Comments on Full Fathom Five - page 1

Thanks for making this list! Now I know what books to avoid like the plague.

Seconded.

Excellent, nothing on my TBR list.

Cathy wrote: "Thanks for making this list! Now I know what books to avoid like the plague."

QFT

I'm confused. What is this list about??

The list has a description.

Stephanie wrote: "I'm confused. What is this list about??"

Here is why I find this Listopia helpful:

http://bibliodaze.com/2014/04/say-no-...

Caroline wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "I'm confused. What is this list about??"

Here is why I find this Listopia helpful:

http://bibliodaze.com/2014/04/say-no-..."

Thanks Caroline. I hadn't heard about this scandal. Glad to know now.

Stephanie wrote: "Thanks Caroline. I hadn't heard about this scandal. Glad to know now."

You're welcome, Stephanie.

(Additionally, Oprah's interview with James Frey, in which he admitted to fabricating almost everything in A Million Little Pieces, can be found on YouTube.)

Let me make sure I am understanding the concept of Full Fathom Five. They hire authors to write books, right? And I'm very much concerned about copyright. Where do they issue the copyright? Is it with their authors or their company? That would be so wrong if the copyright would be with the company.

By the way, this list is so helpful. Honestly, I was really hoping on reading Rachel Carter's books. Too bad, it won't happen anymore. It's time to raise awareness about this books.

I'm still going to read Dorothy Must Die because I'am interested in reading it. I never heard of this Fathom Five thing or what James Frey did/is doing but from what I read just now, I admit its wrong. I'm not going to ruin my chance to read a book that I might love. And if I hate it, I hate it. Also shame on the authors/writers who work for this Fathom Five, they should know better.

Twilight should not be part of this list

Thanks for this list! :D Glad to know all the books which are part of this company.

You should edit the list. Twilight does not belong here.

Greaat I own The So Close to You books and I liked it enough *sighs*

Thanks for the list!

Twilight is an FFF? Pretty sure it's from Little, Brown and Company?

I've edited the list to remove Twilight. I didn't put that on, and someone added it incorrectly. Would have removed it sooner, but I've not been on the internet.

I absolutely despise that anyone can add books to Listopias! It renders them virtually useless much of the time.

Shame... I wanted to read DMD and I am Number Four but after reading about this company and it's creator; fudge that!

Thanks for this list! definitely avoiding all of these books and not spending a dime on them or JF

Jessica wrote: "how do you know if they are FFF books?"

Well for Dorothy http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/9/...

It requires a lot of digging, but they'll be accompanied by a note about being a Full Fathom Five production on marketing things.

source for my addition to this list:
http://www.c2educate.com/read-this-no...

Monica&spikey wrote: "source for my addition to this list:
http://www.c2educate.com/read-this-no..."

Thanks. I'm going to tweet this.

I was going to read Dorothy Must Die - now I will avoid all of them. As a writer I would not want to be treated like this, so I refuse to support it

I read I Am Number Four before I knew about James Frey's involvement. It was a crappy book anyway and I had no interest in reading the rest of them.

I'm glad I saw this list though. Dorothy Must Die was on my TBR list and I have now taken it off. He won't get any more of my money.

Oh and have you seen this? He has a Digital Press now and a website for it.

http://fullfathomfive.net/

Oooh, thanks for the info. I'll update the list!

No problem. Thanks for making this list!

Why are the Beautiful Creatures books on this list?

That's a good question. Someone added them. I've taken them back off, as they're not Full Fathom Five books.

More Full Fathom Five news. Now they are going to launch one new ebook a week...
http://mashable.com/2014/09/05/james-...

They finally have a site. http://fullfathomfive.com/

Jon wrote: "They finally have a site. http://fullfathomfive.com/"

Yeah, and the $10,000 contest? What kind of give-me-your-firstborn contract does it really involve? "offer for an exclusive publishing contract with Full Fathom Five Digital" Yeesh.

Not only that, two of their books are on NetGalley's main YA page right now - Echo Bridge and The Family. https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/lis...

Von wrote: "Let me make sure I am understanding the concept of Full Fathom Five. They hire authors to write books, right? And I'm very much concerned about copyright. Where do they issue the copyright? Is it w..."

The copyright IS with the company in the books I took the time to study the copyright page of. Most books, on the copyright page, have the copyright symbol followed by the author's name. Dorothy Must Die has the symbol and then FULL FATHOM FIVE. That's pretty despicable, if they won't allow their author to hold the rights to their own words.

Thanks for the list! Now I'll know what NOT to read for sure! Thankfully nothing was marked TBR. Phew!

Wait, it says the company that published Dorothy must die was HarperCollins on goodreads when you search the book. So am I wrong and they just wrote it incorrectly?

Full Fathom Five is a packaging company, not a publisher. They package books and publishers buy them.

Looks like they've got a lot more stuff now:

http://fullfathomfive.net/?page_id=220

Oh, ok. Thank you for filling me in.

Full Fathom Five author Kathleen Hale behaving badly...

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014...

I wish I had found this list before ordering I am Number Four. Fortunately, it was from the marketplace so I only spent a penny! I shall be dropping it off at the local charity shop once it arrives.

This is not how books should be created!

I'm still confused. Not about James Frey and how horrible he is. Aren't we hurting the author that wrote the book too? I mean, is it possible that's the only place their book would get published? Or are they also "guilty"? I just don't want to punish an author because of him. If I'm mistaken please explain.... thanks.

Heather wrote: "Aren't we hurting the author that wrote the book too? I mean, is it possible that's the only place their book would get published? Or are they also "guilty"? I just don't want to punish an author because of him."

While yes, boycotting Full Fathom Five books also affects the authors of those books, I don't view it as "hurting" the authors. Think about it this way: Are you hurting every author out there whose books you don't buy?

Yes, I could choose to support a Full Fathom Five author and in the process support James Frey and his reprehensible business practices, or instead, I could spend my time and money on hundreds of other books and authors that I'd much rather read.

I do not believe that the authors are getting any royalties for the sale of these books. At least not to my understanding. They are paid an abysmal flat fee for their manuscript, after which, Full Fathom Five owns all copyrights to their book and their characters. They may be given stipends after their books sell, but they are not privy to how many units their book has sold and therefore have to take whatever Full Fathom Five chooses to give them...if anything at all. In this way, I don't really feel as though we are hurting the authors when we boycott their books, because they have already received all the profit they are probably going to get for their work. Essentially I believe that the authors are hurting themselves when they choose to work with Full Fathom Five, regardless of whether or not we boycott their books.

http://www.c2gainesville.com/2012/02/...

"Full Fathom Five has come under fire on two fronts. The first involves their “standard” contract which, at least according to Conrad Rippy, an attorney with the Authors Guild, isn’t exactly standard: He said the contract was unlike any contract he’d seen in sixteen years of negotiation. The contracts promise the author’s a $250 advance and a certain percentage of all revenue – except that there is no audit clause to allow the author to see proof of how many books (or movies, or television deals, or related merchandise) have sold, which means the author has to accept whatever amount Full Fathom Five offers without recourse. The author may or may not be given credit for his or her work, and the author may not speak about his or her work with Full Fathom Five. If the book is a success and a sequel is in the works, the author must write the sequel – unless of course Full Fathom Five decides to have someone else do it, in which case the original author has no recourse. The author has absolutely no rights to his or her work, but he or she would be liable if any lawsuits arose from the book. In essence, it’s a deal specifically designed to lure in desperate young writers without offering them any legal protections for their work."

Ok, thanks. It seems they are well aware of what they're getting into. It's a shame. I imagine it's pretty hard to get your book out there and then to just, basically, give it away.

I agree Heather. I think after working that hard on something I wouldn't dream of just giving it away, even if I thought that's what it would take to have it published and find an audience.

It's an awful deal and Frey seems to prey on the young and impressionable. Which is despicable in and of itself.

Nowadays if you can't find a way to be traditionally published, it's easier than ever to self-publish and market yourself given the rise of digital books and social media.

I just hope these young writers catch on to him in the future before signing their dreams away.

Thank you for making this list. Unfortunately I didn't find out about this until after I finished Dorothy Must Die, but now I know!

Avoiding these books like the plague.

It all makes sense now. No One Else Can Have you is on this list.... HAHAHAHA