A Rather Cocky Day...
I woke up to the sun shining bright through my window and my kids screaming that the internet was broken. I should have known that today was going to be one of those OMG days. So, up I get because heaven forbid it reset itself, yet again, at 7:30 in the damn morning. With coffee in hand, and my thick soled slippers (Lego+ Early Morning+ bare feet = you do the math; I will tell you that it's painful!) I aim to make that modem behave so I can get some work done on the latest book. Three tries it took and when I finally got it working... Well, between the posts about the gas prices sky rocketing here in B.C (1.50$ a liter when I gassed up last night :O ) the laughs that keep coming in over our taping our principal to a wall post on Friday, and the bear that hopped the Middle school fence to join the rugby team practice (Yes, he was tranquilized and moved out of the city), there have been numerous posts about this Cocky business. I had to do some exploring...
For those of you unaware, and I wish I was one of you, there is this Author who has taken it upon herself to trademark a well known and commonly used word. COCKY. Now, I'm told that this only applies to the Romance Genre, and that it includes the use of the word COCKY in the main title and series title in the metadata of the books. Now, keep in mind I've just woken up and there has already been this business with the bear and I'm seeing Roosters (Cocks) all over the place. It's like a freakin zoo in my news feed, with the occasional shot of our principal duct taped to the wall. I'm already laughing and thinking this shit is a joke..... HA HA... as I explore more, I find it is NOT a joke! I am beyond floored! Some Author (I'm told worth millions and yet I've never heard of her before today) has gone out and staked her claim on the word COCKY, and someone else went along with it and granted her the trademark. No joke, at least, not to those she's already sent emails to informing them of the trademark and requesting they change the titles or face lawsuits....
I read this and my first reaction was, what a snooty little.... She would allow them to keep their stuff? Is there a tiara she's wearing somewhere, or a magic wand that gives her the right to say and do these things? Anyhow, I thought about it, and did some more exploring. People all over the place are upset about this, not just Authors. There were hundreds of them, some telling people to read up on the laws, that you couldn't trademark a word and it was all a scam to get more sales, others were defending her to an extent. Sure, she's holding her ground against what she's calling bullying, but she kind of called it on herself. More Exploring, and I found this. A post that the Author herself had made... The misunderstandings and bullying have commenced, so let me address this straight on. I asked to join the Author Support Group to deflate this witch-hunt and upset, but they didn't give me that voice. I'll use it here. I am speaking to those who have met me in person, or have interacted with me, and know who I really am. To those who enjoy hate, bullying, and one-starring like high-schoolers, this is not for you. I'm talking to the adults and the business people. (In other words, she's talking to the money makers, the ones who consider profit over people? Like a child in a candy store who would sell their soul for that giant basket of goodies, because they wants them...) First, I apologize for the time this has taken away from your writing. Second, other authors will be trademarking their businesses soon. I've already heard from some. By this reaction you can tell there is a reason to do so. I've struck a chord and not because I'm doing anything but creating a brand that doesn't get diluted. I am not after peoples livelihoods. The Federal Trademark Commission took seven months and reviewed all of the existing cocky titles before granting me the registered trademark to the word Cocky in relation to Romance, because it is an established brand. Again: I am not after peoples livelihoods. Why? Because as much as they would like you to believe, Amazon will not shut down an account for one book, and I have told those I contacted that if they have a problem with Amazon, I will go to bat for them. Is that the action of someone who wants their account gone? TRUTH, please hear this and take this in> They keep their books, their reviews, their rankings, and their money, by simply retitling their one book each. (Yes, and for $50,000.00 I could own a yacht and travel the world. Just because you word it like it's no big deal, doesn't mean it isn't. It costs money to change your covers, and for someone who doesn't have a lot of funds, that IS a BIG DEAL!) Since people are asking about the "What about the people before" --- I did NOT include the few one-offs that were published before my series, because I felt that was fair. (Well, that was so kind of you! Are you going to pay to recover the books? You can obviously afford it and you're not out for their livlihoods, right? If Authors knew that at any time, they could be subject to having to change their works because some wahoo went and put a trademark on something.... I don't see this ending well at all!) I'm doing this for the slew that came afterward. One author I messaged changed hers already after telling me "I looked into it and it's easy" then wrote back and said (paraphrasing from memory) "It's live all over Amazon already. That's the fastest anything has ever been approved. "I just shared her name and the book name in my FB Group and asked my readers to give her book some love, after I told her thank you. And frankly the new title is BETTER. It's very simple. So easy. Perhaps they are mad because they will no longer be found when people search for my series. Perhaps they know that in AMS (headline and sponsored ads) My name and my series are called a "high traffic keyword" by Amazon -- because I worked two years to create that. (Stop right there, you're ego is shining through, but don't get me wrong, I'm still laughing...) Now they will have to create their own following, and I get it, it's hard work. I did this because I receive emails from readers mad they spent money thinking they were getting more of my intertwining series. That is what a trademark protects. They keep the book. They keep the reviews. They keep the money. Their accounts are not in jeopardy. That is fear talking. Any of my readers will tell you who I really am. When I get emails/PMs from them I tell them NOT to one-star those authors. I also delete the upset-posts in my FB Group where they post a Cocky book that carries my font and all that jazz. I take it down and tell them we #FightWithLight Just keep enjoying the series and it's all about having fun. I also say to stand up for yourself. Which I am doing now. Do you remember the the female cover artist who tried to commit suicide because 80 people, mostly allegedly romance authors, had told her to? Some had even suggested she slit her wrists because the world would never know or care. This attack was done because they said she allegedly copied a design from an existing book. Yet now people are upset that I am taking away their ability to copy me? Sure, not all of them have done that purposefully, but go look around. You know covers. You know keywords. See for yourselves - most are a direct hit. What would you do? But people love to stir the pot. And they like to believe that readers can be manipulated to join their hate when in truth readers don’t understand exactly what is happening behind the doors of this business. They know that. They would love to have you gang up on me. It’s up to you whether you give them that power. I’ll be fine either way. Those of us who have been pirated, our books published to iTunes in order to get us kicked out of KU, and one star reviews showing up on goodreads before books have even been finished and sent to the proofreaders, are fighting for our work. Just as I would hope you would fight for yours if the need arose. It’s so easy to go to darkness, but it’s equally easy to go to light. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.“– Maya Angelou #LoveWithLight. I think my guardian angels auto corrected that. So I’m keeping it.
Okay, so she worked her ass off for two years, I totally get it, I have too! I just like writing more than promoting and quite frankly, don't have the funds to get anyone else to do it for me, so I'm not a big shot. I also, don't try to take a word used by millions of people since the dawn of time, and say that anything Romance and Book title related is off limits; but hey, I'm not a big shot with lots of cash to toss around. You know what else I wouldn't do, is call out my fans and blame it all on them. She received many messages about her fans buying books under the assumption that they were hers, because the word COCKY was in the title... So, you're telling the world that your fans aren't smart enough to check the Author name, OR the synopsis, to make sure it was one of your stories? "Hmmm, this story is about a guy named Lance, and his last named isn't Cocker, but it had COCKY in the title, so it must be hers!"
Okay, so perhaps they used the same font, a font, that this Author has also trademarked.... problem is, there are now reports on how this font was from a restricted site that does not allow trademarking... The web weaves even tighter!
Seriously now, for someone to even grant a trademark on a word is just stupid, but it would take someone super shady and obviously an idiot, to not check on that font first. In a world where copyrights and trademarks are a really big thing, that's the first thing they'd check, right? I would hope so, for now I'm left with daunting questions like is that trademark legal? Is her lawyer in some trouble for not checking on the font properly? Or is this Author, Faleena Hopkins, lying about it all? What will those Authors say if they find out she bullied them into spending money to change their covers? What will the creator of the restricted font say? Is she rich enough for the battle she's started with the world of writers? For it is a battle she's started. People are pissed. She may not be backing down, but there are thousands of people signing a petition as I type.
And the memes and hashtags that are popping up, seriously, and I thought taping the principal to the wall was hilarious, but these take the cake, the icing and the damn cherry on top! I'll try and blog again as more of the insanity unfolds, but for now, I'll let you guys do some exploring of your own. Whether this is a for real thing and life as we know it has passed beyond the realm of the sane, or this is just another publicity stunt to boost sales, I don't see social media being cock free for a while. #FreeCocky #NotCockyBlocked #CockyGate2018 #WeWantCockyToo #StraightOuttaCocky #KeepCalmBeCocky #OneCockyBastard #HandsOffTheCocky Want the petition, here you go, but make sure you do some exploring of you own too! >>> Https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/cancel-faleena-hopkins?source=s.fb&r_hash=CgmHtRPZ
