Via Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction
My friend Roz Morris had a piece about the mistreatment of authors on her blog. Peter Ginna of Bloomsbury Press responded. Roz has many examples. Peter is one of the good guys. It’s all laid out in the links in the article.
My own experience is that loathing of authors was usually kept to individuals on a case-by-case basis, though for one publisher for whom I worked, that nasty attitude was part of the corporate culture (and as a writer, I was very glad to leave that company.) ~ Chazz
Filed under: publishing
C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m 
Interesting article. I can’t say I’ve had many experiences with publishers. However, the responses I’ve had to queries I’ve sent have been polite. One publisher even went out of her way to provide feedback on the work I submitted. For the most part, publishers have treated me in a way that doesn’t burn bridges. As the article said… a customer.
I will say when I first started reading the article, I wanted to shout, “You’re wrong! There are a lot of nasty folks in publishing… and it’s not secondhand knowledge.” Then I realized I wasn’t making a distinction between the people in publishing… I was lumping everyone together.
Like I said, my limited experience with publishers has been pleasant. My ire comes with agents. I’m not saying all agents, because I have quite a few favorites who rise to the top. Those agents, like publishers, seem to treat writers like customers. In fact, they go beyond treating writers like customers and offer advice almost as if all writers were clients. If nothing else, clients to be. They create an atmosphere which cultivates growth.
On the other hand, there seems to be just as many outspoken agents who treat authors like stepping stones… or rather, trash to be sorted through. For me, the bad apples had a tendency to overshadow the good, and I had to constantly remind myself not all agents are cads. Likewise, while reading the article, I had to tell myself that publishers and agents are not the same though they’re working the same arena.