Everyone please Help!

[Lyn McConchie]

Last year I sold a story to The Devil's Food anthology, published/edited Lindsey (L.B.) Goddard. I asked for my payment to be in copies - that was agreed. However despite being listed in the contributors, despite being told copies were on the way (months ago) I don't have them. I understand that a co-editor Jim Kelley, dropped from sight and didn't post the paid for copies. But Lindsey said they'd be reposted. Still nothing, AND this morning when I tried several times to send her an e-mail, it keeps bouncing as Yahoo says she has no e-mail account with them. (This is the one I'd already used a number of times earlier and reached her.) This morning after that when trying to find her on-line, it seems that every site with her name on is inactive. Or at least, I keep being told there's an error and they can't be produced. Nothing on Monsters Next Door site, nothing on her name, nothing on the sales site for the anthology. Can anyone tell me a current e-mail address for her, what's happening, and if she's died?

[crystalwizard]

There's a myspace page for her Monster's next door anthology

http://www.myspace.com/themonstersnextdoor

and the last login on it is 1/22/2010

However in Dec she posted this:
NEXT ISSUE-- what has been filled and what I still need
Thanks everyone... so much... but there will be no future issues.

[Richard H. Fay]

Strange.

I do know that my links to my poems in The Monsters Next Door seem to be broken. It appears that their site is no more. However, the poetry anthology I had several poems in, and the print issue I had one poem in, are apparently still available through Amazon.com.

Was your story still published inThe Devil's Food anthology? It looks like it is available through Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Food-L-.../dp/1448678951

Sorry to say, you may have to bite the bullet and buy a copy. It appears that, in the volatile world of publication, promises aren't always kept. It's not right, but that's the way it goes sometimes, especially when publications die. It's a shame, too, because I had once thought that The Monsters Next Door looked to be a promising publication. Now it's dead.

[Rob K]

Short of trying to take her to court, there's not much you can do if the editors don't want to be contacted. People can disappear from the Internet instantly and without much of a trace. Unfortunately, these things happen. You might have to simply forget about it. Remember, if you opt to buy the copies yourself--well, they don't deserve your hard-earned money. In fact, they may be hoping disgruntled writers will get frustrated, give up, and buy their own copies. Don't give them the satisfaction!

[Richard H. Fay]

In fact, they may be hoping disgruntled writers will get frustrated, give up, and buy their own copies. Don't give them the satisfaction!

And then you may never have a copy.

I guess it depends on whether or not you value the ideal of getting exactly what's promised, and making a gesture of defiance when you don't, versus having a copy in hand.

[Rob K]

And then you may never have a copy.

I guess it depends on whether or not you value the ideal of getting exactly what's promised, and making a gesture of defiance when you don't, versus having a copy in hand.

Yup, that's about what it boils down to. To me, the copy wouldn't be worth supporting an anthology that fails to pay its writers what it agreed to pay. I'd rather keep my money and do without the copy. It's not really an act of defiance, though, but more one of principle.

[erazmus]

Frustrating, either way.

Mike

[Richard H. Fay]

In case this helps, this is a message directly off of The Monsters Next Door/LB Goddard's MySpace:

"TMND is now closed. A big "thank you" goes out to all the contributors. It was a good run. All the content has been removed from the website, and due to several problems, sales and production of The Devil's Food anthology have been put on hold. Please direct questions and/or concerns to DevilsFoodQuestions@yahoo.com."

So, contrary to what Amazon.com says, perhaps The Devils Food anthology may not available.

It sounds like The Monsters Next Door didn't just die, it crashed and burned.

[crystalwizard]

Before anyone starts jumping to any conclusions or suggesting court action, there are serious extenuating circumstances.

Which I now know and no I'm not going to tell you.

However I've gotten a hold of Lindsey and she's going to get a hold of Lyn.

[Richard H. Fay]

...there are serious extenuating circumstances.

Having dealt with LB on several occasions, and having found her to be a decent sort through all our dealings, I figured extenuating circumstances must be involved. Of course, not knowing for sure, and not knowing any details, I didn't want to draw any conclusions based on mere guesswork. Plus, I didn't want to get my head bitten off by any writers with high principles and short tempers for seemingly taking the side of one of those miscreant editors that sets out to screw contributors every chance they get (which, by the way, I NEVER thought was the case with LB - I figured there was more to the story).

I don't know if there are any high principled/short tempered types here, but I've been burned on-line so many times that, at times, I'm now cautious about voicing my opinion and speaking my mind.

[Rob K]

Having dealt with LB on several occasions, and having found her to be a decent sort through all our dealings, I figured extenuating circumstances must be involved. Of course, not knowing for sure, and not knowing any details, I didn't want to draw any conclusions based on mere guesswork. Plus, I didn't want to get my head bitten off by any writers with high principles and short tempers for seemingly taking the side of one of those miscreant editors that sets out to screw contributors every chance they get (which, by the way, I NEVER thought was the case with LB - I figured there was more to the story).

I don't know if there are any high principled/short tempered types here, but I've been burned on-line so many times that, at times, I'm now cautious about voicing my opinion and speaking my mind.

Lyn asked for advice. My advice was to not purchase the copies she's owed out of principle. But if principle doesn't cut it for some, there's always the logic of simply waiting for the editor to set things straight. Sometimes that can take years. Sometimes the writer never gets paid but the anthology continues to be sold. It's not about jumping to conclusions. I didn't say Lyn should write mean-spirited letters or smear the editor's reputation.

If it were me in this situation, I would have simply put it aside and gone on with my submissions. I've been in a situation where I wasn't paid what I was owed. After querying the editor a couple times and getting no response, I chalked it up as a lost cause and moved on--though I won't submit anything to that editor again until I get paid. For the sake of principle? Indeed. But others can feel free to do whatever the hell they want.

[crystalwizard]

Lyn asked for advice.

Lyn did not ask for advice.

Lyn asked if anyone knew how to get a hold of Lindsey.

[Lyn McConchie]

Cat Herder,
okay, Lindsay contacted me, she's going to pay cash instead of copies, (I'd have preferred copies but...) so, as long as I get that, all's well, and I didn't think she was trying to rip me off, just that something awful might have happened and everything of hers had crashed. Seems, I wasn't too far out on that, it had and did. So anyone assuming she was a bad person, please don't.

[JerryC]

Lyn, nobody is saying that LB was deliberately trying to cheat you or is a bad person. Sometimes personal emergencies do come up. But, if she's running a business of any type, then she does have a duty to at least let the people she's doing business with know that something unexpected happened, please be patient, and she will settle up outstanding debts soon as she can. All it takes is a quick email. To simply disappear and not bother to explain? Sorry, bad business practice. I'm sure she's a great person, though.

[Lyn McConchie]

Ok, just to clarify, I asked for a way to contact the person involved. I didn't think I'd been ripped off (although that's certainly been the case on other occasions.) I just wanted to find her and find out what the status of my work was. Lindsey subsequently got in touch with me (thanks to Crystalwizard) and I have been paid so, although I'd stll have preferred copies, that's life, and I'm satisfied that a) itw asn't her fault, and b) that I have a fair deal.

[camille]

Lyn --

Sorry I didn't see your thread earlier, but I also sold a piece to this one. When it fell through, I ended up selling the Audio rights to Pseudopod (and it appeared: http://pseudopod.org/2010/04/09/pseudopod-189-gretel/).

It took a while, but I finally got in touch with L.B. and she said all the stories were released and apologized for letting some of us slip through the cracks.

PM or email me if you need more info. But definitely consider your story released and all rights returned to you.

And...whoops. That's what I get for not reading all the way to the bottom of a thread. Looks like things were resolved. My apologies.