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Karl Straub's avatar

In my anecdotal experience, people that are trying to make money off you expect you to do their job for them much of the time, want you to give them as much as they can take, and are quick to drop you if a better source of money comes along. But then they don’t understand why you’re mad, and will even expect you to hear them chatting about the other opportunity and be happy for them.

There must be exceptions to these generalizations, but these behaviors are the ones that stick in my head.

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Lev Raphael's avatar

I can't say more without revealing the press, but I have found other presses much more author-friendly and definitely more honest.

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Karl Straub's avatar

That’s good to hear!

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M.E. Proctor's avatar

Ouch. It's sobering to learn that being screwed by an editor/publisher can happen at any stage of a writer's career, not just at the beginning....

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Lev Raphael's avatar

Yes, their thinking that they could fob me off with effing postcards was really infuriating.

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Dennis Martin Brooks's avatar

Reminds me of when I was an actor. I was offered a "baritone role" in "The Merry Widow". I flew to Coldwater, Michigan, Tibbits Opera House, to find I was in the chorus and had a second act walk-on as the maitre d.

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Lev Raphael's avatar

Yikes!

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From Ritual to Romance's avatar

It sounds to me like the publishing world is full of sociopaths.

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Lev Raphael's avatar

To some extent, yes. But most of my legacy house editors have been decent and even sometimes wonderful.

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LindaAnn LoSchiavo's avatar

It's one thing to "borrow" the individual you suggested as a person to endorse your book - - but quite another to gaslight you and pretend the conversation never existed.

But why couldn't a stellar authority blurb 2 books? Is there a shortage of compliments going around?

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Lev Raphael's avatar

They apparently didn't think so--and didn't want to ask X twice. Ironic, since there are so many blurb whores in the writing world.....

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Josh Spilker's avatar

which book was it?

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Lev Raphael's avatar

Can't so, sorry.

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