A Line in the Sand

by Peg Brantley


If you draw a line in the sand—over which you affirm you will not cross—where do you redraw it when a wave washes it away? Or when a jogger comes along and tramples it? Do you draw it in the same place or move it somewhere out of the way?

Integrity only means something when you stand strong. It's mist in the wind if you adjust your values because they become inconvenient. Keeping your integrity might mean you have to lose a few quick sales, or build your career a little slower than you'd like.

Here's what I've seen with many authors recently—traditional or indie:

A lot has been made lately about phony or paid reviews. Most of us were righteously indignant, and deservedly so. Some people unfortunately, simply wish they'd thought of it first. But that's only one piece of the game.

What about biographies? Is your biography dead-on, or have you played with reality a bit? I've heard it referred to as "permissive puffery" which to me is just another way of moving that line in the sand. Did you really make your living as a journalist or is the truth that your local hometown paper published two letters you wrote to the editor? Or that you were a star for your school newspaper?

How about calling yourself an award winning author because you came in second place in some obscure writing contest? (I have a framed certificate on my wall. Does that count?) I remember when I won that award, a friend told me I could now refer to myself as an award winning author. I think she meant it tongue-in-cheek, but it did make me wonder.

Then there's calling yourself a bestselling author because your book hit the top 100 of a free list, narrowed down by three or four categories? Are you serious? The NYT's Bestseller list has a few ethical issues of its own—don't compound it by adding yours.

Or review trading—explicit or implied. This was kind of a new one for me. No one actually came out and said "I'll give you a great review if you give me a great review", but the timing of their review and suddenly receiving their book made it hard not to hear those words. And when I wasn't crazy about their book? I sort of felt like I should somehow move to have their review taken down. It felt fake and sleazy.

To be perfectly honest, I asked a few readers who had given my first book a positive review to take a look at The Missings early in order to give it a nice bump at its launch. But I also spread that request out to others who may or may not have ever read my first book. One of my first 5-star reviews is from such a reader. Dishonest? Unethical? Lacking in integrity? I don't think those were any different than publishers sending out ARCs to try and get that same bump.

Writers, what about you? Have you seen things that made you shake your head? Were you ever tempted?

Readers, especially readers… have you begun to see through some of this stuff? Does it make you doubt everything?


Peg Brantley was never a journalist or a screenwriter or a sought after speaker. Although Amazon might say she has some bestselling books, she's still trying to reach that mark. Yes, she did receive second place in a writing contest once and even an honorable mention in another… but award winning? Net yet. RED TIDE rose as high as number two one time when she happened to look at the list. That was a kick. It didn't last.

The Final Hurdle: Literary Awards

Posted by L.J. Sellers, author of the Detective Jackson mysteries
With the upheaval in the industry, the lines between legacy-published and self-published authors are blurring, and in some cases, disappearing. Yet, some of the old club mentality (and function) still exists, especially when it comes to awards. Self-published novels not allowed.

I belong to International Thriller Writers, and I joined when my series was published by a small press. A company, by the way, that is not on the list of acceptable publishers for Mystery Writers of American, which is why I’m not a member there. When I was with the small press, ITW encouraged me to submit my novels to its in-house awards, which I did.

Mid-last year, I left my publisher, but ITW allows me to continue to be a member. Yet, I still had to push and nag for the right to submit my new self-published releases for inclusion in The Big Thrill, the organization’s newsletter. For the record, I’m an active member: I volunteer with ITW by interviewing authors and writing features and participating in forums and giveaways.

For this year’s contest, I submitted Dying for Justice, which readers and reviewers seem to think is my best work yet  (giving it a 5-star Amazon rating). I was informed that the awards were only for books released by publishers on their list. Here’s the interesting part: The award chair encouraged me to fill out an application to become an approved publisher. Huh? That  doesn’t seem right. I’ll fill out the application, but if Spellbinder Press (my company) gets approved, then I really don’t see the point of having an exclusive list…unless the only criteria is producing quality books. But how is that judged?

Which brings me to another point: The books I write now are better than those I submitted before, because I’m still improving my craft. And my self-published books are better edited (by far!) than those produced by my ex-publisher. I pay for better cover design and professional formatting too. Overall, the quality of Dying for Justice exceeds the quality of the books I entered in the contest the past.

I don’t mean to pick on International Thriller Writers. I love the organization, and I appreciate that it’s trying to be more inclusive and has accepted some self-published authors. I also understand the difficulty of these decisions. How do you open the door to some indies without being run over by a flood of entries that don’t belong? Other organizations and awards face the same dilemma.

Joe Konrath has suggested that sales be the equalizer. Say, if your book sells 5,000 copies, then you’re considered professional, no matter the publisher. I don’t know if that’s the answer, but it’s certainly would simplify the decision process.

Writers organizations and award sponsors have to make changes to stay current, or they will soon be as obsolete as others in the industry that failed to adapt. How do we fix this?