feedBad Publishers Have More Fun (and Get More Bad Press)
Good lord. Sometimes the publishing biz is simply so ugly that it makes me want to toss it out with the dogbath water.
John Grogan does not want you to buy or read the forthcoming collection of his newspaper columns from Vanguard Press, Bad Dogs Have More Fun. The Marley & Me author is so unhappy about the book's publication that his agent has sent a letter to the publishing community distancing him from the project.If you wanted to strike a deal to sell a book, don't you think you would at least have a chat with the author of the articles you are attempting to sell... even if you owned the rights to said articles? I mean, it's utterly ridiculous. I can't imagine the sort of nerve it takes to do such a thing. They likely knew he wouldn't want them to do it, of course, so they went ahead without him. But still. Honestly. It's filthy, dirty, yucky.The September title, which pulls together pieces Grogan wrote at the Philadelphia Inquirer—the subtitle is Selected Writings on Animals, Family and Life by John Grogan for the Philadelphia Inquirer—came together without the author's approval or involvement. As such, Grogan's agent, Laurie Abkemeier of DeFiore and Company, today sent a letter to sales reps at Grogan's current publisher, HarperCollins, expressing Grogan's displeasure and explaining he will not be promoting or supporting the title in any way.
Oh I relish the opportunity to use the word "yucky." So, thanks, Vanguard, for just that opportunity.
Labels: books
