I'll Do It My Way
A word from LawDog, our publisher.
From the LawDog Files.
I love seeing stuff like this, but it annoys me at the same time.
Here’s a screengrab for those who don’t do “X” or “Twitter,” or whatever it’s called today:
Why? Because authors getting paid for their work shouldn’t be shocking. The fact that an author is surprised that we’re paying her for her work irks me to a degree that I’m not exactly sure I can articulate properly.
Why is it that a pack of misfits with brain-squirrels, bumbling around with only the SHAG Principle* as a guide lamp, and happily making Every Mistake Known To Man is held up as an example of “what SHOULD be” in an industry that’s been around since the 19th century?
The gratitude we get from authors for just…treating them right…shouldn’t happen. Treating authors right should be the bloody norm, and not something worth being grateful over.
When I first started this, I was told that “anthologies will lose you money.”
Well, we’re doing it our way, and we seem to be doing fairly well.
I was told, “You can’t tell your authors how many books are sold, or how many pages are read.”
Well, we’re doing it our way, and yes, you can.
I was told, “LawDog, you can’t keep open books.”
Well, we’re doing it our way, and it turns out that you certainly can.
I was told: “There’s no way you guys can publish an anthology every two weeks.”
Well, we’re doing it our way…and we can.
At Foolzcon and other cons, I’ve been told, “You can’t change the publishing industry, Ian.”
Huh. Maybe not, but you know what? NextGen presses like us, Three Ravens Publishing, Jumpmaster Press, and Cannon Publishing will continue to treat authors as valued partners, instead of cash cows to be milked dry and discarded; to treat authors as we would like to be treated; and to just be decent human beings. Those who follow the predatory model of publishing can either evolve out of being parasites, or fall by the wayside as authors find that there are options which will treat them fairly.
No, I may not be able to change the publishing industry, but I’ll be damned if I’ll fall into their ways.
By God.
LawDog
*Scientific Hairy-Arsed Guess
I've worked with Three Ravens Publishing and Cannon Publishing, so this write-up makes me want even more to set aside time to submit stories to Raconteur Press anthologies. :)
SWAG...sigh... Scientific Wild Ass Guess... sigh And yes, you saw what we did with the CalExit and Tales Around the Supper Table anthos!