The Write Agenda

They seem to put a lot of stock in Amazon sales rankings as a measure of success. "How could James' advance be that high with sales rankings that low?". It's so odd and illogical the way they think.

To paraphrase a great movie: "You keep using that term. It does not mean what you think it means"

twm said:

They seem to put a lot of stock in Amazon sales rankings as a measure of success.

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People who know nothing about publishing/how Amazon rankings work/how books are sold often do this. As soon as I see someone--especially someone claiming to be a publisher or "publishing insider"--talking about Amazon rankings, I immediately know (if I didn't already, which I usually do) that they're utterly clueless.

Manuel Royal said:

You're already ruining your monkey lungs with those cigs. Tobacco is a monkey on your -- it's a bad habit.

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sigh.

We now rejoin the TWA thread already in progress...

Amazon rankings are interesting. And they're fun to watch on release week, but even Amazon says:

Please keep in mind that our sales rank figures are simply meant to be a guide of general interest for the customer and not definitive sales information for publishers - we assume you have this information regularly from your distribution sources.

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And if you dig deep enough, you can find a foreign edition of a Steven King book with no sales rank. By TWA's definition, is he a failed writer?

JulieB said:

And if you dig deep enough, you can find a foreign edition of a Steven King book with no sales rank. By TWA's definition, is he a failed writer?

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Probably. After all, he has to steal concepts from talented PublishAmerica authors to eke out even a little bit of a living! (At least, in the bizarro-world where these sort of folks seem to live.)

Manuel Royal said:

The more I look at the site, the odder it seems. All the issues they mention are things that can be debated by reasonable people -- but the site isn't about that.

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Hell, some of them don't even need to be debated. That a writer used the word fuck is an actual subject they feel is worth mentioning? Talk about having to stretch to make a point.

DeadlyAccurate said:

Hell, some of them don't even need to be debated. That a writer used the word fuck is an actual subject they feel is worth mentioning? Talk about having to stretch to make a point.

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Too fucking right.

DeadlyAccurate said:

Hell, some of them don't even need to be debated. That a writer used the word fuck is an actual subject they feel is worth mentioning? Talk about having to stretch to make a point.

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Gee, I wonder what they thought about that scene in The King's Speech?... Let alone all 170 minutes of Scarface?

TWA keeps claiming my book, The Price of Freedom, has sold no copies and has an Amazon ranking of 3,000,000 or so. The book did actually have that ranking -- before it was released, when people couldn't buy it or even pre-order it.

Since it was released in May, the book has actually sold respectably as a hardcover. At least five-six thousand copies in hardcover, and I have no idea of how many e-books.

But TWA keeps reporting that it has sold none, because of that 3,000,000 ranking.

Victoria and I have wondered whether the Turnaround Media dweeb hired to keep TWA going has Aspergers. It would explain a lot about his/her inability to communicate and understand written English. Either that or it's all just deliberate misunderstanding on his/her part.

-Ann C. Crispin

Y'all are aware that Amazon sales ranks don't reflect sales at barnesandnoble.com or off the shelves at physical bookstores, right?

Another proof that these goombahs are scammers: No one else could have spent as much time reading what Victoria and Ann (and I) have posted without learning something about publishing.

Though it is true that many Asperger's individuals do have problems with communication, they also have a high respect for the accuracy of data. No way would they present incorrect or inaccurate data.

So I think the parties (TWA) being discussed on this thread have a different condition; it's called stupidity. I also like to say about such parties or persons: they don't know what they don't know.

*Former teacher to many children with varying degrees of autism.*

Manuel Royal said:

The more I look at the site, the odder it seems. All the issues they mention are things that can be debated by reasonable people -- but the site isn't about that.

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DeadlyAccurate said:

Hell, some of them don't even need to be debated. That a writer used the word fuck is an actual subject they feel is worth mentioning? Talk about having to stretch to make a point.

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Did I say "all"? Way too generous. Some of the issues they mention are worth debating. But, yes, they have a whole page about Victoria Strauss using a bad word. And they joke about book-burning. What the fuck is wrong with these people?

I've read the "About The Write Agenda" section several times, trying to understand what they're saying. This passage (complaining about unspecified other sites) stands out:

In addition, many of these sites have become nothing more than complaint boards that disseminate speculative claims without any substantiation.

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AC Crispin said:

Victoria and I have wondered whether the Turnaround Media dweeb hired to keep TWA going has Aspergers. It would explain a lot about his/her inability to communicate and understand written English.

-Ann C. Crispin

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Love is blind, but I think hate is blinder, to abuse a non-gradable adjective, and it's very obvious the TWA website is driven by hatred. So there's no making sense of the "whys." (Although it does appear to me to be written by someone pretty darn unstable.) But such dedication to defaming you and anyone you associate with requires a LOT of energy. Surely that energy will ebb soon.

I don't think it will ebb any time soon; their campaign of toxic misinformation and attacks has been going on for a while. In their own warped way, they are fighting for the survival of their business model. Rampant greed is just as blind as hatred.

I think in this sort of situation, the only sensible tactic is to assume the moral highground. I think a detachment of calvary supported by some artilliary (10 or so cannon, maybe some mortars) and a squad of riflemen should be enough to capture that high ground and hold it.

Though I am always leery of entering into mental combat with an unarmed opponent. It is always more fun to watch them shoot themselves in the foot.

It is always more fun to watch them shoot themselves in the foot.

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Too late. They have. They used an effing machine gun and blew off their own legs.

Inviting librarians to join in on a book boycott and book burning?




The League of Reluctant Adults demands its writers be put on the TWA boycott list.

Naughty language warning.

Wish we knew someone in Michigan or California who could actually go to the addresses Turnaround Media has listed for their location and check them out.

-Ann C. Crispin

AC Crispin said:

Wish we knew someone in Michigan or California who could actually go to the addresses Turnaround Media has listed for their location and check them out.

-Ann C. Crispin

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Turnaround is listed as being located in Dublin, Ca., about a 45-minute drive from where I live and work. I don't think I could get out there any time soon. However, I did check their rating with the Better Business Bureau. They are not BBB accredited, but I do note that they have an "F" rating, the worst, for a single listed complaint in 2008 as "problems with product or services". The rating, according to the BBB, resulted from the business not responding to the BBB's attempt to contact Turnaround for resolution. Small detail, perhaps.

I can't figure out what the address is, but is there a streetview photo of the addresses on Google Maps?

The Better Business Bureau has rated Turnaround Media with an "F" grade, for failure to respond to a complaint, and not seeking accreditation. Granted it was only one complaint, but still.

http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-fran...-hosting/turnaround-media-in-dublin-ca-296749

If I was up in the area (I am in L.A.), I'd check them out for you. But Pleasanton is a far sight more than a hop, skip and jump from here.

DeadlyAccurate said:

I can't figure out what the address is, but is there a streetview photo of the addresses on Google Maps?

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Street address is on the BBB link in my post just above here.

I found no such address in Dublin or Pleasanton on MapQuest or the tax office for Alameda County.

It's not clear to me that the Turnaround Media with the "F" rating from BBB is the same as the Turnaround Media that's maintaining The Write Agenda. The business description is different, as is the website URL--turnaroundmedia.com, as opposed to turnaroundmedia.org. I did some research on this, and I think it's a dead end.

Based on a number of things including IP data and some revealing stuff on TWA's screenshots, the person who is actually doing the posting for TWA is located in Michigan--despite the California phone numbers that currently appear on Turnaround Media's website. (There used to be a street address on the website, but it has been removed. The Internet Archive has just one archived view of Turnaround's website, which shows a Seattle phone number and a NYC address that's almost certainly a mail drop.)

- Victoria

I know it's probably a coincidence, but the three comments on their testimonial page, http://www.turnaroundmedia.org/testimonials.html, are directly related to the Bay Area (Alcatraz in title, and two writers from the Peninsula - San Francisco and San Mateo, CA). Additionally, the web site mentions that the business was established in 2009, the year following the BBB 'F' rating. Perhaps the two TurnAround Medias are related, and they simply changed their web site from .com to .org, and moved out of California, to rid themselves of the BBB connection. At any rate, the Dublin, CA address does appear to be a dead end.

Manuel Royal said:

But, yes, they have a whole page about Victoria Strauss using a bad word.

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Perhaps they prefer to use "dirty bird" or "cockadoodie", like nice civilized people.