In Authors, Propaganda, Strategic Book Group on March 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm
There is a classic story about a man who went around telling stories about an individual with the intent to harm his reputation. Once it was brought to his attention that this was wrong, he wanted to repent for his transgressions. This story demonstrates the difficulty in repairing the injury once words are communicated:
“Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds. Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers.”
In a recent Facebook posting, Novelist Frank Riganelli posted numerous statements regarding Strategic Book Group, Eloquent Books etc. etc. It’s a well-known fact that these entities are facing legal challenges in the State of Florida. We’re all waiting with bated breath for this matter to come to a conclusion. As civil human beings, the courts will decide this matter not us. Regardless, it’s old news and this appears to be a common defense for some authors that want to project the failure of their book’s marketability on to the publisher.
Frank, who was also the subject of a recent blog posting of ours, has numerous books out which reflect the lowest of Amazon Sales Rankings possible upon a cursory review. Of course, there are two sides to every story. However, perpetuating known facts, steeped in negativity and propaganda, is not going to compensate an author for their own failures. Furthermore, an author’s time could be better utilized in marketing their books rather than spending time playing the blame game, whining about how they were wronged and scattering useless “feathers to the winds.” Especially, when you consider that their own books are in the pits. There are many examples of self-published authors that see the value in patiently waiting for the courts to do their job and not engage valuable time in negative tale-bearing. Frank makes the following statements on his Facebook page:
“This company never follows through on what they claim. They have a contract manager that is simply a charasmatic [sic] person but has no idea what she’s doing. Stay away from Lynn Eddy, she is a fraud pure and simple. She will talk sweet but has no clue about the publishing industry. Robert Fletcher LOVES to hire cheap labor and she is NO exception. You get what you pay for and she is no exception!”
We would love to hear from Frank regarding these claims. We are trying to be fair and objective. What did they fail to “follow through” on? What supports the claim that the contract manager “has no idea what she is doing”? Why the warning to “stay away” from Lynn Eddy and call her a “fraud”? What supports your claim that she has “no clue about the publishing industry”? What separates and supports your professional experiences that make you more knowledgeable? These are bold and inflammatory statements and, without supporting documentation, are nothing more than a red herring. These statements are compelling but they fail to validate the claims without substantive proofs. It’s interesting to note that Frank’s website has the following quote: “Frank’s debut book is sharp and informative. – Eloquent Books” Seems like it would be time to select a new endorsement.
“The person who listens to gossip is even worse than the person who tells it, because no harm could be done by gossip if no one listened to it. It has been said that . . . disparaging speech kills three: the person who speaks it, the person who hears it, and the person about whom it is told.” (Talmud Arachin 15b).
References
“Commentary: Those Funny Delusional Authors « The Write Agenda.” The Write Agenda. Web. 05 Mar. 2011. <http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/commentary-those-funny-delusional-authors/>.
Frank Riganelli. Web. 05 Mar. 2011. <http://frankpr.weebly.com>.
“Intriguing: How Does the “Thumbs Down” List Amazon Rankings Compare to the “Watch Dogs”? « The Write Agenda.” The Write Agenda. Web. 05 Mar. 2011. <http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/intriguing-how-the-thumbs-down-list-amazon-rankings-compare-to-the-watch-dogs/>.
“NovelistFrank Riganelli | Facebook.” Welcome to Facebook – Log In, Sign Up or Learn More. Web. 05 Mar. 2011. <http://www.facebook.com/Frank.R.Novelist?sk=wall>.
“When Authors Aren’t Willing to Market Their Books.” WritersWeekly.com. Web. 05 Mar. 2011. <http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/005129_01072009.html>
