I only got halfway through reading this article before being called away to do something . . . but so far the whole situation as posted is very strange.
I've seen a lot of screwy situations involving small publishers and their sources for revenue, but this one just floors me. What's really scary is that, based on some of my own experiences with flakes and psychotics who wanted to become bigshots in publishing, it sounds perfectly plausible.
The US small press these days does seem to breed 'em, doesn't it? I spose the problem is that, with the advent of POD, for a few hundred bucks any jerk can be a publishing magnate and fulfil his wildest megalomaniac dreams . . .
Fifteen years ago, that jerk was only starting up magazines and then killing them when he discovered that readers were buying it for the articles and not for his editorials. Now, and I speak from experience, he can sit on book manuscripts for years while playing at being a magazine editor as well, and nobody will call him on it for fear of being labeled by other editors as "difficult". One of the nicest things about having quit writing on a professional basis is that I simply don't give a damn if I'm labeled "difficult" or "psychotically solipsistic", so long as I'm allowed to let these twits think that I'll come through their living room windows and leave bowling trophies permanently embedded in certain orifices if they screw me over.
Sorry: my time at Science Fiction Eye damaged me more than I knew. There's nothing quite like getting the "labeled as difficult" threat from an editor who's so delinquent with getting the next issue out the door that his magazine is nicknamed "The Last Dangerous Magazine".
You did? Golly! I hadn't realized. As you can see, there are just a few comments here.
"Do you have any thoughts on the situation?"
I'm working flat-out to finish my current nonfiction book, so haven't really got time to spare to think about any situation! Much panicked gibbering going on. (Hence the brevity of my link to your account.) When next I get a chance, I'm going to post the details whereby people can sign on for Cantara's updates e-mail list.
I do recall the fracas when the guy abruptly fired Cantara and Michael from the editorial positions on the Thingie Whatever Review -- they'd grabbed a story of mine for it, and were having to tell me that, er, oops. They suggested I write to Gill to see if he still wanted it, but I never heard back so in the end let Cantara use it in her own mag.
(Can't remember the titles of the two mags offhand. Isn't it terrible? I'm knee-deep in accounts of 17th-century perpetual motion machines and there's been a distinct depletion of braincells as a result . . .)
well, a couple of hundred hits over the last two days. It's a lot more than I usually get on a given day. Good luck with that perpetual motion machine.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 01:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 02:07 am (UTC)I need to go back and finish reading the post.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 08:19 pm (UTC)The US small press these days does seem to breed 'em, doesn't it? I spose the problem is that, with the advent of POD, for a few hundred bucks any jerk can be a publishing magnate and fulfil his wildest megalomaniac dreams . . .
no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 10:33 pm (UTC)Sorry: my time at Science Fiction Eye damaged me more than I knew. There's nothing quite like getting the "labeled as difficult" threat from an editor who's so delinquent with getting the next issue out the door that his magazine is nicknamed "The Last Dangerous Magazine".
no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 03:29 pm (UTC)I expect another update from my publisher about this any time now.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 05:19 pm (UTC)"I got a ton of hits from this."
You did? Golly! I hadn't realized. As you can see, there are just a few comments here.
"Do you have any thoughts on the situation?"
I'm working flat-out to finish my current nonfiction book, so haven't really got time to spare to think about any situation! Much panicked gibbering going on. (Hence the brevity of my link to your account.) When next I get a chance, I'm going to post the details whereby people can sign on for Cantara's updates e-mail list.
I do recall the fracas when the guy abruptly fired Cantara and Michael from the editorial positions on the Thingie Whatever Review -- they'd grabbed a story of mine for it, and were having to tell me that, er, oops. They suggested I write to Gill to see if he still wanted it, but I never heard back so in the end let Cantara use it in her own mag.
(Can't remember the titles of the two mags offhand. Isn't it terrible? I'm knee-deep in accounts of 17th-century perpetual motion machines and there's been a distinct depletion of braincells as a result . . .)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 07:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 07:36 pm (UTC)"a couple of hundred hits over the last two days"
That may be because Cantara gave the URL to the entirety of her e-mail list . . .