I hope a dignifed end can be found for the situation, not to mention one that ultimately benefits all the authors who have pulled their stories.

[katherineokelly.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I feel bad for the authors caught up in the midst of this. =( On the other hand, as much as it sucks for the people getting chewed in this incident, I'm glad it's bringing the issue to light.

I think it is possible Telep pulled the "no alternative lifestyles" thing from thin air. I see a lot of authors on AbsoluteWrite.com just assuming that LGBT and PoC won't sell, that agents won't buy, so they don't bother writing or submitting. ((ETA: And they advise other writers to do the same)) Seems like some agents are assuming the same thing. Public outcry like this will help send the message to publishers (not just RP) that it just ain't so, and that minority exclusion may be less popular/acceptable than they think.

[naomi-jay.livejournal.com]

I see a lot of authors on AbsoluteWrite.com just assuming that LGBT and PoC won't sell, that agents won't buy

I hadn't actually thought of that, but it does make sense (in a very sad way). I hope this will encourage more writers of this kind of fiction get their work out there. It would be nice to see that kind of positive reaction coming from this.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

I've seen the argument floating around, too, that buyers for stores won't pick up a title with LGBT content (even an anthology with otherwise heteronormative romances) because they won't think it'll sell as well. I'm really hoping that if nothing else, the industry will loosen up a little so that there can be more diverse stories available to readers.