Three years ago, I was
contacted out of the blue by Mark Batty
Publishers to do a small book on Marx.
It was part of something called the Everyman series. I thought that this
was a terrific idea, although I had never heard of the series or of Mark Batty.
So I signed a contract that specified my schedule – I was to do the book in two
months time – and that guaranteed me a thousand dollar advance when I completed
the book and two thousand dollars when it was published, plus royalty rights.
If they didn’t publish it I was to get a spike reward of one thousand dollars.
Well, I did at least get
the advance. I have no hope that I will get the kill fee, any more than I have hope that Mark Batty, or his associate, Buzz Poole, will answer my emails. I suppose the fact that this guy calls himself "Buzz" should have been a warning. The one time I talked to Mark Batty, the man told me about horse racing. That should have been another warning. I have never dealt with a gambler and not been ripped off. Anyway, I finished the book and sent it off to the black hole that is Mark
Batty Publishers. My book designer, Jake Davis, finally sent me a letter
yesterday explaining that Mark Batty is a curious kind of fraud – it seems to
be more incompetent than dishonesty driven. Or rather, its incompetence drives its
dishonesty.
Now, I don’t know
whether this was an entirely bad experience, even though I see my name all over
the Net attached to a book that has not appeared, and will apparently never
appear. This, in one way, makes me look like a fool. But, in another way, I am
a fool, no bones about it.
I do have a pdf of a
galley of the book. I’ll send it off free to anyone who asks. My email is rgathman@netzero.net.
