Literary Spam, Thickening Plot
(Warning: Rant follows.) I hate getting spam.
I mean e-mail spam. First, the backstory:
In July, I blogged about a vanity publishing company that had e-mailed me after allegedly finding my name in "The Virginia Writers Guild Directory." Except there's no such directory. There isn't even a Virginia Writers Guild.
Couldn't be the Virginia Commission for the Arts Directory because that's waaaaay out of date. The e-mail address listed for me hasn't been active for two years. Probably they got my contact info from the Virginia Writers Club website.
Anyhow, when a representative from this company, called me in late July (after I'd blogged about the company), I told him that I wasn't interested, to remove my name from their list, yada-yada, etc. I thought they did.
Until last night. At 8:56 last night this publishing company sent an announcement for a book-signing by one of their authors. The book-signing is in Arizona. I'm in rural Virginia. No way could I attend, even if I was interested. The email contained a large picture of the book's cover and this description (I'm editing out identifying info):
Do you know anyone who is struggling?
[Title consisting of ADJ/NOUN/VERB/ADVERB] is about hope and transformation. It is an inspirational and illuminating look at how one life, though flawed and imperfect, can stand as a shining testament to the power of faith. No one is beyond repair, nor so far gone that they cannot experience a fulfilled life with great joy and satisfaction. Despite dealing with divorce, death, alcoholism, drug abuse and even a hit man, the story of [CHARACTER'S NAME] is one that returns over and over again to a simple but vitally important theme: No matter where you are in life, or what you are dealing with, better days are ahead.
Readers of this book, who, like the rest of us, sometimes feel overwhelmed by life, will draw deep inspiration and encouragement from [TITLE]. You will read about the struggles and victories of [CHARACTER], and be able to identify and relate with her in one form or another as we have all struggled in life. You will also be encouraged to think about those family and friends in your own life that may need encouragement because they have grown weary, or simply given up. [TITLE] is an easy to read, entertaining book that tells a completely true story that we hope will inspire you and those around you.
Notice that this description doesn't tell anything about the actual plot. It contains redundancies (flawed and imperfect, over and over) cliches (shining testament), pronoun-antecedent errors (No one is beyond repair, nor so far gone that they. . .), and punctuation errors (easy to read used as an adjective should be easy-to-read).
If Query Shark had received this as a query, she would have torn it apart. But what really bugs me is the use of the second person (you) and the resulting condescending tone taken toward the reader—as if the reader has flaws that need to be fixed and this book will do the job. Odds are good I won't feel overwhelmed by life and I won't draw deep inspiration and encouragement and I won't be encouraged to think about those family and friends in [my] own life that may need encouragement, so I don't want to be told I will.
Anyhow, the book description that the publisher provided didn't inspire me to want to read the book. (I don't like reading about other people's miseries—one reason I couldn't finish
At 9:34, they sent the same announcement again. Again, I clicked. And this time, I Googled up the author and e-mailed him about what his publisher was doing. (To his credit, he replied with a very nice apologetic e-mail and said he'd contact the company.)
Meanwhile, at 11:00 PM, the company sent another e-mail promoting a different book. Again I clicked the notice and put REMOVE in the subject lin (sic). Being tired of struggling with this company, I left a notice on the author's blog.
This morning I received this e-mail from the publishing company:
So let's see if I have this right: I followed their instructions to have my e-mail addy removed every time they sent me an e-mail that I didn't wish to receive. And they think I'm harassing them?
I might not be overwhelmed by life, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by this vanity publishing company's response.
 |
| No, not this kind, which is kind of tasty. |
In July, I blogged about a vanity publishing company that had e-mailed me after allegedly finding my name in "The Virginia Writers Guild Directory." Except there's no such directory. There isn't even a Virginia Writers Guild.
Couldn't be the Virginia Commission for the Arts Directory because that's waaaaay out of date. The e-mail address listed for me hasn't been active for two years. Probably they got my contact info from the Virginia Writers Club website.
Anyhow, when a representative from this company, called me in late July (after I'd blogged about the company), I told him that I wasn't interested, to remove my name from their list, yada-yada, etc. I thought they did.
Until last night. At 8:56 last night this publishing company sent an announcement for a book-signing by one of their authors. The book-signing is in Arizona. I'm in rural Virginia. No way could I attend, even if I was interested. The email contained a large picture of the book's cover and this description (I'm editing out identifying info):
[Title consisting of ADJ/NOUN/VERB/ADVERB] is about hope and transformation. It is an inspirational and illuminating look at how one life, though flawed and imperfect, can stand as a shining testament to the power of faith. No one is beyond repair, nor so far gone that they cannot experience a fulfilled life with great joy and satisfaction. Despite dealing with divorce, death, alcoholism, drug abuse and even a hit man, the story of [CHARACTER'S NAME] is one that returns over and over again to a simple but vitally important theme: No matter where you are in life, or what you are dealing with, better days are ahead.
Readers of this book, who, like the rest of us, sometimes feel overwhelmed by life, will draw deep inspiration and encouragement from [TITLE]. You will read about the struggles and victories of [CHARACTER], and be able to identify and relate with her in one form or another as we have all struggled in life. You will also be encouraged to think about those family and friends in your own life that may need encouragement because they have grown weary, or simply given up. [TITLE] is an easy to read, entertaining book that tells a completely true story that we hope will inspire you and those around you.
Notice that this description doesn't tell anything about the actual plot. It contains redundancies (flawed and imperfect, over and over) cliches (shining testament), pronoun-antecedent errors (No one is beyond repair, nor so far gone that they. . .), and punctuation errors (easy to read used as an adjective should be easy-to-read).
If Query Shark had received this as a query, she would have torn it apart. But what really bugs me is the use of the second person (you) and the resulting condescending tone taken toward the reader—as if the reader has flaws that need to be fixed and this book will do the job. Odds are good I won't feel overwhelmed by life and I won't draw deep inspiration and encouragement and I won't be encouraged to think about those family and friends in [my] own life that may need encouragement, so I don't want to be told I will.
Anyhow, the book description that the publisher provided didn't inspire me to want to read the book. (I don't like reading about other people's miseries—one reason I couldn't finish
At 9:34, they sent the same announcement again. Again, I clicked. And this time, I Googled up the author and e-mailed him about what his publisher was doing. (To his credit, he replied with a very nice apologetic e-mail and said he'd contact the company.)
Meanwhile, at 11:00 PM, the company sent another e-mail promoting a different book. Again I clicked the notice and put REMOVE in the subject lin (sic). Being tired of struggling with this company, I left a notice on the author's blog.
This morning I received this e-mail from the publishing company:
So let's see if I have this right: I followed their instructions to have my e-mail addy removed every time they sent me an e-mail that I didn't wish to receive. And they think I'm harassing them?
I might not be overwhelmed by life, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by this vanity publishing company's response.
~
posted by Becky Mushko | 3:50 PM
1 Comments:
Reminds me of phone calls from charities who will not listen when I tell them I'm not interested. I've had a few get really rude when I refuse to pledge a donation.
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