Deadly Virus Hits Publishing Industry!

Writing is a tough business these days.  Bad enough that we pour our sweat and blood into a manuscript, but now we have to contend with the deadly Auth/Ed/Pub-Stupiditis virus which has infected the publishing industry and seems to be growing at a rapid pace.  The symptoms are many and varied, but for a lot of us, they include a sharp rise in blood pressure, nausea, and an inexplicable urge to pound your head against the nearest hard surface.

Not sure where or when it started–perhaps as long ago as the Janet Dailey plagiarism case or maybe with James Frey and his infamous memoir that wasn’t really a memoir.  Recently we’ve had the Cassie Edwards thing to make us beat our heads against a wall and now, in the past week we’ve had two–count ‘em, two!–more cases of Auth/Ed/Pub-Stupiditis, real head-bangers that have me  wishing for a motorcycle helmet, a large bottle of Tylenol Extra-Strength, and a fifth of Jack Daniels to wash it down.

Head-banger #1 -  “Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years” by Misha Defonseca (real name, Monique De Wael).  This one’s been around for a while, was published internationally and even made into a movie in France.  Turns out, the whole story is a complete and total fake, a fantasy according to Ms. Defonseca, who was outed this past week.  She did, at least, have the grace to admit she was wrong and apologize.

Head-banger #2 - “Love and Consequences” by Margaret B. Jones (real name, Margaret Seltzer) about growing up a half-white, half-Native American foster child in South-Central Los Angeles.  Not a word of which was true.  She too, was outed this past week, in part by her sister–and, oh, the mind boggles at the family feud that one’s going to spark.  Ms. Jones/Seltzer admitted the book was a total fabrication and offered up the excuse of doing it to give a voice to people who aren’t usually heard.

So, my question for the publishers and editors is what the hell were you thinking?  I mean, that first one alone would’ve had my radar pinging like mad.  Come on now, a young girl survives for four years in the woods during the Holocaust by living with a pack of wild wolves who adopted her and kept her safe?

*eyes rolling madly as head connects with wall again* 

And for the authors, did you really think you would get away with it?  Are you that insulated in your own little world that you forgot about the Internet and all those search engines out there just begging for some computer whiz-kid to come along and Google your name?

*deep breath*  At least it’s not plagiarism.  

The thing is…like with the Cassie Edwards thing and the fact that her books are still being offered for sale, I don’t know who to be more pissed with on this one; the authors for trying to dupe their readers or the editors/publishers for being blinded by all those dollar signs flashing in front of their eyes.

That one’s a toss-up, but the thing that really ticks me off is the thought of all those struggling writers out there–myself included–who would do just about anything to make it as an author…

except lie, cheat and steal.  I’d say we need to re-think our priorities, but I’m not willing to sacrifice self-respect for a few dollars.  And God knows, if anyone out there wants my fifteen minutes of fame, I’ll gladly give it to you.  I don’t really want it, I just want to write my stories and maybe, maybe make a few pennies to drop in my piggy bank…I’m saving up for that bottle of Jack Daniels!

I have a feeling I’m going to need it before this is over.

Stay tuned for sports…

My second post of the day has to do with…baseball, of course!  Lots of things going on around Red Sox Nation and am I ever ecstatic to type that!  Woo-hoo!

Here’s the latest on my personal boys of summer:

Terry Francona and the Red Sox have agreed to a three-year contract extension, with a two-year option.  Super!  Go get ‘em, Tito!

The Red Sox were at the White House last week to accept the President’s congratulations on winning the World Series.  My man Manny opted out of the appearance to stay home and meditate, which apparently has become his thing to do when he’s off.  A lot of people–mostly Yankee fans–were upset that Manny didn’t see fit to go, calling him, among other things, classless.  Hmmm…well, after catching George W.’s comments regarding Manny’s absence at the ceremony, I have to say our President behaved like a spoiled little boy denied his lollipop.  I mean, come on, how classy is it to joke about the death of a family member?  I don’t care if you are the President of the United States, you don’t make jokes like that.  Granted, some of my feelings about this one are colored because I’m a Manny fan girl, and I can’t claim to be anywhere near a fan of George Bush, but beyond that, I think what he said was tasteless and not the least bit funny.

Jonathan Papelbon is, according to the bloggers over at AOL Sports, unhappy with his salary.  Okay, I agree with him to a certain extent, he probably is underpaid, but come on, Paps, you make almost half a million dollars a year.  How many young men your age can say that?  The day will come when you’ll be paid and paid well for your skills.  In the meantime, I really don’t want to hear any whining and I don’t want to hear anymore about you rallying the other young guys around you to put the owners on notice they’re going to have to pay in the long run.  I dare say they’re well aware of that.  Oh, and Paps, one last thing, curb that arrogance, it makes you look a little too much like Roger Clemens–and you know how I feel about him!

Last but not least, a few words of wisdom (?) from Hank Steinbrenner to Red Sox Nation:  ”We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”  I gotta tell you, I had a good laugh imagining all those Yankee fans groaning over Steinbrenner’s idiocy.  Jinx!  Jinx!

But that laugh was nothing compared to the one I had when I read that Red Sox owner John Henry made Steinbrenner an honorary member of Red Sox Nation, complete with membership card and all the other perks that come with it.  Still chuckling over that little bit of foolishness!  Thanks Mr. Henry, way to come back on that one!

Outside of Red Sox Nation, Bud Selig has seen fit not to suspend Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens for the 2008 season.  Not sure how I feel about that, I guess we’ll have to wait and see whether either one of them are offered a contract.  Me, I wouldn’t be willing to take the chance with my money, I wouldn’t want them in my clubhouse simply because of their egos.  IMO, people like that hurt a team far more than they ever help it.