Ahh - your question inspired too many thoughts Kaoru. Now I am responding and saying too much. Just my interpretation/theory, but given what we are seeing it seems Art might have the same problem as the Church in and how it relates to spirituality. What's going on in the music industry is a good example of such consequences. Art, sex and religion fulfill physical spiritual needs. The way we currently crowd source spirituality in art, sex or religion seems to always one way or another result in general as abuse of the vulnerable with benefit to those who are not so vulnerable. Money and power and exploitation of the vulnerable in a group setting is a tale as old as time. It's sad to see the work of many pay the price for a few. It's difficult for an artist to put themselves out there to have their person and not their work on trial. We haven't solved the systemic problem of abuse in regards to spirituality beyond identifying and convicting criminals. Troubled people use art as a survival mechanism. Some of the best artists are the most troubled. We see spiritual benefit from their pain but do not afford them forgiveness or a way to make amends back into society. Organizers are often called to organizing because they feel the greatest need - it's not surprising to hear these accusations. Victims become abusers - Art like anything spiritual attracts heavy hearts. Chuck is so right -crowdsourcing spirituality is dangerous. Most criminals will tell you they did nothing wrong. They find sanctuary in spirituality, but unfortunately don't always stop abusing. IDK. It's a lot to think about - systemic problems.
There are screenshots of one of the editors (Patrick) sexually harassing women in DM’s, among other things. Editor apologized and then retracted the apology and claims the allegations are false. There are multiple independent accusations of that nature and others who have had severally negative interactions with him, including one who had to take out a restraining order.
For some reason there often seems to be some kind of controversy between the creator(s) of anthology and those who contribute work. Some kind of exploitation or another (ah, the joys of artistic endeavour).
If I remember correctly that indiegogo campaign only got somewhere around $350-500 out of me. The flights, hotel, wheels, and misc expenses I found loopholes and/or very kind and understanding people to issue refunds. When the organizer vanished we took over the Facebook event group, working together to try to understand what was going on, tracking rumors and twitter threads. Some folks decided to go anyways and created their own weekend meet-up out of it. The group was active for years
Thanks for the clarification. At the time there was also talk of a similar convention at the Winchester Mystery House. I'm relieved to hear you didn't get dinged for three grand.
Patricia tells me she had a wonderful time at the reunion.
As an author, if something like this happens what responsibility do you have to be like these other people and say you are pulling your short story? Just posting it on Twitter is sufficient in addition to whatever behind the scenes stuff that needs to happen with you and your agent?
Publisher perspective here: In instances like this, authors or author agents must notify the editor of their withdrawal. Posting on twitter is not sufficient notification. And no author is obligated to post on social media about their decision but many choose to do so when they feel it benefits them to publically distance themselves from a project or make some other type of statement about it.
After reading your “elephant” post from yesterday, I looked up how much a good book binder/book maker machine would cost…
$25,000 roughly and it prints 362 books an hour. There’s a market for young entrepreneurs to help up and coming authors to get their stuff in print. Now if we only knew how to market ourselves.
Nice. Sounds like the tech has improved. I wonder if the latest machine can produce very customized covers? It would be a joy to give everyone their own cover and binding.
That would be amazing! It’s like a build a bear that you can put your own custom dick on! The way the market is going, they’re not leaving us many choices. Either be lucky enough to get published and promoted, or put it on Amazon with the others.
I'll tell you the biggest scandal in the horror world, the fact I'm actually gonna have to pay to engage in any valid dialogue within this void of virtual prostitution! Not surprisingly I again find myself at the whims of another horrible person. And perhaps that's a fair Segway point to tell you that you actually remind me of my father, both in your intimate personal experiences you share openly and overall disposition. Alas you're married and I'm one of those strait white guys, so sadly I'll never know if you fuck like daddy. But I digress, and in all seriousness my dad never fucked me. However his girlfriend did inform me between moans that I'm a better lay than him after his wake. That was nice to hear. Now Chuck, go ahead and hand me one of those chesterfields and tell me. Am I lying?...
Basically, the whole anthology got kinda, sorta Me Too'd. If Joe Lansdale was 1/16 the badass his persona suggests, he would have told the tower-toppling clucking hens "We don't care if an editor is the paragon of nicety or not, we're putting out this bad boy!"
Ahh - your question inspired too many thoughts Kaoru. Now I am responding and saying too much. Just my interpretation/theory, but given what we are seeing it seems Art might have the same problem as the Church in and how it relates to spirituality. What's going on in the music industry is a good example of such consequences. Art, sex and religion fulfill physical spiritual needs. The way we currently crowd source spirituality in art, sex or religion seems to always one way or another result in general as abuse of the vulnerable with benefit to those who are not so vulnerable. Money and power and exploitation of the vulnerable in a group setting is a tale as old as time. It's sad to see the work of many pay the price for a few. It's difficult for an artist to put themselves out there to have their person and not their work on trial. We haven't solved the systemic problem of abuse in regards to spirituality beyond identifying and convicting criminals. Troubled people use art as a survival mechanism. Some of the best artists are the most troubled. We see spiritual benefit from their pain but do not afford them forgiveness or a way to make amends back into society. Organizers are often called to organizing because they feel the greatest need - it's not surprising to hear these accusations. Victims become abusers - Art like anything spiritual attracts heavy hearts. Chuck is so right -crowdsourcing spirituality is dangerous. Most criminals will tell you they did nothing wrong. They find sanctuary in spirituality, but unfortunately don't always stop abusing. IDK. It's a lot to think about - systemic problems.
https://twitter.com/PRMcDonough/status/1770866679980990657 seems to hit all the highs and lows without specifics.
Such a “horror.” It is ironic how “horrifying” this is. Some may say “demonic.” Seems perfect for the theme?
There are screenshots of one of the editors (Patrick) sexually harassing women in DM’s, among other things. Editor apologized and then retracted the apology and claims the allegations are false. There are multiple independent accusations of that nature and others who have had severally negative interactions with him, including one who had to take out a restraining order.
Severely* obviously
For some reason there often seems to be some kind of controversy between the creator(s) of anthology and those who contribute work. Some kind of exploitation or another (ah, the joys of artistic endeavour).
Lots o' discourse on this sitch. It's the horror writers' "Where's Kate Middleton?" buzz on the twitters.
Another day, another scandal in horror fiction land.
Looks like the cancel mob got some fresh signals.
If I remember correctly that indiegogo campaign only got somewhere around $350-500 out of me. The flights, hotel, wheels, and misc expenses I found loopholes and/or very kind and understanding people to issue refunds. When the organizer vanished we took over the Facebook event group, working together to try to understand what was going on, tracking rumors and twitter threads. Some folks decided to go anyways and created their own weekend meet-up out of it. The group was active for years
Thanks for the clarification. At the time there was also talk of a similar convention at the Winchester Mystery House. I'm relieved to hear you didn't get dinged for three grand.
Patricia tells me she had a wonderful time at the reunion.
As an author, if something like this happens what responsibility do you have to be like these other people and say you are pulling your short story? Just posting it on Twitter is sufficient in addition to whatever behind the scenes stuff that needs to happen with you and your agent?
Publisher perspective here: In instances like this, authors or author agents must notify the editor of their withdrawal. Posting on twitter is not sufficient notification. And no author is obligated to post on social media about their decision but many choose to do so when they feel it benefits them to publically distance themselves from a project or make some other type of statement about it.
Note to self: Crowdfunding is a terrible idea if anyone but you is in charge of the monies.
Note to self: crowd finding only works out well for Brandon Sanderson and his fans. No one else. Ever.
After reading your “elephant” post from yesterday, I looked up how much a good book binder/book maker machine would cost…
$25,000 roughly and it prints 362 books an hour. There’s a market for young entrepreneurs to help up and coming authors to get their stuff in print. Now if we only knew how to market ourselves.
Nice. Sounds like the tech has improved. I wonder if the latest machine can produce very customized covers? It would be a joy to give everyone their own cover and binding.
That would be amazing! It’s like a build a bear that you can put your own custom dick on! The way the market is going, they’re not leaving us many choices. Either be lucky enough to get published and promoted, or put it on Amazon with the others.
It’s time we take the power back!
::pumps fist to a crowd of one::
That would be pretty cool.
I'll tell you the biggest scandal in the horror world, the fact I'm actually gonna have to pay to engage in any valid dialogue within this void of virtual prostitution! Not surprisingly I again find myself at the whims of another horrible person. And perhaps that's a fair Segway point to tell you that you actually remind me of my father, both in your intimate personal experiences you share openly and overall disposition. Alas you're married and I'm one of those strait white guys, so sadly I'll never know if you fuck like daddy. But I digress, and in all seriousness my dad never fucked me. However his girlfriend did inform me between moans that I'm a better lay than him after his wake. That was nice to hear. Now Chuck, go ahead and hand me one of those chesterfields and tell me. Am I lying?...
Its sad. If you want to do something awesome do the awesome thing, do not fleece people! Sorry Chuck, that Overlook thing sounded incredible...btw
Basically, the whole anthology got kinda, sorta Me Too'd. If Joe Lansdale was 1/16 the badass his persona suggests, he would have told the tower-toppling clucking hens "We don't care if an editor is the paragon of nicety or not, we're putting out this bad boy!"