Primrose Road

Some writing websites have taken interest in the case of a woman fired for publishing a thinly fictionalized critique of the library at which she works through PublishAmerica. Happily, the writers on the AbsoluteWrite message board are discussing why this is not entirely a free speech issue because libel and confidentiality breaches (which impinge on others' legitimate rights) come into play.

And, of course, these message board posters seem to be the only commenters our there right now acknowledging the fact that PublishAmerica is not a "grassroots organization ... willing to publish people who are unknown" (as Sally Stern-Hamilton asserted in the original Ludington Daily News article) but rather a known scam that takes advantage of inexperienced and/or young authors.

Amusingly, Stern-Hamilton, her book and her case are strongly supported by a site heavily critical of American libraries (not only considering them unsafe for children because of the purported presence of Internet-seeking pedophiles but also labeling the ALA's Banned Books Week as mere "propaganda").

So what have we learned, kinderlekh? If you're going to publish a book critical of your workplace, (1) don't use your maiden name as your pseudonym, (2) don't let your "publisher" send out publication announcements to your family and friends; moreover, don't publish with an organization that makes money by selling only to family and friends of authors, and (3) whatever you do, don't put a picture of your workplace on the cover of your fictionalized, hidden-beneath-a-vague-pseudonym account of your workplace.