Secrets, Lies, and Publishing
8402
Writing & Speaking > Writing
Mar 1, 2007
Penny Sansevieri
Secrets, Lies, and Publishing
The beauty of print-on-demand (from the publisher?s perspective) used to be that they had limited liability when it came to content. Sure they?d scan for hate material and other stuff that could definitely get them sued but aside from that, if you had a bone to pick with an ex-boyfriend and wanted to kill him off in a novel, have at it!
Well now that might be changing.
Author House just lost a case in Kansas courtroom citing that the publisher published a book of libelous nature. This from the Publisher?s Weekly article which came out yesterday: According to court documents, AuthorHouse published Paperback Poison: the Romance Writer and the Hit Man by Gary D. Brock, with his current wife, Debbie Brock, in November, 2003. Some of the more incendiary claims in Paperback Poison include allegations that Brandewyne broke laws, committed adultery, plagiarized several of her books, and hired a hit man to kill her ex-husband, the book?s author.
So when does it become an effective use of a publisher?s time to vet every manuscript they get? With the mountain of work that?s submitted to any of these publishers on a given day my sense is: it?s not. Despite this case I suspect that changes won?t be afoot (although a few nervous publishers are no doubt meeting with their attorneys as I write this to have their contracts rewritten).
Most of the time the ?hold harmless? clause in POD contracts protects the publisher from such cases, in this situation it did not. Still, let?s look at this rationally. With all the thousands of books that have been published since the inception of POD this is the first such libel case that made it into court, that?s pretty good in my view. The idea behind POD and the reason it works is the minimal involvement by the publisher, that?s the idea it was built on and if you remove that, these publishers will be limited in what they can publish just by the sheer volume or work that?s submitted and the extensive vetting process it may have to go through.
The idea is that POD is a do-it-yourself form of publishing and despite the industries rumblings about the quality of work that?s published, etc. if this model changes then it?s only one step removed from traditional publishing and at the end of the day, that?s never what POD?s been about.
Well now that might be changing.
Author House just lost a case in Kansas courtroom citing that the publisher published a book of libelous nature. This from the Publisher?s Weekly article which came out yesterday: According to court documents, AuthorHouse published Paperback Poison: the Romance Writer and the Hit Man by Gary D. Brock, with his current wife, Debbie Brock, in November, 2003. Some of the more incendiary claims in Paperback Poison include allegations that Brandewyne broke laws, committed adultery, plagiarized several of her books, and hired a hit man to kill her ex-husband, the book?s author.
So when does it become an effective use of a publisher?s time to vet every manuscript they get? With the mountain of work that?s submitted to any of these publishers on a given day my sense is: it?s not. Despite this case I suspect that changes won?t be afoot (although a few nervous publishers are no doubt meeting with their attorneys as I write this to have their contracts rewritten).
Most of the time the ?hold harmless? clause in POD contracts protects the publisher from such cases, in this situation it did not. Still, let?s look at this rationally. With all the thousands of books that have been published since the inception of POD this is the first such libel case that made it into court, that?s pretty good in my view. The idea behind POD and the reason it works is the minimal involvement by the publisher, that?s the idea it was built on and if you remove that, these publishers will be limited in what they can publish just by the sheer volume or work that?s submitted and the extensive vetting process it may have to go through.
The idea is that POD is a do-it-yourself form of publishing and despite the industries rumblings about the quality of work that?s published, etc. if this model changes then it?s only one step removed from traditional publishing and at the end of the day, that?s never what POD?s been about.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Penny C. Sansevieri is a book publicist who turns authors into success stories. Get her free author marketing newsletter and insider tips at www.amarketingexpert.com
Write a Review
Add to My Favorite
Refer it to Friend
Report Article
Other links owned by this user
The dynamics of media are changing drastically. TiVo has changed the way we watch TV and satellite radio has changed the dial on AM/FM, maybe for good. Regardless of what you believe or don?t believe relative to the staying power of satellite radio, one
Category:
Congratulations, you're published! I know you want to sell as many copies of your book as possible, but make sure the choices you make also make sense for your book?and not just because you think you?ll get on Oprah. I've known authors
Category:
The beauty of print-on-demand (from the publisher?s perspective) used to be that they had limited liability when it came to content. Sure they?d scan for hate material and other stuff that could definitely get them sued but aside from that, if you had a
Category:
If you?re looking for a shortcut to get your consumer to buy, it might be through their ear. Auditory response is one of the strongest senses we possess. Have you ever wondered why you can ember the tune of a song (?It?s a small world") but can?t
Category:
Other links at Writing & Speaking > Writing
If you are having problems thinking up a subject to write about or wondering how to express it, just think of the last time you had a lively conversation a friend. You were comfortable, you were natural, you were inspired and you were satisfied
Category:
The agent said yes to the query letter! Finding out how to write a book proposal is your next step.
Category:
The flip side of the success coin is failure. In our culture, failure has almost become a taboo subject - and yet failure simply means lack of success. Learning from failure to gain the success you want isn't magic - it's called planning. In writing this
Category:
According to recent surveys, over 70% of people questioned said they would like to write a book. This article touches on three key points that just might help them - and you - do just that!
Category:
Knowledge and know-how can be formed into easy steps that will destroy the power of procrastination. Using the amazingly easy steps below writers can conquer the giant procrastination and speedily write their best book now.
Category:
Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics
Articles: 68252
Categories: 501
Yahoo Entertainment
