No Tarring Tor
Larry Correia, International Lord of Hate, has a remark it is in my financial best interests to share, and also a matter of honor:
http://monsterhunternation.com/2015/04/11/last-sp-post-for-the-week-to-my-people-dont-yell-tor/
The Sad Puppies campaign isn’t mad at Tor the publishing house. We have nothing against Tor.
In fact, one of our suggestions for novel is by Kevin J. Anderson, and is published by Tor. One of our nominees is John C. Wright, and he is published by Tor. There are other Tor authors who are secret members of the Evil Legion of Evil. And there are some Tor authors and editors who have reached out to us this week, and who have told the angry mobs to calm the hell down and knock off the asinine defamation, both in public and in private.
Don’t threaten to boycott anybody because of their business associations, because that’s exactly the kind of boorish behavior that’s been done to us.
Don’t post links to a torrent site and suggest that people pirate stuff instead of giving a publishing house money. Do you have any idea how offensive it is to do that on a professional author’s feed?
For those just joining us, if you are wondering where this is coming from, there are a couple of reasons many Sad Puppies supporters are leery of Tor.
There are a few Tor editors who have accused my people of some vile and outlandish things recently, but the Nielsen Haydens are only a couple of the editors there. Sure, they’ve been insulting, but I’m not going to tar the other editors by association, especially since most of them haven’t said anything, and some have been very nice to us.
Tor.com has posted some asinine stuff on this subject, talked a lot of trash about us, and run some absurd, preachy, social engineering, wannabe literati wankery articles.
However, Tor.com isn’t Tor the publisher. From what I’ve been told by some Tor employees, they are kind of their own thing. Most people don’t know that though. On that note, I don’t know who the marketing person is over there, but seriously, some of the stuff posted on Tor.com is ridiculous and has left a lot of people on this side of fandom with a bad taste in their mouth.
So, to the Sad Puppies supporters, be cool. There are a bunch of good folks over there, good authors and good editors, making good books, and some of them even agree with us.
My comment: Let me state for the record that all my dealings with Tor Books have been courteous and professional.
I never ran into anyone who expressed the least curiosity about my private opinions or public faith, no one who ever rolled his eyes or curled his lip, or bit his thumb.
Allow me to list the good Tor has done me, so that one and all with understand the true depth of my gratitude.
They are the first publishing house to give me a break, and buy my novels. All other houses had rejected them.
Mr Hartwell of Tor Books sought me out, not me him, based on the quality of my short stories. That indicated to me that he was and would be an editor of vision and energy, willing to go the extra mile to orchestrate the sale of high quality material. I have never had cause to doubt that original favorable first impression.
Tor took a great gamble on my first five books, buying them all at once.
Tor has routinely bestowed brilliant cover art to adorn them, for which one Irene Gallo, head of the art department, merits public lauds. (I do not know if she is still there. This is as of the last I heard.) You have heard other authors complain about their book covers? I have been given no cause for the slightest complaint.
The Tor publicity department has always been friendly and responsive to my concerns. (Even when I imposed on them).
Tor accomplished the impossible for me. After very difficult negotiations, Tor Books cooperated with the estate of AE van Vogt to allow me to write the authorized sequel to my favorite book by my favorite author, NULL-A CONTINUUM. That is beyond any dream come true for any author.
Tor bent over backward to accommodate me when I asked to expand the COUNT TO A TRILLION series from the original planned four books to six, with no grumbling. And this is after I boasted of my ability to produce my work on time by deadline: a boast that now chokes me.
Mr Feder and Mr Hayden, when they liken my readers to childrapists or call for no award to be granted my work as punishment for some imaginary infraction, are expressing their opinions in a private capacity, as fans of the genre, not as any official spokesmen for Tor Books. Theresa Hayden (I do not bow to the cruel and insulting modern fashion of depriving married women of their right names) is someone whose relation to Tor, at the moment, I am unaware. I believe she used to work there.
Whether these gentleman and that one gentleman’s wife are at ease in the consciences telling easily detected and refuted lies about me, my motives, and my character, is between them and their consciences. All their sins, great and small, will take the witness stand on Judgment Day, and I for one will pray for mercy to be shown them, lest I be shown no mercy.
Forgiveness, equanimity, and a sanguine disposition are best. Ungoverned emotions has no place in a mind of philosophical temper.
There is a world outside my window where wars are being fought and peace is being prayed for; when a young mother weeps for her lost child; where a man came to have saving faith in a failing world because of a simple fairy story he read; where the innocent have been butchered by zealots in the name of God, murder and blasphemy at once; where a scientist landed a probe on a speeding comet; where a woman struck blind by a bomb, by some means science cannot yet explain, recovered her sight; outside the window, justice is being done and injustices are being committed.
Let us avoid small injustices here inside this stuffy room, and the open the window, and remind ourselves of the smallness of our human concerns, the brevity of life. Shall we?
In any case, it is within the Octave of Easter, and we are (at the time of this writing) poised between Easter Sunday and Divine Mercy Sunday. It is an auspicious time to practice a little humility, meekness, and unearthly joy, is it not?
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
