YABookgate

[BlankSpaceBaby]

The only recent celeb book I know people around me read and discussed was the Prince Harry one.

If you're into romance, like me, and treat this as a work of fiction, the "Prince Harry" in this novel is a Heathcliff-ian protagonist with severe mommy issues that is to die for... well, until he becomes a bland simp for Meghan Markle in the final act and it's clear that that section was entirely choreographed by her.

Recently, astronomers rearranged their biggest telescopes, aimed them at one tiny crevice in the cosmos, and managed to catch a glimpse of one breathtaking sphere, which they named Earendel, the Old English word for Morning Star. Billions of miles off, and probably long vanished, Earendel is closer to the Big Bang, the moment of Creation, than our own Milky Way, and yet it’s somehow still visible to mortal eyes because it’s just so awesomely bright and dazzling.

That was my mother.

The ghostwriter deserved every pence they were paid.

 

[neverendingmidi]

Some of the celeb books fail, but some of them apparently sell.

---

I'm not doubting the numbers. People buying the books to virtue signal was my assumption.

A number are bought by Libraries, whether public or school. I remember my dad bitching about wanting to borrow Ann Coulter's new book, which apparently had 3 copies for the entire city, vs. Michelle Obama's book, or Hillary Clintons, or Barak Obama's which were 12 books each on the new releases shelves, and something like 300+ each for the city as a whole.

 

[Mine is the Fury]

I just finished reading To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, which was mentioned earlier in the thread due to an attempted cancellation due to the author's problematic plot. I was originally going to write a review of my thoughts but honestly I've got fuck-all to say about it. It was... ok. I finished it, but faded out for sections. I liked the premise but the author does nothing interesting with it. I wanted a Magical East meets Technological West story about a conflicted magical assassin but what I got was some anxious teenager whining about her family over and over again, and doing fuck-all assassinating. The romance is half-baked and unbelievable and the world-building needs a fuck load more construction before it's interesting.

Supposedly most of the drama was due to it being a "Colonizer Romance" with references to Unit 731. While the former is certainly true, though in the bluntest, most historically uninformed, leftist-college-grad understanding of colonisation possible and with "romance" in the thickest of quotes, the latter is completely untrue. If the author didn't outright say Unit 731 was an influence I would have never realised it, and I actually knew what Unit 731 was before I read this book, unlike most of the people trying to cancel it. Basically some secret human experimentation is going on, but that's only revealed in the last couple of chapters and even then the connection with Unit 731 is slim at best. The outcry about this book is based entirely on a few comments the author made about her inspirations and calling Fantasy-Whites gods a few times. (The author probably does have at least some white-fever though). I doubt most of the them read it or even skimmed through. I was hoping for more... Go full Eurasian-Futurist or something. It really feels like some hall monitors got their panties in a bunch about bland oatmeal. That said, good luck to the author and I wish her the best. Honestly. She didn't deserve the treatment she got.

 

[Gnillik Yot]

I agree with the above poster as far as the ridiculousness of the cancelation attempts against Molly X. Chang. But I must emphasize it was an attempted cancelation, the imbeciles who attempted it had the whole thing blow up on their face with the stink of a spoiled egg. One of the ringleaders turned out to be a failed Muslim author who made up some lie about Molly harassing negative reviewers. While the other ringleader, @wiltedpages on Twitter, privated her account for ages and only recently emerged.

I will probably read To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods out of curiosity, but my opinion will probably be similar to yours.

 

[Kiwisee]

Whenever I see any author getting cancelled by mentally ill Twitter freaks, I’m more tempted to go and get their books before they’re un-published.

It’s clear that most of these cancellation attempts are done by jealous people who never learned from their own failures. The amount of energy they put towards combing through their target’s social medias, in search of anything problematic, could instead be put towards writing stories people actually want to read about.

I’m well aware of the irony that I’m saying this on KiwiFarms of all places. It’s a trend that I’ve noticed in most of these cancellation/de-platforming attempts.

Speaking of cancellation attempts, it’s always funny watching these same Twitter freaks get upset whenever they’re the ones being review bombed on GoodReads (I’m of course referring to the Cait Corrin controversy, which is old news. I’m catching up on this thread as I type this out).

They’re all for review bombing authors that the Twitter crowd is unhappy with, heaven forbid their own tactics are used against them by jealous peers. It’s why I ignore whatever ratings are on GoodReads before buying a book.

With all of that out of the way, these people need to eat a huge slice of humble pie.

One truth that they should come to terms with is that everyone is fucking bigot in some shape or form.

Everyone is racist, they just don’t like to admit it. Sometimes racism does stem from trauma caused by people from certain groups. Sometimes it comes from pattern recognition when you notice trends in behaviours.

What I guess I'm trying to say is that what matters is whether or not the bigot acts on their prejudices.

Saying slurs on the internet is hardly the worst thing a person can do. Honestly, they’d do well to remember that most progressives are perfectly fine with saying racial slurs in private discords… they just don’t like it when other people do it.

However, I do take issue whenever one group is allowed to say “kill all whites” without consequences, but another is banned for suggesting that borders are a good thing. Either it is all bad, or none of it is.

I've gone on for far too long. I understand that the average leftist Twitter freak cannot comprehend any nuances (or if they do, they weaponize other people not understanding said nuances).

 

[Shaneequa]

I do take issue whenever one group is allowed to say “kill all whites” without consequences, but another is banned for suggesting that borders are a good thing.

I like to think that these sort of people are just ignorant of the contradictions in their virtue signaling instead of actively malicious where "my" side is always right and justified and "their" side is always wrong and undefendable with full knowledge of the hypocrisy. Like, they actually believe the stupid shit they say.

 

[Mine is the Fury]

I like to think that these sort of people are just ignorant of the contradictions in their virtue signaling instead of actively malicious where "my" side is always right and justified and "their" side is always wrong and undefendable with full knowledge of the hypocrisy. Like, they actually believe the stupid shit they say.

If it's ignorance then it's willful ignorance at this point, and what's more, it shows they haven't examined their own ideology at all. They are either incapable of thinking out of their ideological box because they're thoroughly indoctrinated and don't even know what outside the box looks like, or they're deliberately refusing to look because they've already decided everything outside the box is wrong and evil. Either way they're intellectual lightweights and cowards. Maybe not evil, but certainly cowardly, vain, and spiteful.

 

[JJLiautaud]

I just came back from my local library and holy tap dancing christ it has eighteen(18 ) copies of becky chambers latest slop.

 

[Elwood P. Dowd]

Is the Crave business a LOLsuit or an actual lawsuit? I'm trying to find a link about it that isn't an annoying YouTuber or an even more annoying TikTokker, but this is (sadly) proving impossible. Publisher's Weekly, etc., is apparently not going near this.

In any event, here's a link to LOL- or law- suit:

https://s3.documentcloud.org/docume...-v-tracyt-wolff-crave-copyright-complaint.pdf (will attach as well)

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21564103-lynne-freeman-v-tracyt-wolff-crave-copyright-complaint

(archive is busted for documentcloud, it appears)

Since I have not read and will never read the work in question, I guess I'm not really in a position to judge that, but it sure sounds like a million other YA novels, so I suppose that mitigates against this case.

However, the Agent Behaving Badly claims are kind of ... interesting, if nothing else. Assuming they're remotely close to being true, of course. Certainly shows a literary agent essentially acting as an appendage of the publisher and in an adverse way to the author represented, the one to whom she (I presume) has some sort of fiduciary duty. Basically the suit claims the Crave series was the agent feeding the work in progress to the publisher who scraped off the serial numbers and gave it quite literally to another author.

Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLP - Seem like real attorneys, though with an area of specialization in IPOs and M&A, curiously. Pretty white shoe, or at least with aspirations to be such, at least at first blush.

CSReeder, PC - Seem to be a law firm of literal fags, top to bottom. Very strange. The "favorite things" page shows a link to LA's "premiere gay bar," a hairdresser, the Harry Houdini estate, etc. But, no less for that, I guess and unlike the above firm, they flat out say litigation is their bread and butter.

Neither seem to be strip mall sole proprietors, at any rate, willing to take on any crappy case like we saw with Peggy Poulter, etc. If there's one thing I've learned at the Farms it is to check into the attorneys whenver a lawsuit comes to my attention. And these guys seem for real.

 

[World Famous Quasi Payer]

4. Freeman’s book is a young adult paranormal fantasy romance set in in high school in Alaska, with a protagonist who moves to the state from San Diego, after a tragic accident killed her family. The story follows a teenage girl who believes she’s human, but is not, and who must navigate her way in the supernatural world she never knew existed, while falling in love with a dangerous boy with dark secrets; all set against the backdrop of a supernatural war between the factions of beings. Freeman intended the story to offer a feminist perspective in which the heroine is a wholly unique supernatural being, whose very purpose is to restore the balance among the warring factions, with a unique fantasy world set in Alaska. Kim told Freeman she liked her manuscript very much, loved her writing, and that only a few minor changes would be required before the book would be ready to send to other publishers.

6. After reading the book entitled Crave, supposedly written by Tracy Wolff in 2021, it became obvious to Freeman that Kim, in breach of the fiduciary duty she owed Freeman, sent the various versions of the manuscript, as well as the additional materials Freeman provided her, to Wolff, a client and good friend of Kim’s, and possibly others, for the purpose of Wolff and possibly others copying the manuscript. Crave is a young adult paranormal fantasy romance set in high school in Alaska, with a protagonist who moves to the state from San Diego, after a tragic accident killed her family. The story follows a teenage girl who believes she’s human, but is not, and who must navigate her way in the supernatural world she never knew existed, while falling in love with a dangerous boy with dark secrets; all set against the backdrop of a supernatural war between the factions of beings. Crave is lauded as offering a feminist perspective in the genre, and Wolff is praised for creating a unique fantasy world set in Alaska in which the heroine is a wholly unique supernatural being, whose very purpose is to restore the balance among the warring factions.

Literally the same book.

5. Despite the foregoing comment by Kim, Freeman spent over three years having frequent and lengthy phone calls with Kim, and constantly exchanging e-mails, the focus of which were comments and detailed questions that Kim had regarding the manuscript, which led to Freeman repeatedly revising it and creating new material. Kim requested pitch notes, chapter outlines, chapter summaries, synopses, query letters, Freeman’s notes used to create the manuscript, her plans for the book series; she even asked Freeman to write letters for her to use with potential publishers about the books. Freeman complied, and over the course of their relationship, sent Kim over 45 versions of the manuscript.

I'm not in the publishing industry, and have absolutely no clue how the editing process works, but this seems a little extreme. At some point you have to say "No, this is my novel and this is how I want it." The agent/editor/publisher will have to simply accept it.

 

[TapewormSalesman]

Oh oh, I watched a summary of that series on youtube, it's such a clusterfuck that it being stolen makes a lot of sense. The special peace-bringing species MC is supposed to be is actually a fucking gargoyle of all things

 

[Mellorine]

The "Alaska to San Diego following the death of parents" is weirdly specific, to the point of being the kind of thing a competent plagiarist would tweak a little. So idk what to make of that. But I'm laughing at how "the story follows a teenage girl who believes she’s human, but is not, and who must navigate her way in the supernatural world she never knew existed, while falling in love with a dangerous boy with dark secrets; all set against the backdrop of a supernatural war between the factions of beings" is such a dead-on perfect summary of an entire subgenre.

CSReeder, PC - Seem to be a law firm of literal fags, top to bottom. Very strange. The "favorite things" page shows a link to LA's "premiere gay bar," a hairdresser, the Harry Houdini estate, etc. But, no less for that, I guess and unlike the above firm, they flat out say litigation is their bread and butter.

Their site proudly displays the coveted SUPER LAWYER mark over fifteen times, which I'm pretty sure indicates a LOLyer.

 

[Elwood P. Dowd]

Their site proudly displays the coveted SUPER LAWYER mark over fifteen times, which I'm pretty sure indicates a LOLyer.
View attachment 6256597

Weird that Thomson Reuters would tarnish their brand this way.

Then again, my office has RIA Checkpoint and I can never find shit when I try to research things. Wish they'd switch to CCH, but that's a lot more expensive, apparently.

 

[⋖ cørdion ⋗]

If you're into romance, like me, and treat this as a work of fiction, the "Prince Harry" in this novel is a Heathcliff-ian protagonist with severe mommy issues that is to die for... well, until he becomes a bland simp for Meghan Markle in the final act and it's clear that that section was entirely choreographed by her.



The ghostwriter deserved every pence they were paid.

I've only read Kitchen Confidential type autobiographies. I really wonder who the fuck decides to read a biography as big as this one? Or any celebrity. Clearly it's ghostwritten and try to blur the lines of everything. Even reading a follow-up consisting of interviews of Bourdain's friends, he clearly wrote as he was in the first book. He basically got fucked over and run off the deep end by a dumb bitch all his friends hated, but even that wasn't all blown up in his own words. "Oh my goddess" etc. I can easily see how it would've been done had he been paying someone off to have this written as well as an omnipresent dame wanting to be the solution to all his problems. (Life, cause he killed himself. hae hae).

 

[Windows 10 Upgrade]

Trying to reply to the CRAVE posts but multi-quotes break the forum a bit:

5. Despite the foregoing comment by Kim, Freeman spent over three years having frequent and lengthy phone calls with Kim, and constantly exchanging e-mails, the focus of which were comments and detailed questions that Kim had regarding the manuscript, which led to Freeman repeatedly revising it and creating new material. Kim requested pitch notes, chapter outlines, chapter summaries, synopses, query letters, Freeman’s notes used to create the manuscript, her plans for the book series; she even asked Freeman to write letters for her to use with potential publishers about the books. Freeman complied, and over the course of their relationship, sent Kim over 45 versions of the manuscript.

It's not unheard of in other creative industries to sell a "story" to someone who rewrites it into a more commercial piece - there's a lot of early Tarantino works in that bucket, like Natural Born Killers or whatever.

I think the literary version includes Book Packaging, where the idea gets sold but not the finished product. (Tom Clancy and James Patterson's later output was mostly this model.)

I'm wondering if there was a decision somewhere to move the author into this model and someone forgot (AKA couldn't be fucked) to explain it to her?

It's pretty par for the course in publishing not to talk to authors - I only found out my last book had been published when I saw someone had done a review of it on TikTok. A friend of a friend didn't even know that they'd been accepted by the publisher until the editor sent them a list of corrections on their manuscript.... it had been put into the production cycle months earlier but nobody bothered to tell them.

These are BIG publishers, not little ones.

 

[Sergeant Major Buzzkill]

It’s why I ignore whatever ratings are on GoodReads before buying a book.

I haven’t so much as touched Goodreads in a very long time. I used to look at its top reviewers as a credible source before buying anything before I’ve read this thread exposing their bullshit.

 

[World Famous Quasi Payer]

I'm wondering if there was a decision somewhere to move the author into this model and someone forgot (AKA couldn't be fucked) to explain it to her?

Was the decision less "couldn't be fucked" and more "lets not tell her so she keeps working with us."

I doubt somebody who wants to write novels/be a published author would be okay be nothing more than the ideas guy.

 

[Welf Welf]

I haven’t so much as touched Goodreads in a very long time. I used to look at its top reviewers as a credible source before buying anything before I’ve read this thread exposing their bullshit.

I find the 1-star reviews more helpful. If it's some crazy who looks like she has a tumblr blog ranting about how awful a book was, chances are it's actually good.

 

[Gnillik Yot]

Something I am curious about. Okay, so we all know that modern YA is overwhelmingly dominated by women & read by women. I often see right-wing men in the culture war scene recommending alternatives to YA that are skewed to a male demographic, sometimes these men talk about "infiltrating" YA with their ideas that are clearly not even created with young women in mind. They usually flop spectacularly for the same reason that Anita Sarkeesian flopped when she tried entering the gaming sphere: that demographic isn't the audience for this shit.

But surely there ARE some right-wing women trying to "infiltrate" YA with their own content. I suspect that they're more likely to succeed in "tricking" leftist women to buy their books. I am curious about the content of their writing. I know we have successfull YA writers in this thread. Do you sneak in anti-woke politics? Were you ever "caught" by reviewers? Or do you disengage from politics completely in your writing and just focus on creating a romantasy or whatever else the market craves?

 

[Space Police]

But surely there ARE some right-wing women trying to "infiltrate" YA with their own content. I suspect that they're more likely to succeed in "tricking" leftist women to buy their books. I am curious about the content of their writing.

Their books are usually apolitical. Lots of anti-woke/right-wing media is apolitical as a reaction to "leftists just have to make everything political". Leftists, on the other hand, will say "Everything is political" or "Respecting people's basic desire for representation isn't political, chud!" If you want to know what right-wing young adult literature looks like, there are a whole bunch of Mormon YA authors.