| Author |
Message |
    
Fred Dungan
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
550
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 02:07 am: |   |
Modern censorship doesn't always involve throwing someone in jail. They are much too clever for that. Dirty deeds are accomplished with economic leverage. Take away someone's means of making a living and that person will either toe the line or starve to death. It happened to Henny Youngman and many others. Now, it's happening to me.
Several times when I posted a message that they found offensive, Amazon and Publish America have temporarily quit selling Bushwhacked. Now, Barnes and Noble has jumped on the bandwagon and are refusing to sell new copies of my book. I don't know how long it will last, but I can assure you that it won't shut me up.
Chapter 16 has to do with Freedom of Expression. That's fancy talk for having a voice. Once again, mine has been silenced. The sad part is that it happens so often that I am getting used to it.
More than 10,000 people have read Bushwhacked and that is a conservative estimate. That's pretty good, considering that only a handful of paperbacks have ever been printed.
http://www.fdungan.com/freedom.htm
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Harry Simenon
Awareness Member
Post Number:
48
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 08:01 am: | |
Don't worry Fred. No one can silence the truth for very long.
Just keep a job next to writing. |
priceless1 (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 68.96.86.244
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 08:15 am: | |
Whoa, Fred. How exactly do they temporarily suspend selling your book? Isn't that a contractual obligation for them?
Lynn |
Laurel Johnson
Unity Member
Post Number:
2623
Registered: 01-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 09:49 am: | |
My publisher of The Alley of Wishes and her distributor have the same hassle with AMAZON and BARNES and NOBLE websites. My book, released last July, is still not on either website although the new cover and necessary info was uploaded months ago. The plain truth is that both major online booksellers do what they want, the way they want. They make the rules and everyone plays by them or else.
When I asked amazon why the delay, a representative told me that my publisher had to deal with Ingrams or Baker and Taylor - Amazon's favored distributors. |
Sheryl Nantus
Awareness Member
Post Number:
3
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 10:28 am: | |
aye, there's the rub - you're told that the online world is the best way to sell your books, but when the two major outlets for said books don't want to carry the book or the correct info, well...
Fred, wouldn't this allow you to get out of your contract with PA then? I mean, if they're not selling any copies nor making it avaliable and all...
*confuseded look*
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Dennis Collins
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
577
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 10:31 am: | |
Conventional wisdom sez that common problems can usually be traced to a single source.
Basic problem solving can be reduced to two words... Root Cause.
Fred... I'd have a long hard look at your publisher. Did anyone ever tell you the story about Ward Kendall? |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
849
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 12:39 pm: | |
Just what I was thinking Dennis. The story of Ward makes one cringe and shudder. Fred or anyone else who wants to know, email me privately and I will tell you the whole story, or maybe Dennis is better qualified as he was in on it from the beginning, also, and a little longer than I was, or maybe CE might want to chime in on this one. I don't know if he has ever gotten his book away from the limbo it was in. Sad thing to happen to a writer and his works. No matter what anyone's position is about Ward himself or his politics, no one should have to ever go through what he went through.
Claudia
Cltvcoyote@aol.com
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Fred Dungan
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
553
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 09:50 pm: | |
Publish America lost all of my paragraph breaks when they transformed the text to pdf. Instead of asking me for another copy, they threw paragraph breaks in at random. We never agreed on the content. Publish America ended up discarding much of the material and sent it to print without making any of the changes I sent them. After contacting their author support staff privately numerous times, it became obvious that they had no intentions of going back and doing the job right. So, I did it for them. I purchased pdf software, transformed the original manuscript into pdf myself and sent it to them. Meiners got mad because he thought I had altered Publish America's pdf file (one of his biggest no-nos). The next thing I know, I'm being banned from the message board and my book is withdrawn from publication for more than a year. Finally, after I embarrassed them by posting it to the web and going public with my grievances, they agreed to make the necessary changes, add the missing material, and put my book back into print. All I had to do was to sign a new contract promising to say that our differences had been "amiably settled." Not only was it a lie, but it was also tantamount to a gag order. I refused and they haven't permitted anyone to place an order since then. When I persisted in letting the world know how Publish America cheats its authors, they worked behind the scenes to make certain that there was no way anybody could ever get a copy of my book.
http://www.fdungan.com/bushwacked.htm (complete and unabridged)}
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Dennis Collins
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
579
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 05:34 am: | |
Very disturbing Fred... And I was brginning to think they had grown...
At the last conference I attended, someone mentioned a watchdog group that provided attornies to handle publisher/agent/author concerns. Seems to me that there were either no fees or that it was quite reasonable. I'll see if I can dig out that information and post it here. |
Perry Comer
Unity Member
Post Number:
1162
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 06:21 am: | |
Victoria S. had some links to law firms who worked pro bono for authors.
I had the link but it has changed. You may want to contact her.
http://www.pacwriter.netfirms.com/ |
Dennis Collins
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
580
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 08:05 am: | |
What is needed for class action? |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
850
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 09:25 am: | |
the way I understand "Class Action" is that every person who feels that they have been wronged would have to come forward and proceed with the litigation, no backing out. If you signed in, usually there is a stipulation that you must provide all verification that a wrong has been committed against you, your works, your person, your character, your health, etc.... There is usually a punitiative damage set for those that participate in a class action suit set by the courts whereby the actual persons hurt get compensated for the damages. However, if one attorney fails (there are usually a barage of attorney's on each side) to fully gain the judge's attention to the wrongs, or one person (and usually many witnesses that have to be all very strong) doesn't have a believable full case against the perpetrators then the thing most likely can fall apart. In other words, it has to be pretty solid. Usually these cases are handled pro bono, with the attorney taking on the costs in the hopes of a large settlement and then getting costs thrown on top, sort of like the Erin Brokovich story. That was a classic example of "Class Action" against a major company. Although I do not know the number of complaintants that it takes to have a class action suit, I believe that it has to be more than just a handful and since there are many more "satisfied" authors in the the company in question's stable, most likely a judge would throw one against them out the window, as being frivilous, because of the small number of authors that are disgruntled. The company would try make it seem like those people would be unhappy no matter where they were published as their demands of a publisher are outlandish, and not to be meant by any reputable company.
I may be worng about some of the points above, but I think that is how it works, as I have been a witness to a few here in the Reno district court system against some major companies. I was an auditor for-through the unions, and worked to make sure that benefits were paid, and had to testify on two suits. And I had to testify on a suit against a major health provider for the mentally ill, to get a friend's grandaughter out of harms way. She won the class action suit that resulted from the first suit that I had to testify in. She was one of about 1,500 other complaintants against a major hospital company.
Claudia |
Fred Dungan
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
558
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 12:21 am: | |
I filed a suit once in Small Claims court over a roto-rooter that went the wrong way down my sewer line and came out the vent stack. It seemed obvious to me that the roto-rooter operator was incompetent, but the judge didn't see it that way. Likewise, when my ex-wife filed for divorce, I thought it obvious that we should stay together for the sake of our son. I won't go into details, but the legal process ended up going the wrong way down a sewer. How often do pro bono lawsuits result in awards? The answer is, of course, about as often as a writer gets a judgment against a publisher. Surely, there must be other avenues to justice that we can explore.
http://www.fdungan.com/bushwhacked.htm
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Gloria Marlow
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
574
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 07:37 am: | |
Most personal injury, negligence, etc. are handled without compensation unless the case results in an award. That is why it is hard to find a lawyer to help with something like this. Nobody wants to spend years on an action that there is very little promise that you will win. And if you did win, what are your damages? How can anyone figure what someone's damages on something like this are? And there have to be damages to have a lawsuit. And the damages have to be monetary or there has to be a monetary value assigned to them.
Unfortunately, I am coming to realize that everything comes down to the monetary value. I can't believe that decades of marriage can be reduced to money. Kids are used as weapons only to gain more money. Kids are given up so that people can get out of paying money. It's all about the money.
I've become very disillusioned with the whole world in general and am feeling very sad today...how can love and life and everything we hold dear be ruined by something that in the grand scheme of things makes no difference at all $$$??? |
Perry Comer
Unity Member
Post Number:
1163
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 08:11 am: | |
But then Gloria there is MY BIG FAT OBNOXIOUS (SP) FIANCÉ (or whatever). My wife had to watch the conclusion last night. The punch line came down to being the love that the members of the Coy family had for each other. as the father said, "It is not about the money."
As a pastor, I have seen misery up close and personal. Money plays a big part in the misery people create for themselves BUT money (greed) is only the outward manifestation. The real problem is selfishness.
When people fight and divorce it is because one or both are self-centered. The same is true of grown children who make parents lives miserable. It isn't greed it is simply self-centerness. Other people don't matter and whatever happens to others is their own fault. Self-centered people do nothing wrong, at least in their own minds.
People with the capacity to love others do not hurt others. They consider others before they speak or act. These are thoughtful people.
I tell couples about to marry, “Love is always putting the needs and wants of the other person before your own. If you can’t or won’t do this, then don’t get married to this person.” Believe me, I get some strange looks.
When I ask the question, “Why do you two want to get married?” Most answer, “Because we are in love.” Right then I know there is a problem. Love is a good start for a marriage but it isn’t enough. If I get an answer like, “I can’t live without him/her” or “he/she completes me” then I feel there is hope for the marriage. (BTW I am a 100% cynic - people fall in mudholes not love)
A lasting marriage is one of giving on both sides and a sense of taking advantage of the goodness of the other.
SO, Gloria - it comes down to who is self-centered and after the money.
signed - ramblings of an old preacher
http://www.pacwriter.netfirms.com/ |
Laurel Johnson
Unity Member
Post Number:
2628
Registered: 01-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 08:37 am: | |
The love of money is the root of all evil.
And "chemistry" makes it seem like the object of our attraction completes us or that we cannot survive without that person. When the trials and tribulations, stresses and strains pile up on us, and when those blessed attraction hormones and chemicals start fading, that is where the rubber meets the road.
I have a tuch of the cynic in me too. Maybe it's my age. |
Gloria Marlow
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
575
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 09:22 am: | |
I probably shouldn't be in working in the divorce industry...
The funny thing is the people who come in with big problems, often tend to work them out and go on with their marriage and lives. It's the ones who come in with all the petty reasons that can't/won't make it work.
Of course, my dad's advice to me when I got married was "don't come home because I'm not letting you in the house". He loved me and there have been times in the last 18 years, I know he would have let me in, because the problems were big. But the truth is, so many times, people run to their family or friends and tell them all this horrible stuff about their spouse and then turn right around and go back to them, it drives a wedge between all parties. My dad said that while I would go back and forgive my husband for whatever he did, he and mom wouldn't be able to do that as easily and so he didn't want to hear every little petty problem we ever had.
I am lucky enough to be married to my best friend, irregardless of the changes in our lives and selves.
Credit is the true root of all evil...it makes people think they have money when they don't. |
Dennis Collins
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
581
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 11:22 am: | |
If money is the overwhelming driving force for some, it becomes their most vulnerable area. If your persistence becomes a financial burden to your adversary and they have the option to stop the bleeding by simply saying, "Uncle," their greed will certainly dictate how long they wish to continue the battle.
Large corporations regularly settle lawsuits out of court to save legal expenses. It's a business decision and not a moral one.
When it comes down to the question of your rights to your work; They have 'em, you want 'em. How bad do you want 'em? |
Gloria Marlow
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
576
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 11:39 am: | |
Well, I got off on a tangent that was way away from the actual question, didn't I?
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Fred Dungan
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
559
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 09:26 pm: | |
Actually, you are right on target. Although it goes to great lengths to be fair, the legal system is sluggish, puts business intereats ahead of social needs, and is not in step with our values. The fact that we are stuck with it does not mean that we have to like it.
http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm |
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