Right now, I’m supposed to be at a booksigning in Ottawa called Prose in the Park. If you expected to see me there and didn’t, please accept my apologies for my absence.
I have been writing and publishing romantic fiction—and earning my living my doing so—since 1992. That’s more than 25 years of being involved with the literary community, reader conferences, book events and wholesale trade shows for the publishing industry. I have been surprised from the get-go at the lack of respect shown to commercial fiction authors, genre fiction authors and particularly romance authors at these events. I don’t understand why anyone feels it’s okay to be rude about other people’s reading choices, and I certainly don’t understand why organizers of events always skew in favor of authors of literary fiction—but they do. Somehow, authors who write literary fiction are deemed to be better and more valuable. It’s just one of those things, but over time, you can reach your limit.
Today I reached mine.
Let’s backtrack a bit. A year ago, I was invited by S.E. McEachern to come to Prose in the Park, to participate in a panel discussion with her and Eve Langlais on the romance genre, and to sell my books at the bookfair in the park. It sounded like a lovely way to spend a day, and to catch up with several other writers from the Ottawa RWA chapter who were also planning to attend, plus I knew that Eve and I would have a great chat. There was no compensation offered, likely because it was a small book fair with a small budget. Susan offered she would pay for my spot to sign, which was very gracious of her, so I agreed.
I subsequently received an invitation from the organizers of Prose to contribute to a fundraising program to help defray costs for authors who had to travel a distance to the event. Since I was making a six-hour drive each way and booking two nights in a hotel at my own expense to participate, I thought this was a bit cheeky. It is par for the course at a book event in Canada, though, so I bit my tongue and ignored the request.
This spring, I learned that our panel discussion would be in the last slot of the day, from 5PM to 6PM. The last slot on a Saturday book fair is often the one with the poorest attendance because attendees have gone home for dinner. Also, people tend to attend panels to learn about the authors in attendance, then buy books from authors who interest them. We would have no opportunity to capitalize on our participation in the panel discussion because the book fair would close by the time we were done. This was clearly just one of those things. The schedule was done and my trip was booked.
I arrived this morning to discover that the people speaking on panels were not to be given any visibility or signage. My space was half a 6-foot table to be shared with Eve—I knew I’d be sharing, and sharing with Eve would be fun. There were six romance authors under this tent, each with the same space allotment, and we moved things around to give some visibility to ORWA and their membership drive. We were all set up when another author arrived and insisted that the spot with my books was her spot and that my books should move. Such mix-ups happen, but are usually sorted out to the satisfaction of everyone involved. In this particular case, this author insisted upon having this very spot, and the organizer supported her. I was to shove along, into Eve’s space, and make do. We six should share five spaces, so this writer could have what she wanted, even all of the spaces were paid. The organizer didn’t even come over to speak to us about it. It wasn’t important.
I think it was the way the other author poked at my books, like they were something that should have been scraped off her shoe, that pushed me over the edge. That the organizer believed his solution was acceptable—and that we romance writers should just be nice and make it work—convinced me that there was no point in discussing anything with him.
We are nice. We do make do. Eve was scooting her stuff over to make room for me—so we’d be sharing her space—and Susan put some of my postcards at the front of the table, but I’d reached my limit. I’m tired of being nice when other people are rude. I’m tired of being expected to accept crumbs from the table because I write genre fiction. I packed up my books instead of playing along this time. I had a walk around the event, took a deep breath and decided that it was a lovely June day. Instead of making do with what Prose in the Park thought I should find satisfactory because I write romantic fiction, I took my husband out for lunch.
So, if I missed you at the event today, I’m sorry. I have a feeling, though, that if you’re a romance reader or writer, you’ll understand why I wasn’t there.
Deborah Cooke & Her Books 
I am so sorry for the poor treatment you received and I think it so wrong on many levels. I wouldn’t have been so nice, you are a classy lady and an awesome author. Shame on the organizer and shame on the author who thinks is better than others. Sending hugs and know that many readers love your books as I do.
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Good for you. If we don’t stand up for ourselves there is no excuse to whine because there are footprints on our backside. I am a retired professor with a doctoral degree and love romances as well as other fiction. Romance books are also a real life stress reliever from professional journals and books. Keep up the good work and know that there are many who appreciate you.
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Dear Deborah,
Iâm appalled by what you described. How rude and inconsiderate of the organizer and that offending writer taking your space, and all together the attitude towards writers of your genre. I congratulate you on your decision and want you to know that nobody who has read your books and enjoyed the truly amazing world and fantasy you take your readers to, will fault you on your decision. Thank you for your wonderful books, please continue writing and bring joy to us â the ones that cannot wait for your next story â like me, and Iâm 100% certain everyone who ever discovered you!!
Best Regards,
Doro Victor
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Thank you, Doro.
I removed your email and mobile info so that you don’t get spammed. Your comment is just lovely, and I thank you very much for it. I will keep writing. You needn’t worry about that. But I think I may just stay home in future. 🙂
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Prose in the Park is still working out kinks, and it seems there is not an identified function to sort out issues that arise with placement, etc. I was there last year, having arranged with another author to share our own tent, only to find out that we were located outside the park itself with two other private tents – on the street (which was blocked off last year). The other author bailed, as you did, before noon. We persevered and located a space inside the park where we could squeeze in our table, and arranged to move there for the afternoon.
I think that to assume this is some sort of vendetta against Romance authors is a bit of a stretch for me, though the person who “claimed” the space might have her own “issues”. Sadly, there was a full tent with three tables that was presumably set aside for signings by panelists just south of the main stage. It was very close to where we were located – and I never once saw anyone actually use that space. It could have been more productively employed and could have solved the overflow problem.
I think in future that someone needs to be designated to trouble-shoot these kind of problems – someone who is not the main organizer who is primarily focused on the panels themselves during the event.
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Yes, I agree. There is usually someone – or a team of people – who are active during set up to adjudicate any disputes and make sure that everyone is settled by the opening. There are always a number of alternatives and solutions that can be arranged. Thanks for commenting.
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As much as people who write what they call “Serious Literature” goes, I find most have no idea what goes into writing anything else. Some can be taught to expand their horizons, but most are… well, for a better term, very closed minded about anything but what they do. It does not make their actions acceptable. Their rudeness tends to label them in even lower class levels than what they think of as “not serious” writers. Authors who write fiction do more research than others in most cases, and get less credit for what they do. Rudeness is no excuse, it is a lack of proper upbringing. You don’t deserve the treatment you got there. Then again, when you think of it, even Shakespeare can be viewed as a writer of fiction.
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It sounds as if that kind of person just feels entitled. Has the publishing industry created that kind of feeling among “literary” writers?
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Reblogged this on M. A. Abraham and commented:
A travesty of injustice
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Well said and I salute you for taking a stand!
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I totally agree with your stand, anywhere you go in the book industrythey look down on readers and authors when Romance covers so many diverse subjects. “Oh it’s women’s books” is the cry. I’m glad you ended up have a nice lunch with your husband.
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Pingback: Prose in the Park – Book Addict at Cherylanne57
What a horrible way to treat any author. I’m glad you didn’t accept the status quo and too your hubby to lunch. I like the indie book events, everyone is welcomed and no one feels one genre is better than another. Besides they all love romance books
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The action the organizer took was totally uncalled for! I would’ve done the same thing. I’m glad you were able to still enjoy yourself, having lunch with your husband. I enjoy your books immensely. They always bring me joy!!!
That’s why I like to read. To feel good!
Thank you for all you do!
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so sorry this happened to you but you made the right choice ,
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That is so hurtful. I love romance books. I love the idea of HEA, for we know too well life isn’t guaranteed to be that way. Many women live vicariously through romance books! And no, we don’t need to be pushed aside, let alone the writer who gives us so much joy! Thank you for sharing your creative talent and giving us all hours of entertainment with so much more!
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Your words are well chosen and well said, as befitting your station as one of the top authors in the romance genre. I’m still absolutely stymied on why, and what purpose it served, to shove a USA Today/NY Times bestselling author who drove all the way to Ottawa on her dime, to generously donate her time AND her name to help draw readers to this new, emerging event. I’m told the fault was mine, because I didn’t pay good enough attention to the names on the table plan. Silly me. I was under the impression that when I asked for ten spots, and paid for all them at the same time, that I could secure a tables for the Romance Panel and ORWA. But I guess all the volunteer hours I put in, the assistance ORWA and you gave in promoting the event on social media, the financial donation from myself and ORWA, and the contribution of a Kindle and free ebooks from ORWA Authors to their Indiegogo campaign, was not enough to allow us the privilege of picking where we set up shop. Consequently, I’m baffled as to why the surprise author who showed up was so insistent that she requested and paid for that specific spot. I never saw her at any of the committee meetings. She wasn’t there to help setting up the Park at 8 am. And she was gone well before the tents in the Park were taken down. I was told by the head honcho that she was there at that particular spot because she registered before me.
All I can say is that I love you for coming to Ottawa, Deb. For donating your time, for paying your own way when “other” authors outside of the Ottawa area were funded by Prose in the Park, and for sharing the event with your readers. I was LIVID when things went awry this morning because I too had reached a point … exhausted from being asked to constantly promote the event when Not. One. Single. Time. were the romance authors given a plug by Prose in the Park. By being relegated to the last panel. By being pressured to be the “work horse” of the event, but never being recognized for my own success as an author. By having you, whom I gave a personal invitation to come to Prose as an organizer, relegated to corner while someone who apparently registered before me took center stage. It’s not right. It was not okay. And you’re right — it is not something that you should tolerate.
You’re right Deb Cooke – no one should “tolerate” being treated that way. I’m pretty sure the “literary authors” who were treated like the stars of the show wouldn’t tolerate being treated like a second class citizen either. Although it broke my heart to see you walk away, especially since you were there at my invitation, I applauded your stand. Romance writers like you lead the way on the bestsellers lists, and you deserve better.
For all of Deb’s fan who showed up at the Park today to see her, my heartfelt apologies. I know a lot of you travelled a long distance to see her. I wish there was some way I could make it up.
Sincerely – Susan (aka S.M. McEachern)
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You can’t hide class, and you can’t cure crass! Goodonya for packing up and having lunch with your hubby.
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How disappointing! I’m sorry that you had to go through that. I’m proud to be a romance reader and reviewer and I really don’t care if other people look down on me because of that. I support your actions and even though I don’t live in Canada and didn’t plan to attend, I understand your reasoning. ~Aleen
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I’m so sorry that this happened to you , you are a classy lady who showed more restraint than I would have. I have read your books, love your books and am not ashamed or embarrassed to say that I read romance .
That author was just plain rude as was the organizer of the event.
I hope you and your husband enjoyed your lunch.
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Good for you….I always get those looks from friends that I read “those books” and proudly since my aunt introduced me the Harlequins…obviously this event was for authors and not juse particular types so all welcome…yall should have been welcomed wirh open arms due to fact yall are awesome authors of superb books with huge following out here….blessings
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Sorry this happened Deb 😦 though I’m glad I got to see you for a bit 🙂 RTC sounds like the better option, right?
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It was good to see you, too, Mandy! And yes, RTC is a wonderful event. Eve spoils us there!
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There shouldn’t be any kind of shame attached to the skill of being an author, no matter the genre that is written. Mine is erotic romance and I proudly tell people. They can look down on me all they like, but in the long run I stand proud. They also need to realize that the romance genre is and has been the top selling genre for DECADES.
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Randy and I came down in the afternoon to see the gang, and we were stunned to hear what happened. I’m so sorry that happened to you. Sadly, I have to say I’m not surprised. I stopped participating in Book Fairs several years back after a similar experience. I participated in a large book festival in Florida. I took out an ad in the festival catalogue, I taught 3 workshops (all without any compensation, including expenses – AND after being told I would only have to teach 2 but was then assigned an additional one without my knowledge), and was TOLD I had spend the entire day at my table, signing books, whether I wished to do that or not. At the welcome event the first evening, not ONE board member or organizer made any effort to talk to me or thank me, and in fact one of the organizers was so rude and difficult that I had to complain to the facilitator and threaten to quit. I subsequently found out that many of the attendees (some of them local) got all their costs paid for and were even put up in a hotel. I got zip and was treated like dirt. At that point, I vowed never to participate in a book festival again. They just treat romance authors like crap. Well, I hope you and your husband at least had a good day, and good for you for taking a stand.
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I’m sorry that I missed you and Randy, Vanessa. It’s been ages since we had a chance to visit in person.
I’m also very sorry that you had a similar (but one that sounds much worse) experience at another bookfair. Live and learn!
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Ugh!
In the beginning of my romance writing days I’d cringe when telling people what I write, knowing that it was likely to be met with disdain, regardless that it’s the most widely read genre – grossing more annually than all other genres together …
Then I snapped one day. I was tired of being apologetic for something that I wasn’t sorry about. Sorry not sorry.
I wave my steamy romance flag around like I just don’t care now.
Good on you for walking out. 🙂
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It is heartbreaking to hear of such a well known and talented author being treated that way! I have been reading romance novels for well over 30 years, since my teen years. I learned more history in the historical romances than I ever could in history. Romance authors took the boring out of history. And honestly as a woman who suffers from severe depression, romance novels are where I retreat when I need to feel good. Very few Literary Fiction novels lift me up the way all the romance novels do, no matter what romance genre it is. The more books I see out there, the more I applaud your incredible imaginations and your dedication to your writing. The people who scoff are the people who cannot do! Ask those people how many of their books sell compared to yours. Hands down you will be at the top. You wouldn’t write if we didn’t read it! Yay you! Keep loving your work and remember we love you and your books! Cheers, Carma
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I completely support you!!!! So sorry people are so close minded!!
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My goodness! I had thought of buying a table at Prose in the Park to sell my stuff (I write genre also, not romance, but genre). I didn’t have the funds for it, and now I’m not sure I would want to be a part of it now. This is awful. I’m so sorry you were treated so poorly.
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Having met both you AND Eve, I’m angry for both of you. You are both wonderful, kind people in person, and besides not respecting your genre, how could someone see you, meet you face to face and not respect you as a person? But yeah– that genre thing? That’s infuriating. Imagining a happy ever after and the best of human behavior takes a concerted effort and a lot of strength. Romance isn’t for the weak of heart– or the horrifically vain. I’m glad you had a lovely day afterward–but I’m sorry for all of the rest.
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Reblogged this on and commented:
Book snobbery has no place in writing.
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It is a shame that that happened. Shame on them! Especially the snotty author who acted like Romance was garbage… without romance she would never have been born! I am very happy you had a wonderful day with your husband.
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What an incredibly rude person! You should mention her name because I don’t wAnt to read any books written by her. There is nothing wrong with writing romance! We need more of it! I personally usually read literary fiction, it just doesn’t interest me. BTW, they couldn’t have gotten another table?
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Despite what Susan said above about it being implied it was her fault, the attitude and response of the organizer was absolutely disrespectful on a basic human level. Sometimes there’s just no other response to that than to walk away.
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I am sorry to hear of the way that you were treated and I for one do not blame you for packing up and going home. It sounds like what I would have done.
A reader of your books
Olivia
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Dear Deborah Cooke,
On behalf of Prose in the Park, I would like to correct the falsehoods that you have presented here. Whether these falsehoods are the results of miscommunication between the Otttawa Romance Writers Association and you or an inability on your part to accept what had been conveyed through the ORWA rep to you at the event, they remain falsehoods. First, you were never registered in 5b. This table spot was reserved by another author who had registered before the ORWA submitted its requests for ten spots. When the ORWA submitted its request for ten spots, the Prose in the Park Organizing Committee provided the ORWA with ten available spots. 5b was not available. The spot for you was 5d. We allowed the ORWA the liberty to reassign the ten spots registered under them as they wished. This never included 5b. This was done at the beginning of April according to our e-mail chain. I would be pleased to forward the pertinent e-mails to you and would expect in return of a full retraction of your post. All the names of the authors/vendors at Prose in the Park were listed on the Prose in the Park website at http://www.proseinthepark.com/#!2016-programme/c1km9 a full month before the event. Just scroll down that page. Do you see your name against 5b? Obviously not. It is clearly indicated that your assigned spot was 5d, which was not even beside the author in 5b, with whom you had a disagreement. You could have requested to change to another ORWA-registered spot at another table if you found the other romance author, as you claim, to be so objectionable. When this issue was raised with me by the ORWA rep at Prose in the Park, I explained clearly that our policy was to treat all authors fairly and according to the rules of first-come, first-served. We had announced to everyone on-line and within our organizing committee ahead of time that we would not take pre-registrations and indicated the precise time and date that we would open registration. The Capital Crime Writers for example successfully registered its authors in the first minutes of opening registration and got the spots that they wanted, but the ORWA indicated their preferred table spots much later, after many other authors had registered making it then impossible to register all the ORWA members at the same tables. If you make a restaurant reservation for a specific time and table in the restaurant, you wouldn’t expect to turn up at the restaurant and find someone else sitting at your table only to be told by the restaurant’s management that you had been bumped by someone “more important.” We certainly were not going to do that to the duly registered romance author for 5b. For the other matters, we had panelists travel on their own dime from as far away as Vancouver because they wanted to be at Prose in the Park. We canvassed everyone on our Prose in the Park mailing list for Indiegogo donors or personal or business donations to help fund the festival. We were heartened that many authors/vendors and panelists chose to make personal donations to support Prose in the Park. We asked all moderators and panelists to agree to participate in Prose in the Park on a pro bono basis while we raised funds. At the end of a very intensive fund-raising effort, we managed to raise enough for every panelist and moderator to receive $125 (the stand speaker fee at Canadian literary festivals). A cheque was waiting for you at Prose in the Park and I tried to find you through the ORWA rep to give you the cheque but you had already (for those who missed their cheques at Prose in the Park, we will be mailing out their cheques). Why you chose to abuse social media to complain publicly instead of just sending us an e-mail is not understandable and certainly not professional. But that is your choice, and you will have to live with it. However, I think that you owe your readers the truth.
Ian Shaw
Chair, Prose in the Park Organizing Committee
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Thank you for the courtesy of your reply, Ian.
My intention in making my blog post was to inform my readers why I wasn’t there. I used social media to communicate with them, which is NOT an abuse of social media.
Susan, who invited me to Prose and was my contact, told me she’d arrange for my place, and showed me where I was to put my books when I arrived. I knew I was to be in tent 5, but would have been happy to have been seated elsewhere. Instead, when it became clear that the other author had this spot, there was no spot for me. The only contact I have had with Prose on the Park has been through Susan. Of course, I consulted with her on Saturday, then when no other option was forthcoming, decided what to do.
I wish you every success with your event in future.
Deborah
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Hi Deborah,
It was unfortunate that there was a miscommunication. I retract the “abuse” of social media comment. I do understand your need to keep your readers informed. However, you should be aware that stemming from your post, there has been a lot of acrimonious tweets and re-tweets and FB postings and e-mail messaging about how somehow the Prose in the Park Organizing Committee was abusing you as a “romance writer.” I would like to add that as the Chair of Prose in the Park, I personally worked toward including romance writers this year because I recognize it as an important genre in literature and recognize that it has been so since the Arthurian legends and Tristam and Iseult. I am also the President of the Ottawa Independent Writers and we count among our membership many fine romance writers. It was disappointing that somehow Prose in the Park became the target of criticism by some of your followers on this score.
Cheers,
Ian
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I’m going to close off comments on this post. There are a string of new comments in the queue for moderation, but I think it’s time to move on. I’ve tried to let people have their say but have been accused of many things, here in my own paid corner of the blogiverse.
In summary, I was invited to a book signing and a panel discussion. On arrival, I was told where to set up. It subsequently became clear that another author was assigned that spot. When I moved my books, there was no alternative place for me to have my books and sign. No one else saw this as an issue, so I left. I posted on my blog to tell my readers what had happened.
It now appears that there were communication issues, which often happens at such events. That no one felt compelled to resolve them at the time remains disappointing.
I have no control over what is shared in social media. The fact that my post was mostly shared by Ottawa-based romance writers indicates that they found some resonance with it, for whatever reason. I see that several romance writers had a very good day at Prose, which I hope is a good sign for next year’s event.
Edited to add – The author assigned the spot 5B has been commenting elsewhere about the day, and has noted that she actually set up in the spot adjacent to 5B. That was 5D, the spot assigned to me. Enough already.
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