The Frey Fray Part II--The Conclusion
“Brillstein-Grey Entertainment literary manager Kassie Evashevski, who represented the author of ‘A Million Little Pieces’ for more than four years, said she's not representing him anymore because of his tall tales.
"In the last week, it became impossible for me to maintain a relationship once the trust had been broken," Evashevski told Publisher Weekly for a story on Tuesday. "He eventually did apologize, but I felt for many reasons I had to let him go as a client."
---The Internet Writing Journal (IWJ) Blog, February 1, 2006
NEW YORK - James Frey, who admitted last month he made up much of his best-selling memoir “A Million Little Pieces,” has been dropped by his publisher, Riverhead Books, Frey’s representative said Thursday…” ---MSNBC.COM, Reuters, ET Feb. 23, 2006
The Frey Fray Part Two of Two…Trust Me.
Much like debris falling after an explosion, things are slowly settling into place following the SmokingGun.com expose about James Frey. As indicated by the quotes above, the now-celebrated author has lost both his agent and his publisher, as well, it has been reported that Frey’s movie deal with Brad Pitt’s Plan B productions also is in jeopardy.
From comments received by ReadersRoom.com, it seems that public opinion is divided when it comes to the Frey situation. Many readers feel Frey “got what was coming to him,” while others feel sorry for him. Many feel the author was baited and attacked by Oprah; others feel she was his judge and jury. No matter how we stand on the issue, Frey’s books are still coming off the shelves at an impressive clip – the trade paperback of “A Million Little Pieces” alone sold over 13,500 copies last week. Many authors would be very happy with selling this for a total print run.
At heart, the circumstances surrounding Frey’s situation seem to involve trust. In recent decades, consumer trust, or for that matter personal trust, has fallen on a slippery slope. I remember a time not long ago when products did not have bullet-proof packaging which required sharp scissors, patience and about fifteen minutes of your time to open. Products were placed on the shelves with very little safety packaging – just a child-proof cap to prevent little fingers from opening bottles and inadvertently poisoning themselves, if that. All of this changed in 1982 when it was discovered that numerous bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol had been intentionally tampered with and laced with cyanide (seven people died). Widespread panic ensued. In the end, it was revealed that an individual had pulled or purchased the Tylenol products from the shelves, laced them with the deadly poison and distributed them back onto shelves to be purchased.
Johnson & Johnson, the maker of the product initially suffered devastating losses, but quickly implemented an aggressive crisis management campaign including widespread recalls and the creation of a triple-seal packaging system, which is now considered by many to be the gold-star example of a successful crisis management campaign. Ultimately, the company was lauded for its quick response and reaction to the situation. While Johnson & Johnson was not at fault, public trust in shelved consumer products would never be the same.
In the famous Tylenol case, Johnson & Johnson was not at fault – they themselves did not make a faulty or harmful product. In other cases, a company may know a product has something wrong with it, but doesn’t say anything as the risk of mass hysteria and financial loss is greater than the potential for bodily harm (a little benzene with your bubbly-water anyone?).
Many challenge that Frey’s publisher should have fact-checked his work before publishing the book as a memoir. Somewhere I read that Frey himself had initially attempted to sell his work as strictly fiction, but was rejected. It was Frey, though, who made the choice to sell his work as a memoir – as truth. It’s his name on the book. Frey knew his product was untruthful and did not tell us.
Computers, phones, legal records, college and police records are all readily available on the internet. It is easier than ever to get caught in a lie. Yes, a memoir does have to rely on some colorful recreation of a personal history to make the narrative readable and engaging to the public, but there is a level of trust that is placed in the author that the actual events are true. If we are told something is factual, it effects how we relate to the author and narrative. At what pace would anything be published if a publishing house were required to fact-check all books, unless, of course, there are challengeable significant historical facts involved? There is an inherent amount of trust between the author/publisher relationship and the written word, which in this case, Frey violated.
In a way, it is naïve for anyone to believe that given today’s modern technology one can significantly alter details which can be verified factually, such as arrest records and rehab stays, put them in a book, and not expect to be “caught”. We are a curious public. How could he not believe that someone, somewhere, would not investigate “the truth”? We believed his product was safe, that we knew the “ingredients”.
As for Frey’s wildly successful sales? While some may buy it for the life-affirming message it imparts, I am inclined to think most are now buying it for the “wow” factor, to compare the SmokingGun.com facts with the fiction Frey created.
I only hope we don’t get to a point where books are another commodity which needs to be triple-sealed to protect the consumer for accuracy of content. I am holding out for trust. And what will happen to Frey? Nobody likes relationships with people they can’t trust, though as Oprah and Dr. Phil have shown, as well as Frey’s sales figures, it sure gets better ratings.
*****
"In the last week, it became impossible for me to maintain a relationship once the trust had been broken," Evashevski told Publisher Weekly for a story on Tuesday. "He eventually did apologize, but I felt for many reasons I had to let him go as a client."
---The Internet Writing Journal (IWJ) Blog, February 1, 2006
NEW YORK - James Frey, who admitted last month he made up much of his best-selling memoir “A Million Little Pieces,” has been dropped by his publisher, Riverhead Books, Frey’s representative said Thursday…” ---MSNBC.COM, Reuters, ET Feb. 23, 2006
The Frey Fray Part Two of Two…Trust Me.
Much like debris falling after an explosion, things are slowly settling into place following the SmokingGun.com expose about James Frey. As indicated by the quotes above, the now-celebrated author has lost both his agent and his publisher, as well, it has been reported that Frey’s movie deal with Brad Pitt’s Plan B productions also is in jeopardy.
From comments received by ReadersRoom.com, it seems that public opinion is divided when it comes to the Frey situation. Many readers feel Frey “got what was coming to him,” while others feel sorry for him. Many feel the author was baited and attacked by Oprah; others feel she was his judge and jury. No matter how we stand on the issue, Frey’s books are still coming off the shelves at an impressive clip – the trade paperback of “A Million Little Pieces” alone sold over 13,500 copies last week. Many authors would be very happy with selling this for a total print run.
At heart, the circumstances surrounding Frey’s situation seem to involve trust. In recent decades, consumer trust, or for that matter personal trust, has fallen on a slippery slope. I remember a time not long ago when products did not have bullet-proof packaging which required sharp scissors, patience and about fifteen minutes of your time to open. Products were placed on the shelves with very little safety packaging – just a child-proof cap to prevent little fingers from opening bottles and inadvertently poisoning themselves, if that. All of this changed in 1982 when it was discovered that numerous bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol had been intentionally tampered with and laced with cyanide (seven people died). Widespread panic ensued. In the end, it was revealed that an individual had pulled or purchased the Tylenol products from the shelves, laced them with the deadly poison and distributed them back onto shelves to be purchased.
Johnson & Johnson, the maker of the product initially suffered devastating losses, but quickly implemented an aggressive crisis management campaign including widespread recalls and the creation of a triple-seal packaging system, which is now considered by many to be the gold-star example of a successful crisis management campaign. Ultimately, the company was lauded for its quick response and reaction to the situation. While Johnson & Johnson was not at fault, public trust in shelved consumer products would never be the same.
In the famous Tylenol case, Johnson & Johnson was not at fault – they themselves did not make a faulty or harmful product. In other cases, a company may know a product has something wrong with it, but doesn’t say anything as the risk of mass hysteria and financial loss is greater than the potential for bodily harm (a little benzene with your bubbly-water anyone?).
Many challenge that Frey’s publisher should have fact-checked his work before publishing the book as a memoir. Somewhere I read that Frey himself had initially attempted to sell his work as strictly fiction, but was rejected. It was Frey, though, who made the choice to sell his work as a memoir – as truth. It’s his name on the book. Frey knew his product was untruthful and did not tell us.
Computers, phones, legal records, college and police records are all readily available on the internet. It is easier than ever to get caught in a lie. Yes, a memoir does have to rely on some colorful recreation of a personal history to make the narrative readable and engaging to the public, but there is a level of trust that is placed in the author that the actual events are true. If we are told something is factual, it effects how we relate to the author and narrative. At what pace would anything be published if a publishing house were required to fact-check all books, unless, of course, there are challengeable significant historical facts involved? There is an inherent amount of trust between the author/publisher relationship and the written word, which in this case, Frey violated.
In a way, it is naïve for anyone to believe that given today’s modern technology one can significantly alter details which can be verified factually, such as arrest records and rehab stays, put them in a book, and not expect to be “caught”. We are a curious public. How could he not believe that someone, somewhere, would not investigate “the truth”? We believed his product was safe, that we knew the “ingredients”.
As for Frey’s wildly successful sales? While some may buy it for the life-affirming message it imparts, I am inclined to think most are now buying it for the “wow” factor, to compare the SmokingGun.com facts with the fiction Frey created.
I only hope we don’t get to a point where books are another commodity which needs to be triple-sealed to protect the consumer for accuracy of content. I am holding out for trust. And what will happen to Frey? Nobody likes relationships with people they can’t trust, though as Oprah and Dr. Phil have shown, as well as Frey’s sales figures, it sure gets better ratings.
*****
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