Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO of Harlequin Enterprises, issued a statement today expressing disappointment that Romance Writers of America went to its membership over the Horizons self-publishing issue, rather than “allowing Harlequin to respond or engage in a discussion about it with the RWA board” Ms. Hayes reminded us of the many and abundant ways Harlequin has supported RWA over the years. And, finally, she announced that “we are changing the name of the self-publishing company from Harlequin Horizons to a designation that will not refer to Harlequin in any way. We will initiate this process immediately.”

Ms. Hayes concluded by saying, “We hope this allays the fears many of you have communicated to us.” Whether it does or not, Harlequin now has another fire to put out: Mystery Writers of America. See MWA’s statement published earlier today.
RC

Below, the full text of Donna Hayes’ statement:
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Harlequin was very surprised and dismayed to receive notice late yesterday that the RWA has decided that Harlequin is no longer eligible for RWA-provided conference resources. We were even more surprised to discover that the RWA sent a notice to its membership announcing this decision, before allowing Harlequin to respond or engage in a discussion about it with the RWA board.

Harlequin has been a significant supporter of the RWA for many years in several ways, including:

• financial sponsorships at the annual conference

• sending editors to the national and regional chapter conferences throughout the year to meet with and advise aspiring authors and participate in panel discussions on writing

• celebrating our authors, most of whom are RWA members, annually with the largest publisher party at the conference.

It is disappointing that the RWA has not recognized that publishing models have and will continue to change. As a leading publisher of women’s fiction in a rapidly changing environment, Harlequin’s intention is to provide authors access to all publishing opportunities, traditional or otherwise.

Most importantly, however, we have heard the concerns that you, our authors, have expressed regarding the potential confusion between this venture and our traditional business. As such, we are changing the name of the self-publishing company from Harlequin Horizons to a designation that will not refer to Harlequin in any way. We will initiate this process immediately. We hope this allays the fears many of you have communicated to us.

We are committed to connecting with our authors and aspiring authors in a significant way and encourage you to continue to share your thoughts with us.

Sincerely
Donna Hayes
Publisher and Chief Executive Officer
Harlequin Enterprises Limited

This just received from Mystery Writers of America
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MWA Statement Regarding Harlequin
Recently, Harlequin Enterprises launched two new business ventures aimed at aspiring writers, the Harlequin Horizons self-publishing program and the eHarlequin Manuscript Critique service (aka “Learn to Write”), both of which are widely promoted on its website and embedded in the manuscript submission guidelines for all of its imprints.

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is deeply concerned about the troubling conflict-of-interest issues created by these ventures, particularly the potentially misleading way they are marketed to aspiring writers on the Harlequin website.

It is common for disreputable publishers to try to profit from aspiring writers by steering them to their own for-pay editorial, marketing, and publishing services. The implication is that by paying for those services, the writer is more likely to sell his manuscript to the publisher. Harlequin recommends the “eHarlequin Manuscript Critique Service” in the text of its manuscript submission guidelines for all of its imprints and include a link to “Harlequin Horizons,” its new self-publishing arm, without any indication that these are advertisements.

That, coupled with the fact that these businesses share the Harlequin name, may mislead writers into believing they can enhance their chances of being published by Harlequin by paying for these services. Offering these services violates long-standing MWA rules for inclusion on our Approved Publishers List.

On November 9, Mystery Writers of America sent a letter to Harlequin about the “eHarlequin Manuscript Critique Service,” notifying Harlequin that it is in violation of our rules and suggesting steps that Harlequin could take to remain on our Approved Publishers list. The steps outlined at that time included removing mention of this for-pay service entirely from its manuscript submission guidelines, clearly identifying any mention of this program as paid advertisement, and, adding prominent disclaimers that this venture was totally unaffiliated with the editorial side of Harlequin, and that paying for this service is not a factor in the consideration of manuscripts. Since that letter went out, Harlequin has launched “Harlequin Horizons,” a self-publishing program.

MWA’s November 9 letter asks that Harlequin respond to our concerns and recommendations by December 15. We look forward to receiving their response and working with them to protect the interests of aspiring writers. If MWA and Harlequin are unable to reach an agreement, MWA will take appropriate action which may include removing Harlequin from the list of MWA approved publishers, declining future membership applications from authors published by Harlequin and declaring that books published by Harlequin will not be eligible for the Edgar Awards.

We are taking this action because we believe it is vitally important to alert our members of unethical and predatory publishing practices that take advantage of their desire to be published. We respect Harlequin and its authors and hope the company will take the appropriate corrective measures.

This e-bulletin was prepared by Margery Flax on behalf of MWA’s National Board of Directors.

In our coverage of the friction between Harlequin and Romance Writers of America (New Harlequin Venture Doesn’t Pass Romance Writers of America Smell Test) we may have given the impression that both of the recently announced initiatives, Carina and Horizons, are self-publishing enterprises. Angela James, Executive Editor of Carina Press, has informed us that “Carina and Horizons are two separate entities and Carina is not affiliated in any way with self-publishing. We [Carina] differ from the traditional model in two ways: our books go digital-first and rather than paying advances we pay larger royalties. But Carina is not a self-publishing enterprise and I’d hate for anyone reading your post to think it was.”

We’re happy to set the record straight and apologize for any misimpression we may have communicated. And while we’re at we do want to express our hope that Harlequin and RWA will find a path back to the harmony that has characterized their relationship for decades.

We also take this opportunity to reiterate our welcome to Carina Press and wishes for its success.

Richard Curtis

If you felt the earth move under your feet today, you may have been experiencing the shock of a clash between two formidable forces in the romance field, Harlequin and Romance Writers of America. The stress in their longstanding and mutually beneficial alliance, has opened a fissure extending to Nashville, where next summer’s annual RWA conference is scheduled to take place.

Here’s the background:

Last week Harlequin Enterprises Limited, the world’s foremost romance publisher, announced the formation of all-digital-all-the-the time romance publisher Carina Press, and a self-publication program, Harlequin Horizons. The latter was created to operate independently of Harlequin’s traditional publishing businesses, and a key element is self-published books. “We expect to discover new authors and unique voices that may not be able to find homes in traditional publishing houses,” said Donna Hayes, CEO and Publisher of Harlequin Enterprises. In a subsequent press release Harlequin stated that “the books self-published through Harlequin Horizons will NOT be branded Harlequin, nor will they be distributed by Harlequin or appear in stores next to your books.”

The self-publication aspect of Horizons did not sit well with the Romance Writers of America brass, not because self-published authors and subsidy publishers are unwelcome under RWA’s capacious tent. But, rather, because it is RWA policy to deny conference resources to publishers that do not qualify under its definition of legitimacy.

“RWA allocates select conference resources to non-subsidy/non-vanity presses that meet the eligibility requirements to obtain those resources,” RWA president Michelle Monkou stated today. “Eligible publishers are provided free meeting space for book signings, are given the opportunity to hold editor appointments, and are allowed to offer spotlights on their programs.”

That leaves Harlequin Horizons out. The decision does not affect Harlequin Enterprises’ core publishing imprints, nor does it mean the Horizons editorial staff will be unable to attend. It just means they won’t have a seat at the official table. But RWA’s ukase may certainly affect the warm and mutually profitable relationship between these organizations. Harlequin’s support is vital to the success of the annual bash, which is capped by Harlequin’s blowout party featuring sinful pastries, an unstanched flow of liquid refreshment, and boisterous disco dancing.

Romance publishing constitutes about 25% of all trade book revenue, so the two sisters had better patch things up before July. See y’all in Nashville. Maybe.

Below is the text of RWA’s position statement. Click here for Harlequin’s detailed explanation and FAQs about the Horizons program.

RC
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RWA Alert: RWA Responds to Harlequin Horizons

Dear Members:

Romance Writers of America was informed of the new venture between Harlequin Enterprises and ASI Solutions to form Harlequin Horizons, a vanity/subsidy press. Many of you have asked the organization to state its position regarding this new development. As a matter of policy, we do not endorse any publisher’s business model. Our mission is the advancement of the professional interests of career-focused romance writers.

One of your member benefits is the annual National Conference. RWA allocates select conference resources to non-subsidy/non-vanity presses that meet the eligibility requirements to obtain those resources. Eligible publishers are provided free meeting space for book signings, are given the opportunity to hold editor appointments, and are allowed to offer spotlights on their programs.

With the launch of Harlequin Horizons, Harlequin Enterprises no longer meets the requirements to be eligible for RWA-provided conference resources. This does not mean that Harlequin Enterprises cannot attend the conference. Like all non-eligible publishers, they are welcome to attend. However, as a non-eligible publisher, they would fund their own conference fees and they would not be provided with conference resources by RWA to publicize or promote the company or its imprints.

Sometimes the wind of change comes swiftly and unexpectedly, leaving an unsettled feeling. RWA takes its role as advocate for its members seriously. The Board is working diligently to address the impact of recent developments on all of RWA’s members.

We invite you to attend the annual conference on July 28 – 31, 2010 in Nashville, TN, as we celebrate 30 years of success with keynote speaker Nora Roberts, special luncheon speaker Jayne Ann Krentz, librarian speaker Sherrilyn Kenyon, and awards ceremony emcee Sabrina Jeffries. Please refer to the RWA Web site for conference registration information in late January 2010.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Gaylord Opryland!

Michelle Monkou
RWA President

Harlequin Horizons FAQs

KEY POINTS:

Ø For the first time since figures have been kept, print-on-demand titles outpaced traditionally-published titles in 2008 according to Bowker. Self-published print-on-demand titles make up a large portion of this expanding sector. This is not traditional vanity press publishing; self-publishing is a large and vibrant part of the publishing industry today.

Ø Horizons books will not be distributed by Harlequin. They will not appear in stores next to your book. Self-published books are generally distributed through large online catalogs.

Ø Horizons books will not have Harlequin branding. Horizons is a separate brand and will carry the double-H Horizons logo on the spine only, NOT the Harlequin brand.

Ø Readers will not be confused. Harlequin is the gold standard for romance. Readers purchase Harlequin because they trust Harlequin to provide a great story. There will be no ‘dilution’ of quality. Horizons is a separate imprint with no Harlequin branding.

Ø We’ve taken care to be very transparent. The website is very clear that this is self-publishing; we make no promises that Harlequin will in any way publish and distribute Horizons books in the traditional sense. The Harlequin Horizons author keeps her copyright.

Ø We’re doing this to support aspiring romance authors who choose to self-publish. Although we do not promise this, we will in fact be monitoring sales/editorial for new voices.

1. What is Harlequin Horizons?

Ø Self-publishing is one of a suite of publishing options an aspiring author can choose from these days; with the launch of Carina Press we can provide the flexibility of a digital-only press, and Horizons offers a self-publishing option.

Ø It is a partnership with Author Solutions – they provide the self-publishing services, we provide our brand name and we make authors we have rejected aware of this service.

Ø It is a publishing service in which authors pay for their work to be published in print and/or eBook formats. Authors purchase publishing “packages” with varying levels of service options including (but not limited to) editing, cover design, and a certain number of print copies of their work.

Ø Competitive examples include Cross Books and West Bow Press from Thomas Nelson.

2. How is this related to Harlequin?

Ø Horizons will be a division of Harlequin, operated by Author Solutions.

Ø Authors published with Harlequin Horizons are not published by Harlequin. The books will carry the double-H Horizons logo on the spine.

3. Why is Harlequin launching a self-publishing business?

Ø Many aspiring authors choose self-publishing as a way to see their work in print – to give copies as gifts, to have a bound copy to help in finding an agent, or simply as a keepsake.

Ø Horizons will make it possible for thousands of authors, whose manuscripts Harlequin or other traditional publisher cannot publish, to see their books in print.

Ø This offers aspiring authors an opportunity not only to be published, but to grow and develop as writers and refine their personal brand.

4. Why is this branded Harlequin?

Ø We’re proud to offer this option to those who choose to self-publish, and for aspiring romance authors, an association with the Harlequin brand makes sense.

Ø The brand, however, is only author-facing; Harlequin will not be branded on the books or in any of the metadata or sales information accompanying the book.

Ø We hope to discover new authors through this service and welcome them into the Harlequin brand family proper.

5. Isn’t this misleading for aspiring authors?

Ø We are not misleading people, but simply offering a Harlequin-approved option for those authors who choose to self-publish.

Ø This does not change our commitment to finding, publishing, and developing new authors through our series and imprints.

Ø Our partnership with Author Solutions is not an endorsement of self-publishing over submitting to a publisher or press; but if you choose to self-publish, we endorse Author Solutions through our partnership with them.

6. Why would authors submit slush to us if this is a better option for them?

Ø For the same reasons they have always submitted slush – not just for the chance to be published by Harlequin, but with the hope of beginning long and fulfilling career as a Harlequin author.
7. Will Harlequin and Author Solutions work together?

Ø Yes and no. The self-publishing house is a separate business with separate staff, website, contract, etc.

Ø However, if a title sells very well, Harlequin can acquire the title for future print publication.

8. What’s going to happen with the slush Harlequin currently receives?

Ø We will continue to welcome unsolicited manuscripts from aspiring authors.

Ø All standard/form/template rejection letters will include a short note about Harlequin Horizons as a self-publishing option for the aspiring author.

Ø Author Solutions will not have access to the author contact information in our eHERS database.

Ø No one from Author Solutions will contact any aspiring authors unless they opt-in through the website (www.harlequinhorizons.com).

9. Will eHarlequin.com sell these self-published books?

Ø No.

Sex and Violence in Hollywood by Ray Garton

Nasty, raucous, at times hilarious, Garton’s (Live Girls) latest delivers what the title promises, in spades. But the core of the book is a sensational murder trial clearly inspired by the O. J. Simpson case. The cast features an abrasive female judge who swoons over the film stars who flit in and out of the courtroom, tongue-tied prosecuting attorneys, a nerdy defendant who reserves his right to silence, and Rona Horowitz, a pint-sized, high-octane defense lawyer. Even Johnny Cochran, among a host of real-life celebrities, makes a brief appearance. The defendant may be guilty as hell, but part of the fun is watching dynamo Rona cook up one outrageous legal trick after another to try to extricate her client. Meanwhile, the story’s hero, young buck Adam Julian, is sleeping with his hated schlock-film producer father’s new wife, as well as her underage but wildly sexed, drugged and dangerous daughter. [Julian’s sweetheart] Alyssa is the unlikely chip the author will eventually cash in to supply enough gore for two or three more trips to the courtroom…. This over-the-top excursion into the underside of Tinseltown provides more thrills than a high-speed car chase on an L. A. freeway.
Publishers Weekly
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Lives up to the title 10 times over. This is the most fun I’ve had with a book all year. I would advise you to not begin reading this book right before you have something important scheduled, such as performing surgery, or need to get anything constructive done, because you will NOT be able to put it down once you’ve started. I had planned to sort of dole it out to myself a little at a time, but by 20 pages in, I thought “screw everything else, it can wait till I finish this book”. Took me about 3 days to catch up with everything I blew off reading this book, but man, was it worth it. … One of the things that I enjoy about Garton’s writing is almost never being able to second-guess what happens next, and this book…well, I think the book holds the record for the amount of times I’ve laughed out loud … or just muttered, ‘Jesus!’ at how shocking or ballsy some development was. Whether the book is describing a wild, dangerous party in Compton or some especially nasty new evidence coming up in Adam’s trial, I had so much fun that I was just disappointed when I realized only a certain number of pages were in the book, and it was going to end. The book lives up to the title. … Fans of Jackie Collins would enjoy it, just be ready to have the fun factor amped up about 70 times more than hers. If you want a fun, thrilling, shocking read, pick it up. If you haven’t read Garton before, this may be a good book to start on, Sex & Violence in Hollywood (the title alone sold me) is more ‘mainstream’ then his horror fiction. He’s got a great eye for visuals, writes some of the best and most realistic dialogue, and bottom line, is simply an excellent storyteller.
Rusty Martin, Barnesandnoble.com
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It is almost impossible to put down!… I’ve already awakened my husband a couple times laughing out loud. The scenes are so vivid I can almost touch them. This is a great book!
Horrornet.com
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I absolutely loved it. Great writing, very exciting. I couldn’t put it down. I own and have read everything [Ray Garton has] written. This looks like it could be [his] best!!!
Horrornet.com
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You know how you can tell how much I like a book? By watching my chair language. If I’m reclined and the book is pup-tented on my nose – it’s not a book I’d recommended. If I notch the recliner up one and the book is balanced on my knees – it’s interesting. If I’m in a straight up and down chair with the book on my knees and my body curled so’s my face can hover over the page – it’s enthralling. I’m sure there are varying degrees to this, but you get the point. I read Sex and Violence in Hollywood in a vertical fetal position. This is no small feat for me, as my neck is fused and doesn’t bend. Excellent read.
Horrornet.com
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A great f****g book! This is one of Ray’s finest works. Trust me — it will be a movie some day.
Horrornet.com
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[Sex and Violence in Hollywood] worth every penny of its price. You are in for one mean, hard, vicious ride; it’s about as searing a satire as you’re likely to encounter. I defy anyone to survive the last 50 pages unshaken.
Gary Braunbeck (Gorezone.com)
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[5 stars out of 5] Sex and Violence are Fun With Garton, November 23, 2001
Reviewer: Regina Mitchell (see more about me) from USA
Garton fans rejoice: Sex and Violence in Hollywood will not let you down. Never a dull moment in this book, it jumps from one scene to the next in a mix of action, sex, and fun. … This is the best kind of read: it’s fun, it’s fast and just slightly sleazy.
Amazon.com
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[5 stars out of 5] Most fun I’ve had with a book all year, November 14, 2001
Reviewer: kittenwithawhip (see more about me) from The Beverly Hilton
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I’ve been reading Garton for over 10 years now; about 7 years ago I got to the point where I would simply pick up anything with his name on it and purchase it without even bothering to check the price or flip through it (there’s a dozen or so authors in this category for me, which may explain my high credit card debt) After Shackled and Biofire blew me away, I didn’t think Garton could top himself, but he does it here.
Amazon.com
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Sex and Violence in Hollywood is a realistic, non-supernatural melodrama of greed, murder, and twisted family relations that offers exactly what the plainspoken title promises….It’s a kinetic, plot-driven novel filled with cliffhangers, betrayals, unexpected developments, and moments of stark, disturbing violence. It’s also, at times, a very funny book, filled with cogent observations of an insular, narcissistic society. Sex and Violence possesses wit, energy, and a relentless momentum that carries the narrative steadily forward. At its best, Garton’s latest has the raw, in-your-face power of a Quentin Tarrantino film. It comes highly recommended to anyone looking for a nasty, colorful, high adrenalin good time.
Bill Sheehan , Locus
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Visceral, provocative, and graphic, Sex And Violence In Hollywood would make a perfect vehicle for the next Quentin Tarantino film. Equal parts crime novel, Hollywood expose and legal thriller — Garton alternately channels Jim Thompson, Joe Esztherhas, Dominick Dunne and John Grisham — it’s a genuine pleasure to read, a trashy thrill ride with unexpected depth. Gleefully milking the dramatic potential of Adam’s dysfunctional family, various Hollywood lowlifes and America’s legal system for all they’re worth, Garton also slips in some sly commentary on modern culture, the media, and the judicial system, celebrating and condemning their excesses.

Purists might ask, “Is it horror?” Well, not in the supernatural sense, but certainly in the utter emptiness of the main characters’ lives. Rest assured, however — there are some genuinely horrific moments, not the least of which is the shocking denouement.
Henry Wagner, Hellnotes
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Trust Ray Garton. This talented author of many of the more distinctively strange horror novels of the past decade and a half could – probably – write the sort of break-out commercial novel that would make his name a household word right up there somewhere in the alphabet just before the King, Koontz K-section in the book stores… Check out his substantial new novel, Sex and Violence in Hollywood . It’s a fascinating work with all the commercial elements: greed, Hollywood, murder, Hollywood, lust and graphic sex, Hollywood, psychopathia. Oh, and Hollywood. Garton’s novel is muscular, paced something like a car with a brick duct-taped to the throttle, and edgy with a sharp and nasty little tongue lodged firmly in cheek….

The deliberately broad and superficially bland title manages to reel in vivid portraits of a generation more lost than usual, an accurately jaundiced view of how thin the dividing line seems to be between fantasy and reality… As a bonus, the readers gets a sardonically entertaining legal thriller slipped between the ribs of what might be termed a dark associational suspense work…The author cranks his epic to a balls-to-the-wall ending that could trigger late-night reader debates for quite a while.
Edward Bryant, Locus
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I think this is hands down the best things you’ve ever written. It quickly passed Live Girls, Dark Channel and all my other favorites. And that ending…Damn!
Horrornet.com
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS – An Open Forum
Number of Reviews: 2 Average Rating:
Mikey, a writer and editor, December 13, 2001,
It’s A Promise
Some titles set the book’s mood. Others go for the elusive single word synopsis. When Ray Garton chose ‘Sex And Violence In Hollywood‘ he chose a title with a promise. And he makes good on the promise; you get sex, you get violence, and you get Hollywood. And, as an added bonus, he mixes in a love story, true friendship, and family conflict. It’s all there.

Choosing to tell the story from Adam Julian’s point of view is one of SaViH’s greatest strengths. Usually we’re treated to Hollywood stories from the eyes of an ‘insider’ – someone John and Jane Q. Public really can’t identify with. Adam Julian is an insider once removed (which, ostensibly, makes him closer to us.) As the son of a very successful screenwriter, he gets some of Hollywood’s perks. Dad’s ‘friends’ with major movie stars. The Julian house is huge. They drive expensive cars and vacation on their own yacht. But Adam isn’t really one of them. He’s an outsider. A hanger-on.
Being a real person in a celluloid world disaffects Adam. His father is callous, his real mother dead, and his stepmother tends to crawl into bed with him. He finds true comfort only with his horror movies and the company of his friend Carter. But he’s still living as normal a life as one might expect under the circumstances. Things don’t really start sliding downhill until Adam’s neurotic, manipulative, and horny stepsister moves in. She’s young, she’s sexy, and she’s trouble. Most importantly, she’s the catalyst that brings Adam’s hatred to a boil. Then the mayhem begins.
While I enjoyed the story’s twists and turns, I have to say it’s the substance of the characters and the pacing that made this book for me. Yes, the characters are colorful (especially Rona…gawd) – but they’re not cartoonish. You can empathize with these people. You can believe in them. And this story’s Indy 500 pacing keeps you hanging on – tightly. I’m not the marathon reader type; so few books are difficult for me to put down for the night. This one was an exception – often a 2 am exception.

I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
From BarnesandNoble.com

About two years ago we asked Do Amazon Reviews Count? and wondered why we saw so few of them quoted by respectable publishers. “We live in an age when peer review is meaningful if not significant,” I noted, thinking about the fabulously successful Zagat restaurant review model utilizing the opinions of our very own next-door neighbors.

If the same group-sourcing dynamic could be applied to books, we could see a revolution in the way books are reviewed to match the way they are digitally delivered. If Amazon could assemble a cadre of reviewers to replace the publishing establishment’s phalanx of critics, endorsers and other brand-bestowing literary Gatekeepers, the 21st century’s paradigm shift would be that much closer to total.

But it all depends on the integrity of Amazon’s reviewers, just as our assessment of a restaurant’s ambiance, service and food depend on the integrity of the men and women who write it up for Zagat. So, it was with no small measure of concern that I read a blog by Scott MacDonald in Quill & Quire calling our attention to a website called readerspoils.com that arranges for authors to pay for reviews on Amazon. “Yes, that’s right,” MacDonald writes, “for just $15 U.S. you can get a completely ‘honest’ review of your book posted to Amazon in mere days!” In fact, he adds, while $15 is the base price, the site “is apparently selling reviews only in bulk quantities: 100 reviews for $1,400 and 500 reviews for a mere $6,500.”

The site’s owner is a self-published promoter named Clark Covington  who describes himself as “a book writing fool. I’ve written several nonfiction books, and have a fiction novel in the works.” For many agents the redundant phrase “fiction novel” instantly identifies the author as a writing fool, but we’ll let that pass. Because when it comes to P. T. Barnum pitch, Covington is nobody’s fool. Here it is:

“Up until now the publishing industry kept a tight lock on their book reviewers, paying them large sums of money and giving them many freebies to urge them to review books for well known authors. The time has finally come where you, the self published author, can get quality, real life book reviews for the price of a couple of tickets to the movies…”

You are then instructed to select how many reviews you want, prepay for them, and enter information about your book, whereupon “You receive an email from us when all of your reviews are posted on Amazon, usually within a week of your purchase.” In case you’re still on the fence, Covington furnishes sample Amazon reviews including video testimonials.”I admit it, this sounds unbelievable,” Covington adds, beating us to the punch. “This sounds too remarkable to be true, this is the type of thing that makes you want to call your local attorney general and tell them a scam is brewing.” Covington claims to have access to 5,000 reviewers. How does he line them up?

“With a few strokes of luck and a hearty bribe, that’s how,” he boasts. Readers interested in reviewing can register on the site, and apparently there is some sort of consideration. I came across one complaint by a reviewer who claims to have gotten stiffed.

This operation is so patently humbug that it would be falling-down-funny if it were not for the stain it casts on the potential honesty and integrity of Amazon’s review system. Yes, it is true that the imperfect old review system is also subject to manipulation and even corruption. But Amazon represents an opportunity to get it right, to hear the recommendations of intelligent peers and neighbors about books that interest us. If we lose our trust in their honesty – the Quill & Quire article is called One more reason not to trust reader reviews – we also lose our literary value system.

Many of us grew up in a world where there were legitimate books and there were vanity books and everyone knew which ones to take seriously thanks to the tastemakers and gatekeepers. If they were biased, if their judgment was flawed, if they sometimes exalted the worthless and trashed the sublime, we lived with it because it was the only system we had. But now there is another way, and as we move into a socially networked future most of us are willing to give it a chance – unless we suspect the game is rigged.

Richard Curtis

A while back we wrote up a book lover who said she was reluctant to buy a Kindle “unless Amazon comes out with a special ‘book scented’ Kindle.” (See If They Can Make the Kindle Smell Like a Book, Maybe She’ll Buy One). It was all kind of a joke, but an enterprising manufacturer took it seriously enough to produce a line of aromatics simulating book scents. The aromas include New Book Smell and Classic Musty. The product is trademarked as Smell of Books™ and here’s how their website describes it:

Does your Kindle leave you feeling like there’s something missing from your reading experience?
Have you been avoiding e-books because they just don’t smell right?
If you’ve been hesitant to jump on the e-book bandwagon, you’re not alone. Book lovers everywhere have resisted digital books because they still don’t compare to the experience of reading a good old fashioned paper book.
But all of that is changing thanks to Smell of Books™, a revolutionary new aerosol e-book enhancer.
Now you can finally enjoy reading e-books without giving up the smell you love so much. With Smell of Books™ you can have the best of both worlds, the convenience of an e-book and the smell of your favorite paper book.
Smell of Books™ is compatible with a wide range of e-reading devices and e-book formats and is 100% DRM-compatible. Whether you read your e-books on a Kindle or an iPhone using Stanza, Smell of Books™ will bring back that real book smell you miss so much.

Among the five smells offered is “Crunchy Bacon”. This is a welcome novelty for noses jaded by such natural book fragrances as grass, leather, printer’s ink, and decaying paper. Hopefully, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France will invest heavily in shpritzing their collections with Crunchy Bacon. Some other but lesser known aromas associated with books are baked lamb shank, General Cho’s Chicken, and asparagus vinaigrette.

On a more scientific note, Henry Fountain of the New York Times reports on research to quantify old-book odors to help librarians preserve books more effectively. Fountain describes how conservators “analyzed the volatiles produced by 72 samples of old paper of different types and in varying condition from the 19th and 20th centuries, using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. They found that some compounds were reliable markers for paper with certain characteristics — high concentrations of lignin or rosin, for example, which make paper degrade relatively quickly.”

There was apparently no manifestation of crunchy bacon in the spectrum analyzed by the scientists, but it is well known that subatomic bacon particles are even more elusive to detect spectrometrically than the Higgs boson, and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN may be required to capture one.

Read Digging Into the Science of That Old-Book Smell.

Richard Curtis

Every Blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers and magazines. This posting relies on original research and reporting performed by The New York Times.

Remember why Tivo was invented? Looks like we’ll now need the equivalent of a Tivo to skip embedded advertising popups that simply will not go away until you acknowledge them with a click. Certainly that’s an Apple App waiting to be invented, yes?

Don’t count on it. The evil feature was created by Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself. Of the five inventors listed on the patent application, his name comes first. The application would post popups on anything that has a screen: phones, TVs, games, media players – if it has a screen the ads will appear, and they will not go away until you actively do something about them.

Randall Stross, writing in the Digital Domain column of the New York Times, describes the technology: “Its distinctive feature is a design that doesn’t simply invite a user to pay attention to an ad — it also compels attention. The technology can freeze the device until the user clicks a button or answers a test question to demonstrate that he or she has dutifully noticed the commercial message. Because this technology would be embedded in the innermost core of the device, the ads could appear on the screen at any time, no matter what one is doing.”

In other words, you are now utterly at the mercy of the advertiser.

As Stross explains it, “What the application calls the “enforcement routine” entails administering periodic tests, like displaying on top of an ad a pop-up box with a response button that must be pressed within five seconds before disappearing to confirm that the user is paying attention.”

Or, to put it crudely, Apple holds you down while the advertiser inserts its ad. And there’s no app to prevent it.

Stross wonders aloud if the invention could be a big turnoff even for fanatically loyal Apple lovers: “Would anyone have guessed that Apple, so widely revered, would seek patent protection of a gimmick not unlike one used to sell vacation timeshares?”

For details, read Apple Wouldn’t Risk Its Cool Over a Gimmick, Would It?

Richard Curtis

Every Blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers and magazines. This posting relies on original research and reporting performed by The New York Times.

Google, the Authors Guild, and publishing industry leaders have filed a revised and sweetened settlement with the court. To those who are still opposed to it despite every reasonable effort to placate them, a request:

Spare us the hypocrisy.

You can dress up your objections to the Google settlement in legal niceties and pious pleas for fairness, but the truth is you’re just jealous that Google took initiatives that you lacked the vision to take – until it looked like there was money to be made. So now you want to gut the settlement so you can get a piece of the action you didn’t raise a finger or spend a dime to earn.

Where were you when a treasure house of literary works was abandoned? And isn’t it odd that now that someone has come along with a viable plan to recover that treasure and wants to make a reasonable profit, you have suddenly become passionate bibliophiles and champions of fairness?

Google, the publishing industry, and the Authors Guild have walked an extra mile to satisfy your so-called “concerns”. A revised and sweetened settlement has been presented to the court. Do the right thing: honor the men and women of good will who have forged it, the corporate leaders who deserve to profit from it and the generations of humanity that stand to benefit from it.

Read the sweetened terms of the settlement here. For additional observations read Google Settlement Under Attack for Making Treasure Out of Trash.

Richard Curtis