RWA's latest

On Mar 19, 2008, at 7:40 AM, [email protected] wrote:
> Given how Tsaba House reps are acting, I suspect it might have an
> overall negeative effect.  Some of their statement suggest a weak
> grasp of basic industry distinction such as RWA per se versus RWA
> chapter events, and several contractual issues.  At this point I am
> not even sure that they aren't vanity myself at this point.
>
> If the dispute had been an actual RWA contest and a reputable, well-
> known small press it might have been different.
>

Unfortunately, the issues have been complex, and the coverage  
unclear. I have watched Pam and Tsaba since the founding of the  
press, and have some idea of what's happening, although I'm not  
directly involved (nor has Tsaba ever been a client or closer than a  
Net acquaintance -- I don't really have a dog in this fight.)

Tsaba publishes non-fiction and several kinds of fiction, all with a  
Christian perspective. They are definitely a classic small press on  
the growth path. Their books have gotten astonishingly good press and  
sales, and they have never charged an author a dime, AFAIK.

They have a standard contract that has CYA language in it, to cover  
them if the author turns is a total mess. It basically says that if  
the author can't provide all the necessary pieces in some usable  
form, then Tsaba has the option of getting a pro in to fix it, and  
charge the author for the cost. NB: most publishers at that point  
don't do so -- they bounce the author and sue (or write off) for the  
advance paid to date.

One of their authors entered 3 chapter awards. She's a charter member  
of the RWA, too, btw. She is in the finals in one, but she was kicked  
out of another because the local told her that the national  
organization told them to do so. Tsaba isn't approved.

Author goes to Tsaba, Tsaba asks RWA what they have to do to fix  
this. RWA says send your basic contract, and Tsaba does. RWA  
cluelessly assumes that things like industry-standard indexing  
clauses signal subsidy, and tells Tsaba so. Also slaps them in the  
face with gratuitous insults. Pam, understanding the source of the  
confusion, tries to help them see their mistake, and goes so far as  
to include a list of IP attorneys that they can consult to verify her  
information. They reply very dismissively, and again in ways that I  
would have found insulting.

Pam is not a person to slap around, so she consults a lawyer about  
possible remedies, especially for the defamatory vanity/subsidy press  
label.

When she tells her circle, they're outraged, and the news spreads,  
because, you see, she IS well-known and reputable. A number of IP  
attorneys, PW reporters, Foreword and BookBusiness columnists and  
editors, etc. have weighed in, but the RWA is still seeing this  
solely in their own frame of reference.

If they said, we still don't want you in our contests because  
of . . . ., but we understand fully that these aren't unusual  
contract terms in the industry as a whole, and that you aren't a  
vanity press, it would all go away.

They don't seem to see this. It's going to hurt them more than it  
hurts Tsaba, I think.

Marion Gropen
Gropen Associates, Inc.
By-The-Question Consulting,  Tools for Publishers, & Classes
www.GropenAssoc.com
Her blog: www.GropenAssoc.com/blog




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