Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Write Agenda is WRONG

My first real introduction to publishing was a little over eight years ago. I was directed to a company by an on-line acquaintance and subsequently signed two contracts with that firm. I'm not even going to acknowledge the name of that company in this post, because that's giving them too much credit.
I readily acknowledge that I was naive and uninformed, but hey, I was a "published author" and for a while I was content. It took awhile, but some issues arose and my satisfaction with that company deteriorated drastically; to the point that I wanted to be released from my contracts. This post isn't about that situation.
It was at that time that I started to investigate and learn what real publishing was and what my expectations should and could be when working with a mainstream publisher. I 'googled' the name of the company and found all kinds of information, but by that time I knew that everything on the Internet was not necessarily accurate. Remember, I said earlier that I was naive!
That was the beginning of my ongoing education into mainstream publishing. I read LOTS of posts on various forums, but I didn't stop there. I verified information that I read by contacting the authors of as many of those posts and forums as I could. Among the sources that I found to be honest and reliable were those by A.C. Crispin and Victoria Strauss. Enter their names into your search engine and you can discover for yourself who they are.
By my estimation, they are very successful writers and also quite well-known. They could focus all their energies on writing, but they take the time through the Writer Beware website to educate fledgling writers and, at times, warn them about potential pitfalls. (If I had discovered their site sooner and investigated further, I would not have been so naive.)
Recently, a website has surfaced that attempts to portray them negatively. The individual or individuals who created this site (The Write Agenda) choose to remain anonymous. The only purpose of this website appears to be to damage the reputation of the individuals it criticizes. Ann and Victoria have been aware of the site for sometime, but only recently commented publicly about it on their Facebook pages. I can't cut and paste to this message box or I would provide you with links to their comments. I can provide you with the address for the comment made by John Scalzi on Oct. 3 regarding the matter. It is: http://whatever.scalzi.com/
Now, it's a fact that fledgling writers cannot normally expect to get a contract offering great royalty percentages (those are pretty standard) or advances. BUT, they do stand a much better chance of signing with a reputable company and having a shot at success if they listen to the advice of individuals like Ann, Victoria and John who are already there.
It's pretty obvious to me that it is NOT the intention of the creators of The Write Agenda to help writers succeed in their profession. They have an agenda alright, but it's hidden along with their identity.

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