Open letter to indie author events:

Event organizers: I don’t give a flying fuck what beef you all might have with each other but some of your behavior lately is beyond the fucking pale and you need to start straightening up and acting right or you’re not going to have any authors left to attend your event no matter how big or how popular you fucking think you are.

I. See. You.

From event organizers who absolutely knew about the pedophiles in our midst well ahead of them attending further events and deciding not only to *not* to warn other organizers through back channels but to remain complicit in your silence because you didn’t want the fact that they’d attended your event known because you were afraid it would make you and your event look bad – I see you.

To event organizers who chose the same date as an already established and smaller event and not only knowingly roflstomped the smaller event but had the absolute unmitigated gall and audacity to direct the authors for your event to *stay at the hotel of the smaller event* to rub salt in the wound, I fucking see you too.

Do you think you accomplished something this weekend by swinging your proverbial dick? You did; but not what you think.

To any author at the larger event reading this and thinking to yourself: Wow – she’s just bitter because no one showed up to the smaller event she was at. You’re goddamn right I am. I can’t afford to drive 260 some-odd miles and put up in an expensive hotel for two nights to sell one book and bitch, you can’t either.

Some authors at the event with me flew across the whole goddamn country to be there. You wouldn’t be happy either in that circumstance. And before you decide to wax eloquent about the smaller event should have moved their date etc: They had the date and the event announced first and their contracts signed and also the receipts where they tried repeatedly to work with the organizer of the larger event who literally put the smaller event on ignore and all but told her to get fucked.

I see you.

We all see you and this is the same exact type of shit why indie publishing is looked at like we’re a fucking joke.

None of us are made out of money out here to pay exorbitant table fees, exorbitant hotel stays, gas, airfare, car rentals, meals, etc. etc. for you to pull shit like this.

It’s disheartening, it makes us all look fucking foolish, and this isn’t the first time this year this has happened. This is actually the second event I’ve been to this year with next to zero turnout because a larger and more established event couldn’t or wouldn’t watch where they were fucking stepping.

I’m over it. I don’t care for the dick swinging, put your fucking egos away because at this point all you’re proving is that your need to feed your damn egos supersedes any interest you have in helping authors and other readers in this little book world of ours.

This is your official shot across the bow, ladies, and gentlemen. Next time I’m naming names and sharing the receipts. Time for a lot of you to remember that you are not the only game in town – that there are other events, other organizers who can and will maintain their integrity and honestly I don’t know why they aren’t winning the popularity contest other than for too long people in this industry have thrived more on the drama that it produces rather than the books.

You’re burning your authors and fellow readers out with that shit. Knock it off.

Or don’t.

Maybe it’s time for these things to die? Who knows.

I’m going and taking a fucking nap now. I need it after this.

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