Buzz Worthy News 30 April 2012

30 April, 2012 Buzz Worthy News 25 comments

Announcement: As you can see, Buzz Worthy News is changing.  It is simply becoming too big to contain everything that happens in one week.  So, as of yesterday, it will no longer include Cover Revels and YA Book Releases but will continue to encapsulate the larger Book World News and YA news in this post.

Book World News:

Tor/Forge E-books to go DMR free.

In a remarkable and impressive feat of awesomeness, Tor/Forge is going DRM free for their ebooks.  We officially celebrate their badassery and give them a Cuddlebuggery salute.

“Our authors and readers have been asking for this for a long time,” said president and publisher Tom Doherty. “They’re a technically sophisticated bunch, and DRM is a constant annoyance to them. It prevents them from using legitimately-purchased e-books in perfectly legal ways, like moving them from one kind of e-reader to another.”

The Immortal RulesJulie Kagawa’s undeniably fantabulous new vampire series, Blood of Eden, is optioned for film by Palomar Pictures.  We can’t wait to see who they cast for the main characters!

“It’s simply a great story with an electrifying heroine,” said Palomar principal Joni Sighvatsson. “It makes the series an ideal subject for a film adaptation. Julie’s ability to familiarize the reader with this complex world in a few pages demonstrates the cinematic qualities of her imagination and complements my own sensibilities as a film producer.”

Fifty Shades of GreyAdult Source Media will be adapting Fifty Shades of Grey into a porn movie aimed at women.

“The feedback we’ve received, is that while women genuinely enjoy the literal aspects of the novel, what really has them intrigued is the incredible sex between the novels main characters Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, and how that sex can be duplicated and re-created for the screen,” he said. “And that’s exactly what we are going to give them. In addition to the adult market, our vast network of mainstream retailers and distributors have been begging us to create a soft version, so we will have a version that will be on the retail shelves of every major chain in the country.”

Scandalous Scandals

The Story SirenThe Controversy over last week’s reveal of The Story Siren’s Kristi’s plagiarism of several blog posts has ravaged the book community and resulted in multiple blog posts and record, community-wide drama.

*Due to Cuddlebuggery’s new policy, we will not actually be linking to The Story Siren’s site.  Whilst we have forgiven Kristi and hold no ill-will toward her, we will not be supporting her site or giving her traffic as part of our stance against plagiarism.

Katiebabs was the first to spot Kristi’s identity and her story and opinions on the scandal can be found here.  After our initial story broke, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books was the first blog to actually name Kristi as the plagiarist, closely followed by Dear Author.  Kristi released her first apology, which was later edited.

Please don’t take my silence on this issue until now as an admission to anything.

I made a mistake. I freely admit that. I am disappointed in myself and I’m embarrassed. I’m deeply saddened and distraught that I have broken your trust. I don’t want to give you any excuses. In a way I feel as though it won’t matter what I say at this point. It seems that the verdict has been decided. I was accused of doing something that I am vehemently against, and intentionally or not, I know that there will be consequences.

When Kristi’s first apology is posted Smart Bitches questions it:

“Four months of silence is not an admission of anything, and nowhere in this “apology” does she actually acknowledge her actions. “Intentionally or not?” How do you unintentionally lift four articles from another site? Where is the apology, exactly?”

ComaCalm create’s a hashtag #stopthestorysiren, but later apologizes for her knee jerk reaction after it was widely criticized.

Before long, Kristi contacts Dear Author and Smart Bitches to update her apology:

“I am very sorry for the trouble that all of this has caused the book blogging community. I also apologize for my actions and will work harder to be a better and stronger blogger. I have answered on my on blog as well and am sorry that I was unavailable due to work during the day and seemed unresponsive.”

Kristi posts a clarification post, where she eventually opens up to comments. Awesome! But then most negative comments were deleted by a third party who was moderating. Er… not so awesome after all. After some intense reactions, most comments were restored.  Unfortunately, the comments then turned into a bloody gladiatorial battle between the pro-TSS camps and the anti-TSS camps and descended into chaos.

The Book Lantern’s Ceilidh posts her thoughts on the scandal here. Then, sparked by The Book Lantern’s post, Rachel from Parajunkee gives her two cents on the incident.

I would just urge people before they take a side to look at all the evidence and make an informed decision. Just like voting — you wouldn’t just vote for the most popular candidate would you?? Don’t call people names, or throw out words like lynching — that has hate written all over it and you don’t want hate to be involved. Plagiarism brings out strong reactions in bloggers because we all get by on our WORDS that is what sells us, that is what defines us and to have one of our own faking her WORDS, passing off someone’s hard work as her own, well that just speaks of duplicity and laziness. Her intentions are made apparent, she cares not on what her readers think of her, but only of the publishers and authors that grace her with free books and advertising money.

The madness of the drama firmly takes hold after so many big names in the book blogging community pick sides.  Laura from Laura’s Review Bookshelf throws the wrench into the machine by releasing a letter written by Kristi to a then eleven-year-old blogger three years prior. However, the letter is later taken down and is no longer available for viewing on that blog.

Radiant Shadows ButtonKelly from Radiant Shadows posts a comprehensive break down of Kristi’s apologies alongside her now deleted post on plagiarism.  She takes excerpts of both the apologies against the deleted posts.

Amber, an aspiring author writes to request that everyone stop being mean girls to Kristi and be kinder.

We can discuss it, we can learn from it and we can grow from it but the snarky comments have to stop. Drawing lines in the pavement and sticking out our tongues at anyone on the other side has got to stop or we will never be respected. I’m oftentimes shocked by how people look down on the YA community because I’m immersed in it and I know the good it creates. But when we start calling each other names and being rude; when we start acting like our stereotypes then we are just reinforcing this thought process.

Two of the bloggers plagiarized post clarifications of their  own in response to both the drama and to Kristi’s apology.

Kristi knew full well where the “inspiration” was coming from because she consistently visited our original posts the SAME DAY that the plagiarized posts were published on her own site.  She knew exactly what she was doing.

It wasn’t case of confusion, it wasn’t a case of “inspiration” gone wrong. 

It was a case of pure laziness and she got caught.

Beautifully Invisible

I want you to know that I am a hobby blogger. This is not my full-time job. You know what my “real” job is? I’m a Web writer and editor, a content developer—not a “wanna-be writer,” not someone with aspirations—but a bonafide, paid writer.

Tweeting with someone yesterday, I noted that the ultimate insult is that people think I do not know how all this plagiarism stuff works because—gasp!—I’m just a fashion blogger. 

I’m not just a fashion blogger. I have a Master’s Degree in English/Technical and Professional Writing, and I have published in magazines, papers, and online. I KNOW THE RULES OF WRITING. I KNOW WHAT PLAGIARISM IS.

I would never, ever pass someone’s work off as my own, because my voice and integrity are not only all I have as a writer, to do something like that would end my career, and my income. I resent having my name dragged through the mud because of a situation I did not bring upon myself.

Grit and Glamour

BrawlA whole host of blogs weight in on the drama from this point on, each with their own opinion and view.  What’s Your Story, Whattheeffgod, The Bawdy Book Blog, Lissa Writes, The Book Smugglers

AnimeJune also gives her opinion on Kristi’s clarification post and her own lesson in plagiarism in her fantastic post.

1. Plagiarism is wrong. I know it sounds like this should be obvious to everybody but clearly a few people need a little more education. It’s okay to like or have liked this blogger (you can actually count me in that group), but that doesn’t mean you should sugar-coat or ignore the implications of what happened. She willingly plagiarized another person’s work and if she had been doing so in any professional field she would have been fired.

I’ve seen commenters frantically hand-waving it by saying, “Oh, well, she just copied Blog Tips and Tricks – none of those are original to begin with.” Um, she didn’t just copy tips and tricks – she also copied the format, the page design and also the sentence structure and syntax – things which naturally tend to vary from person to person and are what differentiates one writer’s style from another’s.

Finally, the unthinkable happens, and the victims and bloggers speaking out against Kristi begin receiving hate mail.

Victim Tweet

Smart Bitches compiles a list of the Plagiarism Bingo and the hate mail received by both themselves and the fashion bloggers involved.

Drama LlamaA second, lesser drama errupted out of Sirengate as a very small time blogger posted, complaining over the lack of originality in other book bloggers – especially compared to their own blog.  People were enraged which mostly seemed to be taken as great encouragement by the blogger.

And people call us shit-stirrers.

 

Things YOU can do:

To make a stand against plagiarism, there are a few things you can do.

1. Stop linking to, and visiting The Story Siren.

2. Stop participating in In My Mailbox.  Tynga Reviews is hosting a synonymous blog meme Stacking The Shelves for those looking for an alternative.

3. For both authors and bloggers – don’t participate in the Debut Author Challenge.  J.R.Dark is posing a possible alternative here.  So go and show your support!

4. Sign up to the Stop Blog Plagiarism site.

There are also multiple variations on both the IMM meme and Debut Author Challenge listed here.

Jennifer Armintrout’s debacle.

Author Jennifer Armintrout is doing a multi-chaptered scathing review of E. L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey.

The other chapter recaps go almost exclusively without comment until another author, infamous for the drama and review policing of her own and her friend’s books, comments.  Suddenly… DRAMA!  Controversy!  MORE DRAMA! Outrage!  Scandal!  PEARL-CLUTCHING!

For fear that decline…something… would descend our society into complete…they began courageously blacklisting in response to Armintrout’s review.

But… they blacklisted the wrong person, apparently.

Oops!

Kat Kennedy

Kat Kennedy

Co-blogger at Cuddlebuggery
Kat Kennedy is a book reviewer and aspiring author in the Young Adult genre. She reviews critically but humorously and get super excited about great books. Find her on GoodReads.
Kat Kennedy

25 Responses to “Buzz Worthy News 30 April 2012”

  1. Christina (A Reader of Fictions)

    Poor Jennifer Armentrout! That’s ridiculous. I was going to be too lazy to change my DAC Challenge stuff, but now I feel motivated. I’m going to just mark every book I read that was the author’s debut of any sort. That’s easier to track anyway. :-p

    Awesome summation.

    Also, still laughing about the porn film for women.
    Christina (A Reader of Fictions) recently posted…Enter Sandman – MetallicaMy Profile

  2. Fangs for the Fantasy

    I add a salute to Tor/Forge Ebooks!

    the whole plagiarism drama to me isn’t interesting so much ebcause of the plagiarism (sadly people will always do it – and of course, always be condemned and they should be) so much as the reactions to it – the way negative criticism is moderated away, the apologies that have to be constantly moderated because they miss the mark etc. I often wonder if the epopel who do these things might be better served putting their cards on the table and apologising unreservedly in the first instance – at very least the drama wouldn’t last so long without the defence, fanpoodling, cover ups etc etc

    As it is, the fanpoodling, hate mail, and general flouncing, throwing out all the toys, fauxpologies and massive “waaah how can you be so mean to the poor poor plagiarist” drags the drama out much longer and much further and, ultimately, probably ensures more people hear about it and more people have a negative opinion of the plagiarist.
    Fangs for the Fantasy recently posted…Face off: Most Blatant TokenMy Profile

    • Kat Kennedy

      @Fangs for the Fantasy:

      I agree. It has been the reaction that has caused me the most consternation. However, the reaction is all painfully reminiscent of the events that proceeded Cassandra Clare’s plagiarism as well. So I guess I was well prepared for it.

  3. Cyna

    Ahh, Jennifer Armintrout. I’ve only read one of her books so far, but after talking to her a bit on Twitter and this latest whatnot, huge fan.

    Also, I guess I’m the only one who finds the blogger at the center of that last “lesser drama” kind of hilariously awesome?

    So wait, there’s going to be a big-time adaptation of 50 Shades *AND* a porn one? Won’t the be the SAME MOVIE? D:
    Cyna recently posted…063 – The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin WassermanMy Profile

    • Kat Kennedy

      @Cyna:

      I don’t know about awesome! LOL. I get their point – but it was a really douchey way to get it across. We have never done memes, but we don’t run around laughing at others and referring to people as unoriginal bastards while repeatedly kicking them in the ovaries.

      • Cyna

        @Kat Kennedy: I was pretty impressed, lol. She makes some good points, especially in her follow-up post, and while somewhat…I dunno if “self-righteous” is the word, but something along those lines – I’m inclined to nod vigorously because she hits on things that’ve bugged me about some of the book blogging community for a while.

        Plus, I’m always on the lookout for snarky reviewers xD
        Cyna recently posted…063 – The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin WassermanMy Profile

  4. Molly

    Seems like the drama llamas were out and about this week. Sighs. I always look forward to this column every Monday. Yeah, some of the news is upsetting but it really is informative. So kudos to you.

    Just for clarification there’s going to be two versions of Fifty Shades of Gray? Seriously? Now I’m just waiting to hear that they’re going to make a spoof of it (a la Vampires Suck as well. Perhaps, Fifty Shades of Muck).

    Keep up the good work,

    M 🙂
    Molly recently posted…The Airhead Series: Meg CabotMy Profile

  5. Lexie B.

    It’s insane just how much of a shitstorm this stirred up in the blogaverse. And even after all the many, many posts I’ve read, after the many, many tweets I’ve seen, I still can’t decide if I’m sad that so many people will blindly support someone or proud that so many will take a stand and explain why this is wrong in civil, intelligent posts. A lot of both, I think.

    Also, I know it’s probably not very nice of me, but . . . some part of me can’t help but find the whole Jennifer Armintrout/Jennifer L. Armentrout incident a bit hilarious, if only because it shows just how very stupid people can be. I feel awful for both of them, but people’s idiocy never ceases to be entertaining.
    Lexie B. recently posted…Hate ListMy Profile

    • Kat Kennedy

      @Lexie B.:

      Oh I’m not ashamed to say I found it HILARIOUS! I was laughing my head off. Some of those people blacklisting the wrong Armintrout, were the same slamming us for blacklisting McGuire, I believe. So, the incident was pretty amusing to me.

  6. Lissa

    I’m so saddened by the Jen­nifer Armintrout/Jennifer L. Armen­trout thing. The funniest thing is that it’s related to book lovers, bloggers, and general readers. You’d think these people would know how to spell.
    Lissa recently posted…Sirengate: My Two CentsMy Profile

  7. AnimeJune

    Yeah, if you’re going to be a whiny mcwhinerson and blacklist an author – MAKE SURE YOU BLACKLIST THE RIGHT AUTHOR!

    Thanks for the link, BTW! Yeah, I was not impressed by that “English Teacher” blog who went on and on how SHE does “real” reviews and that’s why she’s not “in” with the “popular” cliques, who all copy each other and write vapid posts. I could practically smell the sour grapes wafting from the screen of my laptop.
    AnimeJune recently posted…The Weekly Wanting (5)My Profile

  8. Kate C.

    As usual, you guys do a GREAT job summing everything up. Poor Jennifer. Talk about a case of mistaken identity!

    PS- It was a good idea to split up the covers/releases from the news, because the news has gotten so dang LONG! 🙂 (But interesting, always interesting)
    Kate C. recently posted…Cover Love…My Profile

  9. J.R. @ J.R. After Dark

    Thank you for linking to my post! There WILL be alternative challenges (more genre’s/categories are being included)for 2013. I’ve taken the same stance the you have and I’m just not participating in TSS’s blog anymore. LOVE that Tynga took the inititative and created an alternative.

    I am adding your blog to my list of blogs that I visit daily!
    J.R. @ J.R. After Dark recently posted…Book Blogger Hops! 1 Question BEA Edition!My Profile

  10. Belle

    I feel bad for both JA’s about the hate, but am personally loving Jennifer’s recaps! They’re hilarious and (from what I can tell) way more entertaining than the actual book.
    I was surprised at the amount of people still doing IMM on the weekend.
    Belle recently posted…Reading Icons: Orson WellesMy Profile

  11. John

    ADULT SOURCE MEDIA TO FIGHT CEASE & DESIST ON FIFTY SHADES OF GREY PARODY

    LOS ANGELES, CA (MAY 14, 2012) In what may be a harbinger of things to come for the adult industry, Adult Source Media has disclosed that they have been served a cease & desist request from the law firm representing author EL James and her best-selling erotic novel series, Fifty Shades of Grey, to immediately halt production of ASM’s XXX film parody of the publishing world’s fan & media darling.

    Adult Source Media’s legal counsel has responded, reminding the author’s representatives that Adult Source Media’s upcoming project does not violate any intellectual property rights. As explained by ASM’s lawyers, “the naked truth is, the adult film industry is not excluded from the protections of the fair use doctrine.”

    In what could be the first time that the adult industry has rankled the powerful, insular book publishing community, Adult Source Media has vowed to protect its right to produce an adult only oriented takeoff of what the book world has christened, “Mommy Porn.”

    “The literary world, be it publishers, book agents or the press, have proclaimed a new genre in the romance novel sector and have christened it “Mommy Porn”, stated ASM President, Wendy Crawford. The book industry has seized this explosive opportunity in order to generate world-wide renown, acceptance and most importantly, publicity, targeting the largest purchasing demographic- professional women. For Fifty Shades of Grey’s attorneys to now ask us to put the brakes on this project, smacks of hypocrisy. Consumers, particularly women, should be able to visually experience and enjoy an adult film spoofing an interpretation of a currently popular book.”

    Crawford seems confident that the film will be released. “We’ve received hundreds of emails since announcing our plans. 99% have been positive feedback from women who can’t wait to see Ana and Christian’s sex scenes re-enacted on film from the perspective of a woman, which is key to honoring the wishes of the female fans. We intend on doing our best to fulfill those fantasies. ”

    For Sales Inquiries, contact john@adultsourcemedia.com
    For Licensing Inquiries, contact jim@socallicensing.com
    http://www.adultsourcemedia.com

    Adult Source Media’s Fifty Shades of Grey is a parody. Vintage Books, E.L. James, Universal Pictures, the publishers, producers or directors of Fifty Shades of Grey, in no way authorize, endorse or sponsor this movie.

    Adult Source Media is a Multi-Award-Winning Adult Entertainment studio, specializing in niche content. Best known as the largest producer of adult animation, Adult Source Media’s new Romance line, Intimate Encounters is produced and directed by Couples for Couples.

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