The author Kiana Davenport signed a deal with a division of Penguin Books to publish one of her novels and received an advance. Then the publisher discovered that Davenport had self-published some of her older stories on Amazon. These stories had been published before in several magazines and had even been submitted to Penguin Books which rejected them! However, in Davenport's words, they went ballistic, accusing her of betraying them with a competitor and now they are refusing to publish her novel and demanding that she return the advance. You can read her story on her blog or as part of a New York Times article.
This is the sad state of mind of dinosaurs like Penguin Books. By publishing her stories Davenport, if anything, has increased interest in her publications including the projected publication of her novel. Now she has become a victim of the archaic mentality that still has a stranglehold on a substantial portion of the traditional-publishing world.
This should be a cautionary tale for authors who want to self-publish but are also considering print deals.
Please check out my first collection of short stories, The Sun Zebra.
This is the sad state of mind of dinosaurs like Penguin Books. By publishing her stories Davenport, if anything, has increased interest in her publications including the projected publication of her novel. Now she has become a victim of the archaic mentality that still has a stranglehold on a substantial portion of the traditional-publishing world.
This should be a cautionary tale for authors who want to self-publish but are also considering print deals.
Please check out my first collection of short stories, The Sun Zebra.
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