Wanderrae
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2024
- Messages
- 46
- Points
- 33
I hate to kick up a hornet's nest. I went to touch grass for a week and woke up to an entire community being dead, not to mention a whole slew of drama I missed. Anyway, kind of want to bring it up so people in this community, at least, can be aware of the book predators and the like. Because I imagine that at least one aspiring young author might fall for such a thing.
So basically: Immersive Ink, one of the most prominent Discords for progression fantasy adjacent authors (and readers), went into total shutdown. (And while I don't actively engage in the community tabs, I met a lot of people there that I'd argue were integral to my development as a writer.) One of the co-founders, who goes by Fobywoby, was also running an organization called Shadow Light Press, which was trapping authors into some fucked-up, unfair contracts with decade-long terms that even renew if you mess up somewhere. Things like taking royalties years after you leave them. NDAs so people already trapped can't snitch or cry wolf to the general crowd.
There was a whole infighting period on the Discord. Many of the signed authors are revolting, and cease and desist letters have been sent out. Community fracturing, too much nonsense to put into words.
I'm just posting this here because, and I may be wrong, money makes the world go round, and if some big reputable-seeming publisher comes to you with whims of publishing, maybe you too would fall for it without reading the fine print. I know it's a controversial topic, but I want people to be aware, at least. Anyway, it's better if you read through the relevant information instead. On that note, double down on self-pub, people. Fuck these parasites.
Reddit — Shadow Light Press contract (The original shitstorm)
Reddit — Breakdown & Aftermath
Writerbeware — Why these contract clauses are scary!
So basically: Immersive Ink, one of the most prominent Discords for progression fantasy adjacent authors (and readers), went into total shutdown. (And while I don't actively engage in the community tabs, I met a lot of people there that I'd argue were integral to my development as a writer.) One of the co-founders, who goes by Fobywoby, was also running an organization called Shadow Light Press, which was trapping authors into some fucked-up, unfair contracts with decade-long terms that even renew if you mess up somewhere. Things like taking royalties years after you leave them. NDAs so people already trapped can't snitch or cry wolf to the general crowd.
There was a whole infighting period on the Discord. Many of the signed authors are revolting, and cease and desist letters have been sent out. Community fracturing, too much nonsense to put into words.
I'm just posting this here because, and I may be wrong, money makes the world go round, and if some big reputable-seeming publisher comes to you with whims of publishing, maybe you too would fall for it without reading the fine print. I know it's a controversial topic, but I want people to be aware, at least. Anyway, it's better if you read through the relevant information instead. On that note, double down on self-pub, people. Fuck these parasites.
Reddit — Shadow Light Press contract (The original shitstorm)
Reddit — Breakdown & Aftermath
Writerbeware — Why these contract clauses are scary!
