I Still Have Most Of My Organs, Actually

[ursulav]

So there’s this publishing horror story making the rounds the last few days-the saga of Mandy DeGeit, who submitted a short story to a small press that did anthologies and discovered that it was published with a whole lot of changes, including animal abuse, which she never saw, never okayed, and never had an inkling of until the bizillion copies

Comments

[draike]

I remember the first time that I got a cover I did back with an element that had been wee down in the corner blown up and pasted in the middle of the cover, about fifteen times the size it should be (and thus blurry) and with a white-pixel-cut-out line around it. I felt ill.

I'm so glad this hasn't happened to just me. There was a business 3 years ago that commissioned a watercolor landscape painting from me. When I saw it hanging in their office later, they weren't hanging the original. They had a print made, blew it up, and it looked like they had turned the saturation up to dangerous levels. Raw umber had become cadmium orange. Worst of all, they left my bleed edges showing - staple marks and all - instead of putting a mat in the frame or making it big enough to crop them off.

I think I died a little inside... especially after they told me clients were coming in and complimenting on what a wonderful painting it was.

[mirhaxa]

Sadly, art is like children, you do your best and then free them into the world, hoping they'll find a true love who cares about them.

[gabyrippling]

I am dying a little inside as a lawyer. [American] Visual Artists, please acquaint yourselves with the Visual Artists Rights Act. Know it. Love it. It is there for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Artists_Rights_Act
Also, NY, CA, and MA law all have additional protection for artists.
Too many contracts for visual artists include VARA waivers off the bat.
Also, the first commenter's post sounds to me like a clear violation of copyright (without even getting to VARA). Obviously, most artists don't want to sue their customers or hint at it, but it's a remedy if you hate it. They're not allowed to take an original and just make a copy of it and change it (unauthorized "derivative work" = copyright violation).

[ursulav]

I can't speak for the other commenter, but that one very much fell under "blood from a turnip" for me. They had no money anyway, I had no money to waste on what was basically outrage, and it was just a "I want to move on with my life and Never Deal With This Again" moment. I could see moments when litigation would be useful, but in this case, it was just a lot of heavy sighing.

[gabyrippling]

No I agree. It's not worth it to sue most of the time. But it's nice to know it exists and you can wave it around threateningly if you need it.