News yesterday of two more e-publishers who won’t be with us for much longer. I know, I know, we’ve heard it all before and without a doubt, we’ll hear it again. Having been with two e-publishers who went down; StarDust Press who handled the whole thing professionally, and Twilight Fantasies Publications, who…didn’t, I sympathize with the authors of both companies. As for the owners well…you be the judge.
Shadowrose Publishing is now listed on the EREC blog (Emily Veinglory’s site) with a cloud of smoke, meaning there have been “some reports of trouble.” Preditors & Editors says their link is “broken.” No word from Piers Anthony yet, but then Mr. Anthony’s page isn’t scheduled for an update until next month, and I imagine he’ll have something to say when he does update. Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books, Dear Author, and Karen Knows Best have all reported on this as have, I imagine, many other blogs out there in cyber-space.
Shadowrose is a perfect example of taking the low road and I have nothing but loathing for them.
The second, Dark Eden Press, is a relatively new e-publisher. Most of what I heard about them during their short time in business, was positive. There were a few rumbles, but since they’re closing, the negatives are not really relevant here. What is relevant is the way the owner, Debra Durham, has chosen to handle the closing of her business. Instead of slinking away and hiding, Ms. Durham has taken the high road, releasing a letter to her authors telling them what she plans to do.
Her letter can be found here. I dare every person with even the vaguest notion of starting an e-press now or at some future time, as well as every e-publisher in business today, to read it and learn!
The thing is…all this has me wondering what the hell is the matter with people these days? And like I’ve said in the past about the owners of Twilight Fantasies who chose to take the low road when they closed, how the hell do they look at themselves in the mirror every morning, knowing what they did to their authors?
What happened to doing the right thing, admitting you failed, and taking responsibility for your actions?
<sigh> I guess it’s pretty naive and foolish of me to believe that the golden rule I learned as a child–treat others as you would like to be treated–still stands. It doesn’t, at least not in e-publishing. The golden rule for e-publishers these days seems to be sign as many authors as you can, grab the money and run, and oh yes, we mustn’t forget the most important part, fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.
I really hope St. Peter’s taking names, and plans on kicking some ass when the time comes.
2 comments
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March 28, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Ebooks Diary
OMG
Are you kiddin’?
March 30, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Isis
I was one of those authors who signed with Shadowrose, my work was to be part of an anthology due out this fall. I am shocked and saddened by the treatment all of the authors at Shadowrose have received. I’m a little luckier in that my work was never published, but I do live in a kind of limbo cause it hasn’t been ‘officially’ released from Shadowrose so I can’t take it elsewhere. But am working on legal steps about that.
I feel for the authors who have had work published by them and Shadowrose is still selling those works but the authors are receiving no revenue for their works. Nor is Shadowrose communicating with anyone.
Is it too much to ask that Shadowrose take some responsibility and inform its authors that their works are released. Aside from the financial accounting, some of these authors have lost years of hard work and now have nothing to show for it, not even the right to take the story elsewhere.
Isis