Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum.

- Graycie Harmon

Friday, August 5, 2011

They've Got a Little List

... and I'm on it! Whoo hoo!

You might find the my enthusiasm a little odd when you find out that I'm on an author boycott list. I had no idea I was there until Renee Miller and Rita Webb (who contributed to and edited (respectively) the anthology Unlocked in which one of my stories appears) told me directly.

The list belongs to pretend industry watch-dogs The Write Agenda. Here's the list. Check it out! There's my name! Squee!

I'm just happy that someone knows who the hell I am, alright? Is that a crime? I had no idea what I thought or said was important enough to be put on a boycott list.

The Write Agenda, incidentally, claims to be an industry watch-dog. However, a little searching around will reveal them to be little more than some sort of backlash against the real watch-dogs, refuting claims of scams and trying very hard to defame authors who speak out against such scams.

You can read about them on Rita's blog here, or even on Renee's blog, here. Both excellent articles, incidentally. For their notes on The Write Agenda, they gotten themselves boycotted as well. Rita, the overachiever, has managed to get herself on the Author Boycott list, on the Propaganda Watch List, and on the The Write Agenda Critics List.

Clearly, I'm just not trying hard enough.

Their biggest target thus far has been Writer Beware, who do very good work and ought to be commended.

The fact is, if The Write Agenda did what they claimed and actually exposed fraud, or really did tell 'the other side' of the story, so to speak, then I'd be able to take them seriously. As of now, they've proven to be nothing more than a hate group - like a pack of school yard bullies who have nothing more intelligent to say than 'I know you are, but what am I?'

What's more, anyone who finds the list and researches the authors upon it will find a whole whack of people all saying much the same thing about The Write Agenda. It won't reflect well on The Write Agenda. They're actually damaging themselves. What a bunch of tools!

Of course, the bigger tools are those who only read The Write Agenda, and I suppose there must be a fair few of those floating about.

Do us all a favour, new authors. Research.

Since I can't really take them seriously, I'm having a ball with this. I'm on a list! I'm on a list of authors! I'm on a list of authors in very good company! Hello, Rita and Renee, A.C. Crispin and Victoria Strauss!

So, I'm on a list, and I couldn't be more thrilled about it!

Right. In other news...

Last night was a more or less impromptu equestrian archery lesson. It was hysterical fun, as always. There were three of us last night - myself (obviously), J.M-B. and her sister K.M-B. One person was on a horse, the other two worked on a move in sword-play on foot.

IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!

I have a tendency to giggle hysterically, when I'm having fun, and I spent most of my time with the swords giggling hysterically. Awesome!

My archery improved a little, I felt; and, of course, it was incredible to be on a horse again. I heart equestrian stuff. Stuff is the technical term, in case you were wondering.

There will be no photo evidence of this lesson, I'm afraid, as none of us remembered to bring a camera. Oops.

In writing news, I haven't done any. I know basically how my next new fun project will go, but other than jotting down some descriptions and one or two scenes, I haven't really done anything. I've been watching lots of re-runs of Qi and enjoying it immensely. Writing will commence next week. I have the first scene in my head already.

Well, there's no rush for me to do anything much, but I'm going to leave you anyway. This post is long enough, I reckon. Have a great weekend all!

Cincinnati Oysters

Pigs' trotters, or pigs' feet. Many examples can be given of this strange perversion of names - Albany beef, Marblehead turkey, etc. Similarly in England, a herring is called a Billingsgate pheasant, a two-eyed steak, etc.
- Sylva Clapin's New Dictionary of Americanisms, 1902

2 comments:

Debbie Maxwell Allen said...

On a list, huh? Congratulations! Conflict is always good for publicity. Though I can't really understand what this group is aiming at...

~Debbie

S.M. Carrière said...

I can't figure it out either, unless they're the very scammers the others are warning about and are seeking to create enough doubt to still capture unsuspecting authors and weedle money from them.

In any case, they can't be taken seriously. Anyone with a brain would question why an industry watchdog would put any authors whatsoever on a boycott list.

Tools, I tell you!