Tom Doherty has issued a statement from Tor regarding the subject I have discussed here over the last couple of days, namely, the unprofessional behaviour of one of their employees.
Tor employees, including Ms. Gallo, have been reminded that they are required to clarify when they are speaking for Tor and when they are speaking for themselves. We apologize for any confusion Ms. Gallo’s comments may have caused. Let me reiterate: the views expressed by Ms. Gallo are not those of Tor as an organization and are not my own views. Rest assured, Tor remains committed to bringing readers the finest in science fiction – on a broad range of topics, from a broad range of authors.
Will this stop the biased and bigoted responses to the Sad Puppies from other Tor employees, though? Remember that she was not the only one, she was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. I like and respect Mr. Doherty. I did not want to think that he was simply allowing this to go on. But is this enough, or is it too little, too late?
Actually, there are some things here I am very happy to see. Mr. Doherty has conceded that the Sad Puppies are simply fans doing what fans do: promoting authors they like. Some of those authors happen to be published by Tor. Furthermore, he clearly states that the media reports were wrong, and the people being promoted by the puppies are a diverse group. Thanks, we appreciate that someone recognizes us. For me, I’m so glad to discover that not everyone thinks I’m a guy!
On the other hand, Ms. Gallo’s apology… isn’t. It’s not really an apology, and it’s hidden in an obscure thread. One that is still capped by the damning intro she gave it, promoting her company and work. This wasn’t personal, I said earlier, it was business. She is hopefully going to get some lessons in professionalism, business, and possibly even honor. I wish her no ill-will. She was only repeating the poison that was being poured into her ear by others. Hopefully this can be a learning experience for her. Would I ever want to work with her? No. Not sure that’s a trust that can ever be rebuilt.
Reflexive insults are a toxic spill. You can try to pretend they didn’t happen, but you can’t take them back and they leave a scar. This whole thing is going to leave a scar.
When a wound runs deep, and gets infected, sometimes you have to open it up and debride it, to remove the pus and debris, or it won’t heal correctly. I am hopeful that the nastiness spewing out at the Sad Puppies is a debridement of the Hugo Awards, and that as a result of the heightened awareness, the awards can return to what they once were, the Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy, with a deepened voting pool that prevents the gaming of the system by those who benefit from playing that game. 
Comments
14 responses to “Tor Clarification”
Sorry, but this is too little, too late for me. Especially with the non-apology apology. I don’t want Irene to get fired and I wish her well but I have no desire to support her while she spits on me and then tries to convince me it was rain. I could ignore the Neil-Haydens and even Moshe Feder while they foamed at the mouth but Gallo’s actions (including this non-apology apology) make it clear that Tor’s employees don’t like fans like me.
I still love some of Tor’s authors, though, and hope that they’ll consider switching to Del Ray Books, Wizards of the Coast (formerly TSR), or Baen if going indie is not their cup of tea. Yeah, sure DRB is owned by Random and Baen is with S&S but at least they’ve managed to avoid spitting on their fans and authors (and then going “Look! Rain!” when called on it) thus far.
— G.K.
Peter Grant put it pungently as ‘pissing down his back and calling it rain’
I was trying to be a little more polite than that because of $reasonsnamedMyMother. 😉
— G.K.
49. Ted
Mon Jun 8, 2015 10:30pm
Mr Doherty, that was a beautiful CYA statement. Just the right tone of regret for a misunderstanding, disavowal of an employee making a “personal” mistake, and mild depreciation of the matter as inconsequential.
Some minor quibbles… you now have award winning authors who have been grievously insulted by this employee, I can’t see that improving the teamwork between them in the future.
Quite a few Tor customers of decades are now dissatisfied with their perception of Tor’s ‘corporate’ policies, standards, and philosophy…
Ms Gallo has not, to my knowledge, apologized, disclaimed, or in any way backed off her flat statement…
In my opinion that would have been the minimal necessary action for her to take BEFORE you came to her rescue (and yours)
I’m afraid that your semi-apology doesn’t ring true, nor does it, at least in my case, make up for her libelous rant.
I’m sure that I’m not alone in saying that until she is removed from Tor’s staff we’ll be asking authors who we wish to read to move to another imprint.
Ted C Hall
As I said elsewhere, I’d like to be a fly on the wall in Tor Books meeting rooms. Because I think Tom Doherty will be laying down the Law to certain idiots. Yes, it’d be nice if certain people were fired but I don’t think Tom Doherty is stopping with just one public comment.
“She was only repeating the poison that was being poured into her ear by others. Hopefully this can be a learning experience for her.”
Respectfully – no. She is not a child. She is a human adult in a position of managerial responsibility. She made her post in the context of a thread promoting a Tor book (i.e. not personal) – and later on in that thread she said this:
“Somehow this got dug up from last month and since then, pitchforks are out. And since then, more people are aware of, and excited about, the upcoming Hurley book. So long as this thread lasts, we’re spreading the good news.”
Now, put this together with her non-apology during the thread, and her non-apology after it.
She believes (not past tense) every word she said. She says she’s “sorry” that you lacked self-control and became upset. And she did all of this in a professional post, and doubled down for a professional purpose. Doherty’s letter addresses NONE of this, and there are NO consequences. Peter Grant, who lost a number of friends fighting apartheid, doesn’t see this as progress. I’m afraid I must agree:
http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2015/06/an-open-letter-to-tom-doherty-of-tor.html
Someone with this level of judgement cannot continue as Tor’s creative director, else Tor is effectively endorsing her views and tactics. What she does is very replaceable, and that’s what needs to happen.
She is acting like a child, and I am treating her as one.
I try to avoid ever having to apologize to someone. Being human, I fail that goal on an irregular basis.
When I do, the first three words out of my mouth are “I am sorry.” The next three are “I was wrong.” Anything that follows those two sentences is fluff.
Everything in the Gallo “apology” is fluff.
(Ah, clicked down to your quote of the day. How appropriate. We can hope it will apply.)
My mother got it into my head very early in life that if you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all. I don’t always, but I do try to stop and think before I speak. This doesn’t mean I don’t have to apologize on occasion anyway, and there is a way to do so sincerely and with feeling. Ms Gallo does not know how to apologize (she may, but I am giving her the benefit of the doubt). What she said is not an apology, and she needs to keep trying.
No, this isn’t enough. As I have said before, a simply apology isn’t enough in my book. Actions need to be taken. TD made a nice post, but didn’t really get to the meat of the matter. Gallo didn’t even apologize for what she said, just that it offended people. I don’t expect her to make a real apology, and a hollow apology would be even worse. I’ll see what happens over the next few months, but if I don’t see changes as Tor they won’t be getting any of my money again.
[…] Read the whole thing here. […]
[…] Puppy supporters, such as Cedar Sanderson and Amanda Green, feel Gallo’s apology didn’t go far enough. On the other side, Chuck Wendig, […]
[…] Puppy supporters, such as Cedar Sanderson and Amanda Green, feel Gallo’s apology didn’t go far enough. On the other side, Chuck Wendig, […]
Re: this: “Sad Puppies are simply fans doing what fans do: promoting authors they like.”
I’ve just casually observed the SP episode, but it seems like this is something more than that. It was a conscious effort to support a slate of authors because of a perceived social bias against them. That’s something a bit more than what fans usually do.
Not that it’s wrong or that it shouldn’t have been done, but it’s definitely not just fan fic or tribute pages.
Dan