If your job decided that they didn’t feel like paying you anymore, would you still get up every day and go to work?
Our guess is probably not.
If a company profited from product created by its workforce, but didn’t pay them, would you still support that company?
Our guess is probably not.
These are questions that Dreamspinner Press has forced fans and authors of gay romance to consider.
A series of financial, business and PR decisions by Dreamspinner Press over the past year have turned the gay romance genre upside down. Unless readers paid particularly close attention to social media, most are likely unaware of the turmoil Dreamspinner has caused.
Here is the truth.
Royalty payments due to authors have either stopped completely or are months behind schedule.
Authors are hurting. Publishing plans thrown into chaos. Careers have been damaged.
People who have written some of the most beloved stories in our genre cannot afford basic necessities, or to put food on their table this holiday season.
Here at the Big Gay Fiction Podcast, we believe that authors must be paid for their work.
Period. End of discussion.
They should not have to beg, or threaten legal action, to receive the money that they have EARNED.
It should not have to be stated, but we’re saying it anyway, not paying someone for their work is unacceptable. It is a moral and ethical line that should not, and cannot, be crossed.
It is for this reason that we can no longer, in good conscience, promote works published by Dreamspinner Press.
In the past, we have heartily endorsed Dreamspinner titles on the podcast. Those episodes will remain in the backlist, unchanged. They represent our opinions at that time. To be clear, we still cherish those stories and love those talented authors. It’s our feelings about the publisher that are now very different.
Why do we make this statement now? We do not want our silence on the matter to be misconstrued as an endorsement of Dreamspinner. After months of witnessing what’s happened to authors in our beloved genre, we can no longer operate business as usual.
Moving forward, due to the business practices of the publisher, we no longer support or endorse Dreamspinner Press.
