A couple of days ago, I saw a post on FB from Gabino Iglesias where he pointed out factual inaccuracies in the RS article — notably, that the article stated that one writer who isn't on Substack at all had a thriving Substack presence. Wonder if that had something to do with the article vanishing...
Andrea Bartz commented here that it was part of Rolling Stone’s “council” program: someone pays them a hefty fee to contribute articles. It should’ve been tagged as such.
Adding an additional layer of weirdness to the Rolling Stone article: Though I don't recall it being clearly marked as such, the article was part of a paid platform thing that RS's staff isn't directly involved with: https://council.rollingstone.com/ From what I can tell, people pay to get bylined articles on the site. Very odd.
The byline was JD Barker—yes, the author who asked female TikTok influencers to pose nude with his ARC. So connecting the dots, he must be a part of this (unmonitored, apparently) program? The deeper you dig…
Ugh! Further eroding confidence in media by tricking the reader into thinking articles are written by professionals with some journalistic ethics and reputations on the line. Not by some pay-to-play stinkers that haven’t been vetted.
Two Rivers distros Zando, so if 8th Note wanted to, they could’ve just done it with them instead of what is probably not a great financial deal w Zando. Either way, the fact that they couldn’t make this work is significant. It takes a lot for a startup publisher to work bc they don’t have backlist as a cushion. One would’ve thought they’d have the data and resources to make it.
So cool to see you’re working with Mallary! We attend the same quarterly Austin writers event and I’ve been following along with all the press she’s been getting. Kudos on your hard work!!
Ooh what’s the fake summer reading roundup?
A couple of days ago, I saw a post on FB from Gabino Iglesias where he pointed out factual inaccuracies in the RS article — notably, that the article stated that one writer who isn't on Substack at all had a thriving Substack presence. Wonder if that had something to do with the article vanishing...
Andrea Bartz commented here that it was part of Rolling Stone’s “council” program: someone pays them a hefty fee to contribute articles. It should’ve been tagged as such.
Adding an additional layer of weirdness to the Rolling Stone article: Though I don't recall it being clearly marked as such, the article was part of a paid platform thing that RS's staff isn't directly involved with: https://council.rollingstone.com/ From what I can tell, people pay to get bylined articles on the site. Very odd.
WOW. Now that is something. Who authored it?
The byline was JD Barker—yes, the author who asked female TikTok influencers to pose nude with his ARC. So connecting the dots, he must be a part of this (unmonitored, apparently) program? The deeper you dig…
So interesting because the Rolling Stone Council is allegedly invitation-only. I don't think it's that hard if you pony up the money.
Ugh! Further eroding confidence in media by tricking the reader into thinking articles are written by professionals with some journalistic ethics and reputations on the line. Not by some pay-to-play stinkers that haven’t been vetted.
I think Zando became a distribution partner for 8th Note (but didn’t acquire it…)
Two Rivers distros Zando, so if 8th Note wanted to, they could’ve just done it with them instead of what is probably not a great financial deal w Zando. Either way, the fact that they couldn’t make this work is significant. It takes a lot for a startup publisher to work bc they don’t have backlist as a cushion. One would’ve thought they’d have the data and resources to make it.
my mistake! good point about not having the backlist revenue
It’s a JV so not just a distro deal.
So cool to see you’re working with Mallary! We attend the same quarterly Austin writers event and I’ve been following along with all the press she’s been getting. Kudos on your hard work!!
Mallary is one of my favorite clients!
The cover for Slip manages to be boring and very clever at the same time-- an unusual combination!! 🤔😅
Yes! A Pub Confidential party!
Keeping this in mind in my arsenal against that indefatigable voice that keeps trying to tell me I have to be a TikTok influencer to be an author.
SARAH I’M RIGHT HERE (I’m kidding 😂)
hahahaha I KNOW I KNOW!! You're how I'm figuring out how to healthily listen to and use that voice!