Scandal.
This word has, increasingly often, gone hand in hand with the publishing industry. It has gotten so bad over the years that I wish I wasn’t part of this community, and I often do everything I can to avoid the toxicity of the masses. However, I like helping people, so I end up wading through sludge regardless.
That’s not my favorite thing in the world to say the least.
This week’s incident begins with this reddit post.
The author in question, Mark Dawson, has been a figurehead of the indie community for many years. (Even when he bouht his way onto a prestigious list.) I’ve never done his courses, and while I’ve met him, I can’t say I’m friends with him. I don’t know him. I don’t even know the truth of this situation. I only know what was presented in the reddit post, which is enough to make me cringe.
I am looking at this fantastically researched reddit post with more than a little regret–regret for the many authors who looked up to this man as a figurehead of morality in an industry absolutely riddled with a lack of ethics and toxicity.
I am watching those who aren’t succeeding rallying, looking for someone new to look up towards. (Please do not look at me. I’m tired and stressed, and while I do my best to handle all my work ethically, I write all my own books, I do not buy outlines, I only use my own ideas, and I pay my staff fairly… I do not want to be the apple of anyone’s eye. I just want to help people when I can.)
This week’s implosion, I feel, hit a lot of hearts. And for those who are hurt because someone they looked up to may very well have engaged in less-than-ideal behaviors, I’m sorry.
It sucks.
But can we please talk about the white elephant in the room now?
For those of you who are unaware of the lore of the white elephant, it goes like this: once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away (if you’re living in the United States, that is), there were a group of people ruled over the wealthy and powerful.
When you did something to offend the wealthy and the powerful, the white elephant might come pay you a visit… a “gift” from the emperor you could not ignore.
The white elephant is literal. The animal, of pale skin compared to its “normal” counterparts, required a great deal of care to keep alive and healthy. If you allowed your white elephant, a gift from your emperor, to die… you would be viewed as insulting the emperor.
The emperor was not giving white elephants out of the goodness of his heart. It was a punishment. It was a slight, a way to cost you a fortune… a way to punish you for a transgression under the guise of a gift.
The white elephant in the room, today, is that “gift” that we must ignore in fear of insulting someone.
That’s why they’re called white elephant parties when you give gifts of that nature… you have to pretend you love the gift. In reality? Probably not.
You know, except that time when you get a pizza stone at the white elephant party, and this is the greatest thing ever. (I fucking loved that pizza stone, right up until the day it shattered in my oven and the world may as well have ended.)
People are angry because…. every reason you can think of in the book industry, really. I’m not going to cover them. We would need all day and more time than any of us have. But I’m going to cover some of the things that have people up in arms.
1: That it takes money to make money in this industry.
Yes, it does. I highly recommend that you get over it. This is literally how the book world has always worked. Indies need to remember that the traditional publishers take on the burden of the money for the projects they think may actually fly. We’re no different. You are not ever going to be able to take a book, throw it online, and expect it to succeed.
Success is not free. It has never been free. Success either requires one of two things: the money to directly advertise a book or the money to get someone with influence to advertise the book for you. Either way, the book likely had some form of money driving its success.
Even the books that were made because of some “influencer”… well, that influencer got paid one way or another.
Money is here to stay as a part of the book world. Please don’t bury the reality of the situation. If you want to get your book in front of readers, there is going to be money involved in some fashion or another.
Sometimes, the money lost in the ridiculous amount of time spent attempting a greenroots campaign. (These almost never work. Sorry, but they almost never work, especially not on a scale that people wish for their books.)
Word of mouth is fucking wonderful… but the readers with influence probably aren’t finding your book just by chance.
It might be a facebook ad… one that attracted one of their friends, which in turn led to a word of mouth sale. Maybe it was an ad meant to go to librarians. Or, maybe it was the author finding and approaching everyone they could… (Which costs the author time, which IS money.)
Sorry, but that’s just the reality of the situation.
Maybe there are rare exceptions where people get lucky… but I am not one of the lucky.
“But you’re successful!”
And I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to become successful. I started spending my pennies everywhere I could. I worked the equivalent of three jobs to make it happen. I fought hard to get where I am at.
2: That we must do anything possible to earn a buck. (Spoiler alert: I do not agree with this in the slightest.)
I was scammed for over ten thousand dollars by someone promising that I could become successful if only I listened to her. That same scammer now runs a seven figure business coaching business… and no, her victims are not making seven figures. Most of them aren’t even making five figures a year. Most are lucky to make four, and they’re giving this woman and her colleagues most of their earnings “chasing success.”
My heart hurts for them, because they refuse to believe the woman’s victims. But at the same time, because they refuse to believe the victims, that is a price they are choosing to pay.
That is wholly a them problem and not a me problem. (Nor do I have the time to try to save an industry from itself, an industry that thrives on this sort of thing.
Most of them are paying her between four to five figures only to be told that there was something wrong with their book. Or that they didn’t follow her Almighty Opinion.
I sympathize with them… I’ve been there, done that… but every now and then, someone else who can’t believe they got scammed comes knocking at my door to ask me questions.
I wish people would listen to the victims rather than believe the abusers. It would save future victims a great deal of time, effort, and money.
3: That the circumstances of our birth are key to success.
But, according to the current mess… the fault is with people like me. I don’t check any of the boxes. I’m not a member of the BIPOC community. I’m not a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I’m not a whole lot of things… so, according to the rallying cry of those who haven’t made it, for any reason what soever… I’m to blame.
I should be used to this by now, but it sure is tiresome.
If you’re successful, you’re scorned. SURELY you cheated. Surely you didn’t write your own book. SURELY you are doing something unethical.
I write my own books. I come up with my own ideas. I don’t even use programs like ProWriting Aid or Grammarly. I bar my editors from using those programs, too. Everything is done by humans. (My designer does not use AI, either. Everything is done by hand/painted, etc… that is why a cover costs me $1,000+ a pop. I’m paying people for their skills and expertise.)
And they deserve to be paid fairly.
But this week’s inquisition is a painful one.
I, and other successful authors like me who clawed from nothing to something, are the bad guys yet again.
And this time, it’s because we aren’t members of the BIPOC community, we aren’t members of the LGBTQIA+ community… and we became successful.
We’ve become an enemy of the people, and all we did was make it in a harsh publishing industry.
I did not start out with money. I worked hard to get where I am at. I worked as an editor, with no free time whatsoever, just to be able to afford the basics.
But… once again, those who succeed are the enemy, and this saddens me.
But because human nature is human nature, the lashing out isn’t at just the man who had disappointed many this week, but at everyone who has succeeded.
It doesn’t even matter anymore if we succeeded while doing our best to lift others up.
We succeeded, and so we are the enemy.
Already, I’m seeing the lynch mobs form, and it saddens me. Will I be targeted? Very probably. The scammer who took me on a ride likes pointing her posse in my direction every time there is an opportunity. We’ll see, but I expect it.
But I would ask that people put down their pitchforks and look at the date.
It’s the holidays.
This is not spreading holiday cheer, especially not when people are looking for more authors to condemn solely because they succeeded, are still succeeding, or once upon a time succeeded.
Let’s do better.
And yes, I realize how entertaining it can be to sip tea and watch a mob go after someone. But please… read, learn, and walk away.
Don’t crucify the innocent this holiday season, solely on the grounds that they managed to find a success in an industry where success is a rarity.
But let’s try loving one another first. If your “campaign to lift others up” requires “stepping on someone else and bringing them down”… it was never a good campaign in the first place.
Can we please just stop?
Please?
Signed,
An exhausted author who works very hard to be where she’s at.
Hugs. I wish I could wave a magic wand and get people to stop a moment, see what they’re doing and saying, and maybe, just maybe behave. Alas, my magic wand is on the fritz so the best I can do is send you healing and energy (the good kind) and wish you and yours a very happy Christmas and New Year. 🤗🎄❤
It is sad that people have so much of a herd mentality and the current mentality (influence?) is that anyone who is not in the vaunted group is therefore suspect by exclusion. It does amuse me that it is often ‘the herd’ that claims we have not descended from animals… sigh…
i am sorry they target you for their ire for not being in those vaunted groups. It is very sad that you are targeted, because member or no, you are certainly an ally through your books. Sometimes, i think people get upset at people like yourself because they Want you to be part of that group, their group, and you’re not. i have come across this situation before and it always saddens me. Unfortunately, you can not fix it, because it is very much a Them problem and not a You problem. Even if you spell it out for them, until someone in the future takes them down because their group is no longer the favored one, as a group they will not see. One can only save the individual.
The situation with this writer is a sad one. Some of the information i read was obvious that this was plagiarism and lifted whole from another work. Other information is more of a stretch, and comes about because the writer of the reddit post, though understanding that there are only a certain amount of ways to say certain things, does not understand that in those fields, in English, there is a certain order in which you specify things that is understood by is no where written down. The easiest example is the one often used: The red big dog. Without commas, this tends to grate on English speakers as it is commonly accepted that we say The big red dog. So too in the example that the reddit writer gave on decorating (i am, and have been a decorator for many years). The word order that both the article and the book is the way one expresses those particular elements when one groups them in a sentence. Though if the author in question did not know decorating, he wouldn’t know that.
When any author, fiction or non-fiction, uses a specific reference about a place, and really, who doesn’t? You can’t know everything about everywhere. The simplest solution is to put a reference (and a thank you) in the back of the book. Why is that so difficult? It is, of course, not necessary when you use it as a starting point and vamp on your own about a place. i would prefer to look at a photo or painting or google maps, and then give my own description, but some people can’t feel places the way i can and so prefer to take information verbatim. If they do that they should just acknowledge it, why do they make it hard for themselves? i personally don’t understand not wanting to give credit where credit is due, but that is me and that is you, but that is not everybody.
The whole situation is sad. It is more sad that people would go after you for Not belonging to certain groups and being successful. Being successful costs, at the very least, work, work, and more work. Work equals money, work equals time, time equals money. It is unfortunate that this writer attempted to circumvent that, but that should not be reflect onto you. Of course, that doesn’t stop it from happening unfortunately. However, the bright side is that no one will be able to write an article such as the one on reddit about you. Your critics will not take this as a positive, but that is on them. The truly moral high ground can be a lonely and painful place, but know that you are not alone. And there are many people, although less stridently vocal, who are very happy that you are as you are. We will always be here for you.
I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this thoughtful comment. Thank you!
And yes, all writers get the “unspoken rules of orders in English”… for the most part. But the key thing here is… nobody would really phrase a bunch of this stuff in this exact way.
So the example with the wainscot is perfect for this. It wasn’t just the order of words, but the exact layout and presentation. It was the *combination* of elements.
Nobody is going to go after an author for saying “The green dragon took flight.” This is common phrasing.
But to describe a room, precisely as was done, that was ONLY found in two sources, one of which is the author in question… then things get murky.
Common phrasings are absolutely ignored by the writing community.
But the instant you get into very specific and specialized things… that is when people notice.
Hi Blain.
I am not a writer or a critic. And English is my second language.
I have read, and re-read, your books and they are dangerous to my health.
I have spent many a late night, and early mornings, investigating the body counts and other crimes.
Your books are like a breeze into a stale genre. They are different, and eminently enjoyable.
Please, keep writing.
Regards
Finn
I don’t remember enough to be even close to a quote.
R A Heinlein once wrote a bit about how the “right thinking” members of a society ejected the successful inovators and their economy ground to a halt.
“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as “bad luck.”
― Robert Heinlein
Love your work. Merry Christmas!!
Sending Hugs.
Many hugs. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to create the wonderful worlds and adventures you share with us.
Ignore the bah humbuggers and enjoy your holiday by turning off the tv and spending time with the hubs and cats! There’s always going to be haters who spread evil out there so ignore them and just read the good vibes that is who are on patron try to send your way. 🤗🥰🤗
Ps Merry Christmas or whatever it is you celebrate and a happy new year!
This year I’m getting over having the flu, and will be doing good to sit upright with my family on Christmas day. You can bet I’m avoiding the drama like the plague that it is. Hope you get some real rest on the holidays and quality time with the people you love. *hugs*
Have a happy holidays, Lydia!! I really hope you feel better soon.
Amen to that.should apply to everyone no matter their occupation.
Blessed be, and as Nero Wolfe would have said to the naysayers, “Pfui!”
I used to be on social media quite often… not anymore. Too many lies…. just too much it made my heart sick. So now I only pop on facebook once in a while to check out family posts and log back off. So, my heart hurts for you and all the other authors who do not deserve this cruel treatment. They are living with that big green monster on their shoulder. Please keep writing. Reading is my only getaway. I read your books over many times. Happy Holidays and a better New Year for all of us! And F**k the scrooges.
THANK YOU! For every time I felt miserable, struggled with anxiety & depression and your books let me escape reality, feel part of their characters lives and fall asleep with a smile. You are deeply appreciated. I’m sorry you have so many battles to face.
You are loved! Your writing is wonderful. My mother and I just devour your books. We also recommend your books to anyone who isn’t a nonfiction only kind of person. There seems to be more and more negativity happening and it sucks. I definitely hope it doesn’t push you out of being an author. I don’t understand why people can’t keep their negativity to themselves except the whole misery loves company thing. Bet duct tape would fix that, but, alas is probably illegal.
I am sorry you have to go through this time after time. You work hard for your coins and we that truly follow you realize that! My hope for you this Christmas season is a peaceful time and for you to have joy in you life.
Thank you for sharing your gift with us.
Rebecca Myers
You are right, it is the Holidays. So I am not going to harp. All I can say is that every writer should be read and judged as an individual. Innocent until proven guilty. I am not a professional writer and I have not written a short story since high school. But I am an avid reader. I have read up to 30 books a week at my peak, before I had to get a job and join the real world. I realize how much hard work each writer puts into their work, and how much of themselves. Often you can tell an author just from the writing style of their work and it is the style of the author that appeals to the reader. The amazing authors are the ones that can jump from style to style to appeal to different readers. But often copies amounts of research is required for a book because not many authors have life experience to make things believable. This is where plagiarism comes in and is why it is rampant. So much time is lost to the research, and then to try and find a way to make that research sound real and from the author with a deadline looming? Well, often the author just dumps the info in a despret attempt to get the book done on time and get it to market. And all concern of plagiarism is forgotten. Plagiarism is rampant but I find it is often on subjects that an author has absolutely no knowledge about. Having lots of people proofread or beta read a book often helps solve this issue as the readers pick out what does not feel right, but in the end it all comes down to time and as RJ says, Money. So if a single author is found guilty of plagiarism than fine, cease to read their books or call them out on it. DO NOT roll that judgement across to all other authors or to all books based on that genre. Until you write a book and try to get it published no one has the right to say success has come easy or that someone has cheated. The workload is unending until a book is finished and then the next book must begin. So remember that like everyone else, they are just trying to make a living by entertaining the reader.
Also, love all your books across all your series. Took me a month to get thru them all between work. Was such a great stories. Thank you.