Lee Goldberg, Pissed off Author Who Never Made It?/ DUPLICITY

My nephew, Lee Goldberg, fights a brave battle against the predators in the vanity press scams that bilk aspiring authors.  I was recently reading Lee's extensive expose of The Publish America Scam first posted on his blog back in 2005.  In a response critical of Lee, someone wrote: Lee Goldberg, sir, with all due respect, you sound like a pissed off author who never made it.

I had to laugh. Not at Lee, but at this poor soul who was apparently unable to read the impressive list of Lee's books and television series.  That doesn't mean that Lee has never experienced rejection -- and I don't only mean in the high school romance non fiction genre. 

No one, not even your favorite best-selling author,  has a 100% success rate, and all of us have our personal collection of rejection letters.  If I get a rejection letter from one publisher -- especially a generic rejection -- I'm not dissuaded. If every  house that respects my work unanimously deems the project off-the mark, , I say "thank you," and I mean it.  Yes, thank you for not wasting your money and my time on a project that would only serve to disappoint my readers and,  in the future, be a source of embarrassment.

Jodi Foster, Academy Award wining actress, once told me, "Every actor has a film that haunts their career from video store shelves."  Authors are often more fortunate.  As the old saying goes, "Rejection is Protection." 

Returning to the theme of "self publishing." I'm having Paul Godlman, the self published author of DUPLICITY. on my show this coming Saturday...not because the book is so damn good, but because the story is fascinating, and the author is a hoot.    I asked the author if he shopped it to REAL publishers, and there was significant interest, but he changes the culprits' names -- and there are charges made against these culprits that have not been  legally pursued or resolved.   Personally, I think he should use the real names, use "alleged" for unsubstantiated charges, and let the real publisher's lawyers make sure there is no exposure for lawsuits.   Bottom line, this nice Jewish boy marries a nice Jewish girl who is a con woman involved with an international prostitution ring -- and the ring on her finger was, she imagined, her ticket to his personal real estate holdings and more than considerable wealth.  She picked the wrong nice Jewish boy -- he busted her crooked ass.  This isn't so much a "true crime" as a "True schlemiel/true schlemazle"" story.  this is human interest, and the transformation of one gullible schmuck from wimp to warrior.  Listen live 2-pm pacific time