anthology cancellation
Nov. 26th, 2007 05:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julesjonesAt the beginning of this year, I sold a short story to an anthology of slash fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, to be published by a small press that intended to market the anthology to a fanfic audience. It was originally supposed to be printed in time for the press to take it to a major zine con in May. The book launch was delayed, with the promise that it would be ready for the next suitable con. That didn't happen either. Late last month the anthology was cancelled, in a manner that I consider less than professional.
I'm not going to name and shame the publisher in a public post (and I'd ask that those of you who know who the publisher is refrain from naming them in the comments thread). I understand very well the pressures that can lead to a zine editor taking their ball and going home; as some people on my flist can confirm, I have been that editor in the past. But I think there's a difference between cancelling a zine, and cancelling a commercial anthology. In the latter case, you're dealing with fiction that has a monetary value to the author. The manner in which the anthology was repeatedly delayed and then finally cancelled has led me to cross that publisher off my list for future submissions.
I've also removed references to the publisher from my website, because I know that my having submitted to that publisher may lead other authors to think that they must be okay. Let this be a warning -- don't assume that because a multi-published author has something with a publisher that the publisher must be a good one. It could be simply that there were no warning signs and some good ones when the author first submitted. Worse, it could be that the author was put in an awkward position when a friend asked for something to help get her new epub going (not happened to me yet, but I know of it happening to others). As the EREC gang will all tell you, what authors say in public is not necessarily what they'll tell you (even if only by lack of enthusiasm) if you email them privately to ask about a publisher.
I'm not going to name and shame the publisher in a public post (and I'd ask that those of you who know who the publisher is refrain from naming them in the comments thread). I understand very well the pressures that can lead to a zine editor taking their ball and going home; as some people on my flist can confirm, I have been that editor in the past. But I think there's a difference between cancelling a zine, and cancelling a commercial anthology. In the latter case, you're dealing with fiction that has a monetary value to the author. The manner in which the anthology was repeatedly delayed and then finally cancelled has led me to cross that publisher off my list for future submissions.
I've also removed references to the publisher from my website, because I know that my having submitted to that publisher may lead other authors to think that they must be okay. Let this be a warning -- don't assume that because a multi-published author has something with a publisher that the publisher must be a good one. It could be simply that there were no warning signs and some good ones when the author first submitted. Worse, it could be that the author was put in an awkward position when a friend asked for something to help get her new epub going (not happened to me yet, but I know of it happening to others). As the EREC gang will all tell you, what authors say in public is not necessarily what they'll tell you (even if only by lack of enthusiasm) if you email them privately to ask about a publisher.