The RockWay Show

a time out?
what are we?
kids?

this is one of the most bizarre threads I've ever seen. the moderators let one person - persiphone hellcat or [edited] or whatever her name is - continually post "warnings" about a press that rejected her work, let her call the publisher names (isn't that a no-no on your site? shouldn't you moderators be getting a "time-out"), let her post lies , e.g. rockway has no titles available, when rockway has four titles available, and then chastise others who want to post about rockway and tell us WE'RE the ones who are off topic?

well, mr. whoo-i'm-so-impressed-publish-america-has-titles-available-macdonald, pa doesn't have titles in bookstores unless the authors put them there. pa's books aren't available through ingram.

ingram doesn't carry self-published authors. in case you aren't up to date on ingram's policies. all self-published authors were eliminated from ingram's wholesale and distribution lists because the BOOKSTORES REQUESTED THAT INGRAM DO SO.

rockway press books are available - through ingram or baker + taylor - at any bookstore in the country. that means rockway books are not self-published. maybe that's why ms. [edited] is so angry - because unlike a self-publishing house, rockway actually does reject books?!?!?

since no bookstore can shelve every title that comes out every year, if a bookstore wants to get a title from rockway it might have to (gasp) ORDER the book from ingram. which is what the bookstore does with EVERY OTHER BOOK THAT A CUSTOMER WANTS THAT'S NOT IN STOCK WHEN THE CUSTOMER WANTS IT. haven't you people ever been in a bookstore that didn't have the particular title you wanted on the shelf??

as moderators you don't seem very informed about the publishing world, you don't follow the rules of your own forum, and you display extreme bias against a company because some author who calls herself persiphone hellcat and who "crows" (on the first page of her website) about the fact that she writes "porn" and "s+m" lit and has a warning that "you must be of legal age" to visit her website, because that author claims that rockway is -- what? a bit slow on some publishing dates? rejected her novel? won't respond to her threatening emails or her mother's threatening phone call?

what exactly is the crime that ms. hellcat thinks rockway has committed that authors need to be warned about rockway?

has it taken money from its authors and not published their books? no.

does it charge a contest reading fee? yes. a mere $25. compare that to the trade publisher who charged $150 per entry last year.

does rockway have titles in print? yes.

are rockway books available in bookstores? yes.

does rockway have final editing rights on its authors' books? yes. standard in the industry.

does rockway have final say on a book's title? yes. standard in the industry.

does rockway have final say on the book's cover? yes. standard in the industry.

does rockway pay advances against royalties? no, but then, neither do most small publishers, and rockway never says that it does pay royalties against future advances.

does rockway take the authors' copyrights? no. never. and that's right in the contract for anyone who wants to take the time to read it.

do you know of any other publishing company that is willing to POST its publishing contract so that anyone can read it?

does rockway pay royalties on sales? yes. and pretty high royalties at that. raised as the number of booksales increases. standard in the industry.

does persephone hellcat have a book with rockway? NO.

has she ever had a book with rockway? NO.

has she ever had a contract with rockway, signed by both her and by rockway's representative? NO.

why not? BECAUSE ROCKWAY NEVER ACCEPTED HER BOOK.

ms. hellcat claims that she rejected rockway? then why doesn't she just shut up about rockway?

rockway hasn't done anything illegal, immoral, or unethical.
unless ms. lamar thinks that rockway rejecting her novel is illegal.

contact the new mexico attorney general about rockway? for what? because it has four titles in print and available, through ingram, in any bookstore in the us, the uk, and canada? because rockway rejects books that it chooses not to publish? because rockway posts its contract on its website?

because rockway, like all traditional publishers, got a little behind on its publishing dates? (whose business is that, anyway, except rockway's and the author involved?) and if that was a crime, all publishers would have to be reported to the attorney generals of their respective states.

time-out, ms. strauss?
grow up.
close this thread and do some real writing.

and that last message is for ms. hellecat, ms. strauss, and mr. sarcastic-and-insulting-remarks-to-writers-who-post-anything-positive-about-
rockway-or-who-question-the-direction-the-moderators-are-letting-this-thread-go-in.

is this on topic enough for you moderators who insult writers through sarcasm?

have i said enough about rockway to keep it on topic?

or does this thread need another time-out?

oooh, maybe we'll get grounded next (gasp)

harrissssssssss

[Popeyesays]

Has this guy outworn his welcome yet?

[veinglory]

There was a welcome?

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by veinglory

There was a welcome?

Maybe it was just the mat at the front door?

[Sonarbabe]

Originally Posted by harrisss

well, mr. whoo-i'm-so-impressed-publish-america-has-titles-available-macdonald, pa doesn't have titles in bookstores unless the authors put them there. pa's books aren't available through ingram.

ingram doesn't carry self-published authors. in case you aren't up to date on ingram's policies. all self-published authors were eliminated from ingram's wholesale and distribution lists because the BOOKSTORES REQUESTED THAT INGRAM DO SO.

Really? Are you absolutely, 100%, positutely sure about that one? I think you might want to re-look into that one. Though I'm not especially proud of the fact that my first book was self-published, Ingram is my book's wholesaler. You can order my book at any bookstore, (true, it's not on the shelf, but I've learned much since then) I'm on Amazon.com, B&N.com, Books-A-Million.com, Borders.com, etc. I don't think I've been eliminated. Unless you know something I don't. Care to explain?

[persiphone_hellecat]

First of all, I am hardly the only person who has posted here against Rockway. Several others have, and even more have written to P & E prompting them to issue a nice red NOT RECOMMENDED under Rockway's listing.

Secondly, I don't know where you get your information unless you are Sherri Szeman herself, in which case you are very much deluded. My book WAS ACCEPTED AND A CONTRACT WAS SIGNED BY ME. I rejected Rockway, Rockway did not reject me.

The four books currently published by Rockway have been published in the last MONTH. Big deal. I have checked. They arent available in MY Barnes and Noble. They can be ordered but they aint on any shelves.

I contacted the NM Attorney General when Ms. Szeman began making THREATS against me. Others did the same. Internet threats ARE illegal. Those threats have been turned over to the Attorney General and they will be properly investigated. Others have contacted the Attorney General because their books were NOT published. When one wins a contest, it is customary to award the prize as advertised. Sherri Szeman hasnt done that.

I don't know where you get your information as to what is and is not standard in the industry but I assure you that you are very wrong. NO author is going to sign away rights to a book for a publisher to make any old changes they feel like with NO input from that author. That would be just stupid. As the REAL Harris stated here, the edits Rockway is doing on a friend of his' book are just plain bizarre and the author is extremely upset over them.

Somehow, you seem to have come up with my last name, or a reasonable facsimile of it. It is not correct, but close. So now why don't YOU come forward Sherri? Why is this account brand new with the member not accepting e mails?

I know why. Because Dave at P & E told you to stop posting in defense of yourself and start publishing books instead.

If you have published 4 books, that is fantastic. 3 authors have me to thank for getting you off your butt and publishing them. A lot of the others are still real unhappy that theirs arent published yet. You let my partner off the hook and cancelled his two contracts, that is wonderful. I've heard one friend of the REAL Harris got their contract voided too. Even better.

Who are YOU to come here under an assumed name, stolen from someone else, and tell the moderators what to do? Victoria and James are both very well respected people in the business and both of them have supported this thread. In fact, except for you and sukreb, no one has supported Rockway. Not a single one.

The good part is that over 4 000 people have read this thread and now know about Rockway. Many more have read the same thread on other writers' sites -- too many sites to even count anymore. And the Wikipedia listing aint bad either. But the best of all is that the P & E rating is negative. That should really put a damper on the number of submissions Rockway gets for their contests and to be published in general.

I don't know if this is Sherri or one of her sockpuppets, but the fact my name is here indicates to me its Sherri herself. These rants are only serving to convince more and more people of what a nutjob outfit Rockway really is and push them farther and farther away.

I don't know whether it's Harrissssss or sukreb who keeps e mailing me with these bizarre stories about Sherri's sad and bizarre childhood, but those letters are going to the Atty General as well.

Frankly I have had enough of this crap. I havent posted on this thread in many a moon and had no intention of doing so again. As Victoria indicated, the thread is open for any other Rockway victims to post on, however most are too afraid due to the threats they are getting. They may not have posted here, but you can bet they contacted Dave at P & E because he personally told me my complaints alone werent enough to get Rockway's rating changed. And shortly thereafter, it was changed.

If anyone is out there who cares to, the New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid may be reached at the following address...

408 Galisteo Street
Villagra Building
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
Phone (505) 827-6000

Leave me alone, Sherri. You messed with the wrong person. Publish your little POD books and go about your business. Bother someone who cares. I have posted over 3,000 times here at AW and only about 10 of them have been about you. You overestimate yourself. You're just not that important for me to bother about you that much. And stop telling other people what to do. Just like your little contract shows, you are a huge control freak who turns against people when you don't get your way. You didnt get your way with me -- I turned your contract down. And you dont control this board. Now go away. I'm sure there are some tables at the coffee shop waiting for their orders. Then maybe you can publish SIX books!

Persi

[LeslieB]

Harrisss keeps carping on the 'respect your fellow writer' rule. It doesn't seem to have sunk in that a publisher is not a fellow writer. If people here weren't allowed to talk about their bad experiences with agents and publishers, the Bewares and Background Checks section wouldn't exist.

[sukreb]

Mr. McDonald:

In reference to the owner or Rockway Press you wrote: "We haven't said a word about you personally." Of course, it's hard to know who the "We" refers to in your quote, but there is no doubt that Ms.Hellecat's posts include many personal attacks, not to mention inaccuracies, and it is equally clear that no one in authority here chose to do anything about her violating the rules at Absolute Write.

In fact, Ms. Hellecat continues to distort the truth, because it is she who began sending me private email messages (filled with vitriol and nonsense) because she was certain I was the owner of Rockway Press. These inane messages didn't stop until I told her I wanted nothing to do with her and suggested that I didn't appreciate being harassed.

Once again, my problem has never been with any scrutiny or comment (positive or negative) regarding the business practices at Rockway Press; rather, I have been motivated to post solely by what, in my opinion, has been a vicious personal attack conducted by a person whose relationship with Rockway Press didn't turn out to her satisfaction. I sincerely hope that Ms. Hellecat will be able move on to more productive activities when she finds another publisher.

Finally, I question (others may not) what drives a person and what needs are satisfied by posting at AW, on the average, 62 times per day.

[Bartholomew]

Originally Posted by sukreb

Mr. McDonald:

In reference to the owner or Rockway Press you wrote: "We haven't said a word about you personally." Of course, it's hard to know who the "We" refers to in your quote, but there is no doubt that Ms.Hellecat's posts include many personal attacks, not to mention inaccuracies, and it is equally clear that no one in authority here chose to do anything about her violating the rules at Absolute Write.

In fact, Ms. Hellecat continues to distort the truth, because it is she who began sending me private email messages (filled with vitriol and nonsense) because she was certain I was the owner of Rockway Press. These inane messages didn't stop until I told her I wanted nothing to do with her and suggested that I didn't appreciate being harassed.

Once again, my problem has never been with any scrutiny or comment (positive or negative) regarding the business practices at Rockway Press; rather, I have been motivated to post solely by what, in my opinion, has been a vicious personal attack conducted by a person whose relationship with Rockway Press didn't turn out to her satisfaction. I sincerely hope that Ms. Hellecat will be able move on to more productive activities when she finds another publisher.

Finally, I question (others may not) what drives a person and what needs are satisfied by posting at AW, on the average, 62 times per day.

There is an old japanese proverb... translated into English, it goes something like:

"When you cannot determine the character of a man, look at the character of his friends."

This ties nicely into an old English saying, "You're known by the company you keep."

So if I'm going to pass judgement on Rockway, but I have no dealings with Rockway, all I really have to do is look at the little thugs defending her.

<Shrug>

[persiphone_hellecat]

I really had no intention to re enter the picture here. I sent my letter to the Atty General, and I expected this thread would die down but remain as a warning for those intending to query Rockway or enter her contests. 4,000 plus have viewed this thread, and that is great. Congrats, Brainstorm. You just saved your MS from hell.

However Sherri is just too easy a target to ignore. Yes, folks, Sherri Szeman who changed her name to Alexandria has changed it once more - to Harrisssss.

Thank you, James, for going to the Ingram automated, I was going to do it myself. I've checked before. So you say Holden + Me has sold 11 copies this year huh? Wow, at that rate, the author is really going to get to those higher royalty levels in no time! However, let's review the Rockway Contract (available to all to read - a point Sherri seems to think is in her favor.)

"Author's Copies
11. The Publisher shall furnish to the Author, ten (10) free copies of any edition of the Work published by the Publisher."

So -- let's do the math Sherri. I know 11 is more than 10, so you may have to take your socks off for this one. 11 - 10 = 1. Ten of those copies went to the proud author (is calling someone a proud author disrespecting them? I hope not.) and one was sold - earning the author the grand total of about $1.37!!!

Since, according to Rockway's highly touted and published contract which clearly states that books purchased by the author do not count towards their sales figures, it's a sure bet those 10 don't either. Which means the author only needs 4,999 more sales to move up to the 15% commission level. Be still my heart.

Also, let us examine Sherri's claim that her books are available "In bookstores" Keyword IN. Generally when I think of something being IN a bookstore, I think of shelves. Shelves are IN bookstores. They have books on them, making those books available IN bookstores. However, books not available IN bookstores CAN be ordered. And I suppose the time those books spend on the shelf behind the counter with a rubberband holding a slip of paper with your name on it waiting for you to pick it up can be considered time spent IN a bookstore. It's a stretch, but technically I guess it's true.

The key here is how the average Joe bookreader knows about Holden + Me so he can run to his store and order it. Well, quite honestly I believe Mr. Macdonald and I have now given Holden + Me more publicity than Sherri will ever give it.

Previously, she had one title published. The Binding. Was it in bookstores? Yes it was. According to the author Brenda Barrie's site, it was available in two bookstores IN HER HOMETOWN. She herself admitted on the site it wasnt available anywhere else. Both of those stores were out of stock, I guess because Ms. Barrie had done some local promo herself and sold the books.

Let's go back to the infamous contract for a clue as to how Rockway books get shelved.

"(f) The Author may but is not obligated to resell any copies of the Work purchased at the Author's discounted price of 30% of the Cover Price.
(g) The Author may sell said 30%-discounted copies for any price up to and including the Work's Cover Price. The Author may not sell the Work for more than the listed Cover Price."

There's your answer, folks. You publish a book on Rockway. You order yourself 30 or so copies of it. The POD printer prints them and sends them directly to you (also stated in the contract - the printer sends them to you- not Ingram or B+T) Then you hit your neighborhood bookstores and convince them to put them on the shelf for you. They may even go so far as to do a booksigning for you. When they sell, the store sells them for the cover price and gets the 30% you got as a discount.

If you are really hard up to unload them, Rockway even allows you to sell them 30% off and make your money back. Cool!

As for sukreb ... how many times a day I post here at AW is really none of your business. You and Sherri seem to be terribly interested in my career. I guess turning Rockway down really broke her heart. Nope, as far as I know nobody here seems to be the least bit concerned with how many times a day I post here. And quite honestly I manage to average 62 posts a day, and still keep to my personal quotas which I assure you are quite high.

Let us hear something about you, sukreb. What type of writing do you do? It is odd to me that on August 18, you posted the following on the PA board. ...

"Third, it is a fact that both of us, and others at Absolute Write share the same goal. That would be putting Publish America out of business."

You seem to have absolutely no problem using your posting ability to attack PA, however when someone posts genuine information regarding another publishing scam, you suddenly become outraged that people can post here against certain publisher. We exchanged exactly TWO offlines here. It was your responses that were nonsensical and absurd. However, just as Harrissssss used certain language that led me (and Mr. Macdonald) to realize Harrissssss is Sherri, you used certain language that led me to believe you are the person in Ohio who was sending me absurd e mails to my personal e mail address concerning some childhood trauma in Sherri's life and explaining how that trauma makes her nuts today and how I should forgive her. Deny that sukreb. Please. So I can post both your offlines to me and the e mails here side by side for a comparison.

The last poster is right. The quality of the company does very much reflect on the quality of the posts defending it. Thugs? I would choose another word. And I guess since sukreb has never defined himself as an author here, I wouldnt be breaking any rules here if I did.

What's cool is that this thread is now WAY over the standard beware thread here. It has far more posts and far more hits and already people are getting the message. Sherri? You can charge 25 or 75 or whatever you want for your contests...the word is out. You won't be getting many responses. Oh yes, and stop posting in Yahoo forums in Au -- they are on to you too. You're a done deal, Sherri.

Persi PS ... Sherri and sukreb - please get my name right ... it's Hellecat - with an E in the middle.

[Bartholomew]

Good post, though I suspect it was a waste of wind. Hopefully, it was a coup de grace and we can move on to something more interesting.

Originally Posted by persiphone_hellecat

Bartholomew is right. The quality of the company does very much reflect on the quality of the posts defending it. Thugs? I would choose another word. And I guess since sukreb has never defined himself as an author here, I wouldnt be breaking any rules here if I did.

Fixed.

[persiphone_hellecat]

I hope so too ... this is about as exciting as shooting fish in a barrel. Maybe now that Sherri is outted, she will go away.

[Sassenach]

Am I the only one who finds the term "Ms Hellecat" amusing?

The only thing I can see she and Sherri/Harissss have in common is an inability to be succinct.

[Bartholomew]

Originally Posted by Sassenach

Am I the only one who finds the term "Ms Hellecat" amusing?

It makes me think of the Hellcat V's from Wing Commander III...

[persiphone_hellecat]

Originally Posted by Sassenach

Am I the only one who finds the term "Ms Hellecat" amusing?

The only thing I can see she and Sherri/Harissss have in common is an inability to be succinct.

Actually I kind of like it. It's so ... empowering. I take it Sassenach is an editor. Or perhaps Ernest Hemingway reincarnated. I think I'm very succinct.

[James D. Macdonald]

Originally Posted by sukreb

Mr. McDonald:

In reference to the owner or Rockway Press you wrote: "We haven't said a word about you personally." Of course, it's hard to know who the "We" refers to in your quote...

Victoria and I are "we."

Let's see: Persiphone_Hellecat called Sherri a "nutjob" and said she is "losing it and rapidly," "clearly off the wall," and "crazy." Those are the personal attacks you're referring to? Since Sherri (or someone purporting to be her) had already called Persiphone a terrorist and pornographer I think the honors are about even. Do you think Sherri's first post should have been deleted? If I'd done that then Harrisss really would have had a leg to stand on (rather than whining about her deleted entirely off-topic posts).

That's without commenting on the bizarre nature of Sherri's posts.

Since Harrisss is so offended that her supposedly pro-RockWay posts were deleted, here's the full text of one of them (redacted by me). The other was essentially identical. RockWay was not mentioned at any time in any way in either post.

[Name of individual]
From [Name of a non-AW online venue]
Please stop. If you continue to [post], you will be blocked from [non-AW online venue]. 4 August 2006 (UTC)
This user has been blocked indefinitely from [non-AW online venue], per ruling of administrators, [Name of individual and Name of committee].

Reposting that nonsense after the first iteration was deleted, combined with her dishonest characterization of those posts as being pro-RockWay, is what earned "Harrisss" my sarcasm. Not to mention scorn. When "Harrisss" moved on from there to the incredibly lame "available" excuse, and the repeated ferverent protests that RockWay isn't self-publishing (no one said it was, sport), well, I'd had my fill of her.

[persiphone_hellecat]

My comments regarding Sherri were based on letters I received from her personally as well as her conveniently forgetting she accepted the book. It should be noted that she didnt just refer to me as a pornographer, the book was written by two people. The second one is a retired United States Federal Law Enforcement Agent and he didnt appreciate the comment. And it should be noted she didnt just say we were pornographers, she said we were "child pornographers" - which is essentially accusing us of a punishable crime. I assure you we are not and that the book contained no child pornography. I think that justified my remarks concerning her.

I can also copy here, although I really would rather not, these bizarre e mails I have been getting concerning Sherri's mental health and why I should go easy on her because her childhood trauma has made her an unstable adult. Whoever sent those to me clearly violated Sherri's confidentiality and quite honestly it made no difference to me one way or the other.

The problem with Sherri, the serious problem, arose when she wrote to my partner, the Fed, telling him to "get rid of the problem and of Charie permenantly." I consider that a threat on my life -- especially when you send such a statement to a gun-toting Fed. Of course, he notified me immediately of the letter, extremely upset. Death threats on the internet are a serious crime and so is attempting to hire a hit man. That is when I went to the Attorney General.

I stand by everything I have said about Rockway, and will continue to. As long as Sherri/Harrissssss and her sidekick sukreb continue to harass me and disrupt this site with their bizarre actions, the only one losing is Rockway. Their words speak volumes concerning the company and its owner. Much worse than anything I have ever said about them. I also believe I was not the first person to use the term "nutjob" after Sherri's initial post. I believe that honor goes to Buffoon - who incidently loses his or her bet about Sherri disappearing like the Pets.com mascot. Persi

[Bartholomew]

Originally Posted by persiphone_hellecat

The problem with Sherri, the serious problem, arose when she wrote to my partner, the Fed, telling him to "get rid of the problem and of Charie permenantly." I consider that a threat on my life -- especially when you send such a statement to a gun-toting Fed. Of course, he notified me immediately of the letter, extremely upset. Death threats on the internet are a serious crime and so is attempting to hire a hit man. That is when I went to the Attorney General.

Hence my usage of the word 'Thug.'

[MacAllister]

I'm an editor, Persiphone, and while I'm sympathetic with your Rockaway brouhaha, I find your signature rather aggressive, hostile and offensive. Succinct is the last word I'd ever think of to describe your style, frankly.

Want to take another shot at editors in general? Don't shoot blind. Sassenach has been a member here a loooong time and has clearly self-identified as a writer.

Go ahead. Take a shot at me, directly, instead. Passive-aggressive is so overdone, don't you agree?

[Bartholomew]

Originally Posted by MacAllister

I'm an editor, Persiphone, and while I'm sympathetic with your Rockaway brouhaha, I find your signature rather aggressive, hostile and offensive. Succinct is the last word I'd ever think of to describe your style, frankly.

Want to take another shot at editors in general? Don't shoot blind. Sassenach has been a member here a loooong time.

Go ahead. Take a shot at me, directly, instead. Passive-aggressive is so overdone, don't you agree?

Q:
How many editors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A:
No clue. I ran screaming when I saw a room full of editors in a dark room.

###

Edit-

This is my way of trying to diffuse a potential brawl. =|

[DamaNegra]

Oh my...

[MacAllister]

You're very kind, Bartholomew.

At some point, people have to actually own the words they throw around, though. If someone chooses to deliberately insult perhaps a third of the people s/he shares a message board with...well, there's likely to be a bit of annoyance with that attitude.

Heh. The lightbulb joke is funny, though.

[persiphone_hellecat]

Yes, it is an amusing joke. I must remember that one. So are both of the quotes in my signature - from a very famous author and a very famous journalist... in fact, I believe an author actually "edited" by Sherri's own "inspiration" Maxwell Perkins. They werent put there to in any way offend you or any other editor - no more than any editor was offended when William Faulkner, a personal hero of mine, said it. I would defy you to point out to me the author who actually enjoys being edited.

I have no intention of "taking a shot at you" or anyone else here. First of all, you have absolutely positively no way of knowing what my writing style is, because you have never seen it. Nor has Sassenach. My dealings on this board have not brought me in direct contact with either one of you. Nobody says you have to read what I write here, however people like the lady who stated today that these posts saved her from sending a MS to Rockway seem to appreciate what I had to say. I have never said a hostile word to either one of you. In fact I have never said a word to either one of you.

I don't like being told I have anything in common with someone who asks people to "get rid of people permenantly" for her. Nor should anyone else here. Quite honestly, I thought my comment that the remark was made by either an editor or Hemingway reincarnated was not only amusing but rather flattering. Obviously you didnt. Clearly, we share different senses of humor. That's fair. When choosing editors, I do try and pick ones that match my own personality and echo my own personal sense of humor.

There isnt going to be a brawl, Bartholomew. You know, recently here on Long Island, two gentlemen waiting outside a judge's chamber exchanging lawyer jokes were actually arrested and had charges filed against them for disturbing the peace by several lawyers lingering outside who couldnt stand the heat in the kitchen. One of the great things about America is that each and everyone of us has the right to freedom of speech and that includes telling lawyer jokes, editor jokes, or quoting one of the most famous authors of the 20th century.

I have no intention of offending a super moderator, however I think that quoting William Faulkner is well within my rights.

I might ask why you refer to writers as evil writer broccoli creatures, and why authors shouldnt be offended by that, but I shall let it go.

Since this thread is about Rockway Publishing I don't see my signature quotes as relevent. I directed NOTHING at either one of you and I certainly didnt deserve your hostile response. I hope that was succinct enough for you.

Persi

[James D. Macdonald]

Getting way off-topic again.

[Medievalist]

Originally Posted by persiphone_hellecat

I would defy you to point out to me the author who actually enjoys being edited.

You need to get out more, read more, and be published more. Most authors appreciate an editor who saves them from embarrassing gaffes, improves their prose and helps them tighten their structure and plot.

I have no intention of "taking a shot at you" or anyone else here. First of all, you have absolutely positively no way of knowing what my writing style is, because you have never seen it. Nor has Sassenach.

Oh please. Take a look at this post of yours:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/show...&postcount=109

You've got comma splices, syntax errors, logic errors and sentence fragments.

Your post history (an astonishing thing of itself) is riddled with the same pattern of errors. In other words, these errors are habitual and native to your style.

You desperately need an editor. You also would do well to look more closely at the context of the two editors whose comments you quote.

Frankly, I don't know which posts are more lack-witted in this thread; yours or the Rockway disciples'. You use exactly the same ill-conceived rhetorical techniques as Rockway, including ad hominem attacks inappropriate in any contexts, and you present an equally unsavory persona.