Oh, come the fuck on!

[hackthis_archive]

Dear Bloomsbury (and anybody else in publishing who didn't get this memo):

Let's just put it out there right now: When your protagonist is a mixed race child with curly hair and dark skin, putting a WHITE CHILD on the cover to sell copies? NOT FUCKING OKAY.

The message you are sending to other mixed race kids and minorities? NOT OKAY.

Not letting the author chose what face her book presents to the world. Say it with me now... NOT OKAY!

Holy baby Jesus that's a lot of fail.

I couldn't even wait until morning to get it out of my system, because I don't like things fucking with my sleep patterns.

No love,
Somebody who really wants to buy that damn book but just can't bring herself to give you any more of her hard earned money.

Excuse me I must go decompress by finally listening to thisisbone and thefourthvine and watching Fast & Furious. And to not completely bring everybody's mood down, um, shit, I had some good news somewhere...oh, yes, Happy Birthday to random_flores, you are an awesome friend.

Comments

[sffan.livejournal.com]

*boggles*

That is a huge fucking pile of fail.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Trufax, baby.

[lembeau.livejournal.com]

Fail the fucking epic fail.

This is precisely why I would love to go into publishing. So shit like this or Twilight doesn't happen.

I want to read this book too. How the hell are you supposed to support the author who wrote something we want to read and not dumbass publishers?

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Inorite?

If I rip the cover off *before*, the author doesn't get paid at all. Curses.

ETA: musesfool very helpfully suggested buying the Australian version, which will obviously be a few pennies more but not result in me stroking out when I read it, so, you know I think I'll do that.

[lembeau.livejournal.com]

What if you were to rip off the cover (and walk out with the book) and send money directly to the author? :OP

musesfool's idea is a very awesome idea.

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

It's a whole lot of fail. Maybe in a few weeks copies with the Australian cover will be available secondhand, and that way you can have it without the offensive cover and also without giving Bloomsbury any money.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

That is a brilliant plan. *hugs*

[lembeau.livejournal.com]

Thank you for giving us an alternative. That's quite awesome.

[spasticat.livejournal.com]

I read about that cover crap (http://www.boingboing.net/2009/07/23/race-and-book-covers.html) a few days ago (lately been saying "crap" a lot.) So infuriating as...it shows that Bloomsbury US has no faith in book buyers. And for booksellers to say a cover with "a mixed race child" wouldn't sell...is crap, crap, crap.

It is also irksome that the publisher won't listen to the author. Where is the loyalty, eh? And...lastly...shame on whoever designed that cover being complicit with the race switch. Shame!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I can see not having *much* faith in American book buyers, since the numbers are dwindling, but to just -- GAHHHHHHH! I can't even be coherant. All fail.

[serialkarma.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Bloomsbury gets a big old FAIL from me on that one. I know authors usually don't get much say in the covers of their books, but this is kind of beyond the pale.

Excuse me I must go decompress by finally listening to [info]thisisbone and [info]thefourthvine and watching Fast & Furious.

I admit, I've never seen that movie all the way through in one sitting. It has sweaty men driving hot cars really fast, I'm not sure why I haven't.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Publishing gets a big old NO from me today.

As for F&F, I saw the first one, this is the most recent one and I gotta tell you, THE CARS! OMG! THE CARS! Vin Diesel is not attractive to me, but OMG THE CARS!

[serialkarma.livejournal.com]

Oh, the FOURTH. Yes, I saw that in the theater. Hello, hot cars! Also, v. gay, but mostly CARS.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

CARS.

[serialkarma.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not in remotely the same branch of publishing, but I can tell you true that we have a huge number of all different kinds of kids on the covers of our books--all races, shapes and sizes. Granted, apart from that they're the most boring covers EVER, but there is that.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I see your icon and my first thought is, when was the last time I read a Thursday Next book?

And you do tend to produce a slightly different type of book, dear. But yes.

[serialkarma.livejournal.com]

I haven't read a Thursday Next book in a while, either. They kind of got old to me, after a while. On the other hand, having recently re-read Jane Eyre, I'm feeling the urge to go re-read The Eyre Affair, now.


And you do tend to produce a slightly different type of book, dear. But yes.

Yeah, it's not exactly gripping literature. On the other hand, our books are market-driven too, very much so, and yet it was never ever a question of not putting pictures of non-white kids on the covers. Everyone was like Well, of course, because we want the covers to reflect the people who are buying the books, or who we WANT to buy the books. And I seriously doubt the fact that we've got a picture of a Hispanic kid on several of our AP books has stopped a white kid (or a white parent) from buying that book, you know?

People are stupid, often.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Everyone was like Well, of course, because we want the covers to reflect the people who are buying the books, or who we WANT to buy the books. And I seriously doubt the fact that we've got a picture of a Hispanic kid on several of our AP books has stopped a white kid (or a white parent) from buying that book, you know?

People are stupid, often.

And this is why I love you, because you understand this intrinsically.

[serialkarma.livejournal.com]

*beams*

[maurheti.livejournal.com]

I used to work in publishing, which was majorly frustrating at times, situations like this one being a prime example of why. The comments Bloomsbury made about their "reasoning" make me want to spit. Books can be wonderful, but the politics of trade book publishing suck some serious ass. This whole thing is made of Epic Fail.

Hope watching hot men driving pretty cars while eyefucking each other helped...

[redheadaholic.livejournal.com]

*comes out of cave to comment*

Okay, as someone who still actually reads non-digital books, I get that covers matter somewhat. I've been intrigued enough by the cover art on occasion to pick up a book and check out what it's about. On the other hand, I wouldn't have bought the Twilight series if they had put envelopes on the cover with actual cash inside. So, you know, STORY AND QUALITY OF WRITING MORE IMPORTANT! I am flabbergasted at the thought that someone wouldn't check out or purchase a compelling book because the cover had a mixed race face on the cover (or any type of face on the cover)...but apparently I am naive that way.

*goes back into cave to read*

[euterpre.livejournal.com]

I hope to god they don't screw up my manuscript -> book.

that would piss me off