This one is going out to those e-printing programs now on the rise across the internet and to those that write books that frankly aren't worthy to be printed.
For those of you following the publishing news lately, you have likely heard about the book being marketed online with a major publisher attempting to justify and make easier the behavior of pedophiles. Honestly, in my humble opinion, I was sickened when I saw this book.
Obviously, there is the issue of the topic. I understand that people have the right to say things that they want (with limits), however, as I listened to the author talk, truly trying to justify his topic and making it sound justifiable. That was too much for me personally.
But, since this is a blog focused on publishing, I want to bring up my complaint with this book in that light. When I saw this, it once again supported my argument about the availabilty of e-printing to everyone. Programs being operated by major book retailers or online sites seem to really be putting money ahead of quality.
I do understand there is a downside to this. I am thinking of the authors out there that were once published with traditional publishers and are now selling their books electronically that they own the rights for. But, now that this issue has come up with this other book, there will be an effect on these other authors. I can clearly see policies, legal decisions and the like coming up that will now put a serious bump in the e-publishing market.
I have said this in the past, and I will say this again. Publishing is open to everyone, but not everything should be published. No, this is not a matter of being an elitist and saying people aren't worthy. This is simply a matter of looking at publishing as a business.
Just my thoughts on this.
I've got to think that if someone at Amazon had given this an even rudimentary glance, they would have realized that they needed a better vetting process immediately. Their initial defense was vague and weak, and the material pretty clearly violated even their relaxed standards. It's out of their store now, and I'm betting they're crafting a stronger process as we speak.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said elsewhere, I think this is the wake up call the e- and self-publishing industry needed. This is hopefully the last time we'll see something like this from a would-be respected publisher. (But I'm an optimist.)
It surprised me to find individuals siding with the author in this case. Censorship. This is the second time this year, I've seen people hop on that bandwagon. And this anything goes attitude really irritates me. People have lost their mind.
ReplyDeleteSure there's free speech. People are free to write whatever they want. That doesn't mean businesses, schools, whatever have to make that literature available to their patrons and students.
Free speech doesn't give people the right to infringe on the rights of others.
Sometimes I just don't know what this world is coming to where people use the Constitution as a defense for amoral behavior.