From: chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Errors in Covers (was Re: Hyperion covers)
Date: 24 Jul 92 22:23:32 GMT
Organization: I is a writur

lpj@col.hp.com (Laura Johnson) writes:

>My intent, of course, was not to
>punish the author, but to punish the people who hire the distributors
>and buyers (who is this anyway? bookstore chains? who else?), all
>of whom, presumably, get a cut of the sales, and would therefore
>be hurt to some extent by a boycott. 

To the people you want to hurt, it doesn't matter. They're going to sell N
books, and they don't care if they belong to Stephen King, John Barnes or
B.D. Wyatt. If they choose to not by B.D.'s book because it has too much
melanin on the cover, they'll buy a few more of John's book to fill the
space on the rack and the customers will never know the difference.

Same is true to some degree with the publisher. if B.D. only sells 20,000
copies instead of 50,000 copies of his book, when averaged in to the other
200 titles selling 20,000 to 250,000 copies a year it won't even show up on
the bottom line.

On the other hand, since this is B.D.'s only source of income for the year...

>After all, if Chuq's contention is true--that this whole thing is
>caused by a few bigots in influential positions--then there's a
>theoretically simple answer: get rid of those few people.

You can't. Time and progress will. Even if you could track down the people,
they'd generally have very good (or at least non-damning) reasons for their
decisions. Ten years ago these folks might have gotten away with telling a
salesrep "weyall, we can't buy that book because of that PerSahn on the
cover", but now it's all hidden behind a facade.

From talking to folks, this kind of problem is breaking down, and what'll
really kill it is the reality that the bigots are getting old, retiring and
dying and being replaced by people a lot more moderate most of the time.
Major social changes are started overnight, but finished in generational
time.

>'Cause I *don't*
>expect the author or publisher to ignore sales, of course; that's
>entirely impractical.

Of course, sometimes they do. The new Tor edition of STREET LETHAL is
politically correct, over the objections of the sales force, who were
worried about market penetration. 

On the other hand, Jack Chalker had a series of books (G.O.D. Inc) banned
from Tennesee a few years ago. Heretical stuff. Has the initials "G.O.D." in
the series title. (I'm not kidding).

>Uh, here I just meant "this is a simple issue, don't complicate it."
>I didn't mean publishers are illiterate.

that's the problem, though. It's not a simple issue. Publishers have to
trade off screwing over their writer, pissing off their salesmen, alienating
their distributors and having to live with themselves by having to do things
they consider reprehensible (you think editors LIKE this?) -- a major juggle
that they hope maximizes copies sold, minimizes hurt feelings and doesn't
bring major controversy or boycotts down on their head (from either side:
boycotts from the people who think the publisher's are 'in' on the
political incorrectness if they get mad, or boycotts from the people buying
the books for various markets if THEY think the publisher is geting to, um,
liberal). There are dozens of people involved and a mis-step here or there
can kill a really good book -- and the only person who REALLY gets hurt is
the one with absolutely no power to do anything about anything, which is the
author.

>So how can we (effectively!)
>complain about this appalling situation?

I don't think you can. Writing the author or editor or publisher won't help,
becase they all know exactly what they're doing, even if they hate it.
Writing the buyers/etc won't help, because even if you can track them down
and figure out who they are, they don't want to listen (they're bigots,
right? Listen to logic?). Threatening them with a boycott won't help,
because unless you happen to live in their markets you hold no power, and
there aren't enough of any group willing to boycott in their markets to hold
enough power. Besides, in many of these cases, they're monopolies in that
given market, so the only option is to do without, or drive long distances
to a friendlier market. 

What will take care of it is time, and the hope that they all smoke and eat
lots of fatty foods.

-- 
Chuq "IMHO" Von Rospach, ESD Support & Training (DAL/AUX) =+= Member, SFWA
  chuq@apple.com | GEnie: MAC.BIGOT | ALink:CHUQ =+= Editor, OtherRealms
	A real SF writur with stories in ALTERNATE KENNEDYS and THE 
	  FURTHER ADVENTURES OF BATMAN, in better bookstores now!

          Painted emblems of a race, all accurst in days of yore,
       Each from his accustomed place steps into the world once more.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written