Did You Hear....?????

One of the questions that come up a lot on the lists, "Why didn't anyone warn/tell me there was a problem with XYZ Publisher?"

Information is important currency to authors. It can save us time--or cost us time and opportunity.

Information can also be the killing blow to a small press publisher.

There is no magic formula for how to foresee if a publisher is healthy or about to disappear. All of us struggle with how and when is the "right" time to share what we know or what we've heard.

While it can be fun to be "in the know," spreading information that you don't know is true can have devastating effects on a small press working with a thin profit margin in a hostile environment. Rumors can even take down a healthy small press. If you've ever played "Gossip" as a child, then you know how quickly information can get distorted, even by well-meaning individuals.

My best advice is: don't pass on information until YOU have personal proof that something is wrong. And then be careful how you share that information and who you share it with. If your careless words caused harm, you could get sued.
Perilously yours,
Pauline

The Key, L&L Dreamspell, Independent Publisher Awards Bronze Medal Winner
2008Proud member, Broad Universe (http://www.broaduniverse.org)

It was hard not to feel like the gods had sent him a gift for not giving up, but he realized she might not see her arrival in quite the same light. He ran a finger down the smooth curve of her cheek, then across her soft, full lower lip, relieved to see the slow rise and fall of her chest.
from THE KEY