Unpleasant Cargo

This unpleasant post: Precious Cargo: Why Print On Demand Technology Won't Transform Publishing is a cowardly and inaccurate rant about a post I wrote a while back on Petrona, in the process misrepresenting what I wrote, and ascribing opinions to me that I do not have.

I was alerted to this post by Dave Lull, the man who wrote it did not do me the courtesy of letting me know he was writing it or had written it. I have written a comment on his blog, but as he has "comment moderation" switched on, this comment may not actually appear, and I have not saved it.

Dave discovered this situation by reading a posting by Michael Blowhard on "Get Rich Writing". Mary Scriver, in a comment on Michael Blowhard's posting, supports my position: "Winkler's critique of Maxine is not valid because POD is only part of the revolution." Thank you, Mary.

My post, incidentally, was not hot air but was about a POD programme at Random House, which the publisher is expanding, as reported in Publishers' Weekly, among other points about the supply chain not mentioned by "Precious Cargo". There are inaccuracies as well as omissions in the Precious Cargo posting, some of which I specified in my comment to the post, if he is not too cowardly to publish it.

Comments

[Steve Clackson]

Not to put to fine of a point on this, but Winkler is an asshole. He relishes these attacks and continues to snipe at other bloggers with his myopic view of publishing. Sorry you were his target this time Maxine, move on he isn't worth the cyber ink.

[Maxine]

Yeah, Steve, too right. And he is very very fat.

[crimeficreader]

I'm with Steve on this one, Maxine. The headings of the posts there say it all.

I read both posts. Yours was written in the true style of your blog: pose a question/hypothesis and invite debate. He clearly read the post, decided not to engage and to argue his case elsewhere.
One good thing to come out of it: if his readers follow the link, then they'll find another blog that is far more welcoming, stimulating and positive!

I'd also add that I have some pet hates when it comes to blog etiquette:
1. Quoting another's post ad nauseam in making up one of your own.
2. Not crediting your source by way of hat tip, link or other (when the case is obvious to some).
3. Reading a post and making one of your own, with no thought of crediting (when the case is not obvious and the post appears to be an entirely original thought).

[Lee]

I've no interest whatsoever in Winkler, but I never mind if another blogger cites my fiction or posts, or even adds me to their blogrolls, so long as links are in place. It's happened a number of times, and I usually discover the matter via my stats or something like Technorati. However, I do appreciate being informed via email.

Since I also happen to be very very fat, I suppose it's advisable that I don't blog any further.

[Maxine]

Last I looked, Lee, you weren't taking apart other people's blog posts, misrepresenting them, ascribing to the blogger opinions and activities that the blogger does not have (he calls me a failed novelist for example), and not telling the other person you are doing it.
You can't have looked at Winkler's post when you wrote your comment here, as he was not citing my post, he was attacking it in an extremely inaccurate, rude and ignorant way. That is rather different from what you have written.
My "fat" comment was my one allowable fit of childish pique at this awful person.
Everyone else can be as fat as they like, including me, and I shall not comment on that at all.

[Maxine]

Yes, Crimeficreader, we are at one on the blog etiquette front. My experience is that other bloggers are pretty good about crossreferencing, such is the nature of blogging. But I do know of some bad offenders who nick and don't cite other bloggers' posts -- I think this can happen among, eg, book review blogs when one blog breaks news of a book or is first to review it, and another blog posts extracts or info about the book without acknowledging the source as they want to look as if they found the news independently.
Thanks for your kind comments on Mr PC. Good point about his post perhaps making people come and visit over here, and in the process maybe even deserting his blog forever!

[Lee]

Maxine, I most assuredly read Winkler's post but I wasn't - and am still not - interested in discussing its substance. My comment was simply addressed to the matter of blogger etiquette: should a blogger inform another when posting about that other blogger's public statements? Personally, I don't feel it's necessary, but I happily accept that there are different views of the matter.

[Maxine]

OK, Lee, we'll just have to agree to differ - to my mind there is a difference between a "hat tip" style of comment when you are picking up on a point made on another blog, and a full-blown attack/rant. Just a trackback to my post as he was writing his was all he needed to have done to alert me to the fact that he's written it.

[Peter L. Winkler]

Dear Maxine:

I published your comment. So much for (false) accusations of cowardice.

You continue to assert that I have somehow misquoted or misused your post on POD.

That is absolutley untrue. I excerpted quite generous portions of your post without in any way altering them.

No doubt, if I had simply reppublished your entire post in order to avoid false charges of misquoting you, you would have complained of copyright violation.

In addition to the quotations from your post, I linked it so that readers of my blog can read it in its entirety. One can't be any fairer than that.

You publish a blog, not a private diary. If you don't want to subject yourself to discussion, criticism, or argument, then don't keep a blog.

But if you do keep one, be mature enough not to hit the ceiling when someone dares to disagree with you.

Sincerely,
Peter L. Winkler

[Maxine]

Requesting a trackback to be alerted that you are attacked is not "hitting the ceiling", nor is my response to your post on your blog, Mr PC.
Just to take one example of your selective misquoting, you harangue and jeer at me because you say publishers don't have marketing budgets for these POD books, whereas I specifically addressed this point in my post by describing internet aggregate book marketing, eg independentbooksellers.co.uk -- so you jeered at me for not having considered an important aspect of the supply chain that I explicitly had considered.
That is one example, but your post contained others.

[Debi]

Don't waste any more of your energy, Maxine. Your balanced and intelligent response both in this post and on his blog say it all.

There are more than enough people out here who value what you do and how you do it.

I know it's hard not to get drawn in with this sort of thing - try not to give him that much power!

[Maxine]

Yes, Debi, it is all forgotten now. Once I'd got over my initial shock, and because someone told me about the post, was able to rebut the points, I forgot all about it. Have now moved on to more constructive things.

Thanks for your kind comment.