Duotrope
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From time to time, we get enquiries about Duotrope. Duotrope appears to be an American online literary agency whose main function seems to be to flag up writing opportunities. At present, we understand that Duotrope charges around $50pa for what they do.
In December 2017, Duotrope approached Friday Flash Fiction asking if they could list us on their database. (Duotrope are in red, FFF in green) We didn't really care one way or another, but we invited them to go ahead . We gave them no more thought until this arrived in our inbox in June 2018. As readers know, large amounts of new material appear each week.
As editor, it's quite demanding to ensure that agencies list us correctly but if we tell the organisation how we operate and don't change, it shouldn't be up to use to monitor whether we're meeting Duotrope's standards. Meanwhile, we the slightly threatening tone surprising: in our view there was a slight threat implicit in the wording of the email. As editor, I immediately sent the following to Duotrope.
This reply from 'Carol' at Duotrope is certainly an apology.
However, it doesn't actually answer the key question: how could we know it wasn't going to happen again? It's pretty hard to imagine "Duotroopers" (as they like to call themselves) systematically trawling through website after website, publisher after publusher, to make sure they're active. And if they were using an algorithm (I've since discovered that they do) that made such a simple mistake as to think someone in the UK would express the 3rd June 2018 as "6/3/18", there must have been a serious flaw in it. By that stage, there were also data protection issues. So, not being satisfied, we sent this response asking for more clarification, pointing out its legal obligations under GDPR. Databases must be accurate.
HOWEVER, NOTE THAT WE DID NOT "THREATEN WITH LEGAL ACTION" HERE. GDPR CONTRAVENTIONS ARE CRIMINAL ACTS AND WE WOULDN'T BE SUING ANYONE. THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF REMINDING DUOTROPE THAT IT'S AGAINST THE LAW TO DRIVE UNDER THE INFLUENCE. ...and received this astonishing reply from a different member of the admin team.
Let's be clear on one thing: by law, data held on a US database on a UK publisher must be accurate. Moreover, Duotrope clearly regard listing any agent or publisher as "Delisted" as a sanction – indeed their ultimate sanction. 
If an organisation "delists" something. it shouldn't be on any list at all. It should simply disappear.
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From: Duotrope (Carol)
Date: 12/9/2017 9:45:40 PM We are writing to inform you that we have added a listing for Friday Flash Fiction to our award-winning resource for writers of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and visual art. If you have a moment, please check the listing here: https://duotrope.com/listing/23230 Let us know if we need to make any corrections (only our admin team can make changes). Please use the links at the end of this email or in the "Report" section of the listing to contact us. Direct emails may get blocked as spam. It is important that our listing is as complete as possible. You can see our full list of genres, subgenres, styles, topics, and lengths here: https://duotrope.com/guides/glossary.aspx. Please let us know if we should add any of them to your profile. Also, if there isn't a "Support this Publisher" link on the right side of your page (below the cover art image), please let us know if there's a web link where people can financially support you (subscribe, buy your books, and/or donate, as appropriate). We will do everything humanly possible to ensure that your listing stays as up-to-date as possible, including checking your online guidelines approximately once a month. (The page we are currently checking is: http://www.fridayflashfiction.com/submissions.html.) Help us help you! We encourage you to read our complete policies for editors, which also includes details on our cover art policy and the response times section on your listing, as well as recommendations for your guidelines page: https://duotrope.com/about/policiesforeditors.aspx Thank you for your time! Dear Editor,
On our latest check of Friday Flash Fiction, we noticed that you appear to have fallen behind your publication schedule. We will need to see signs of recent publication on your official website by 03 July 2018, or we may have to disqualify the listing*. If the publication frequency we have on record is no longer correct, please let us know. Important note: Some of the requirements for maintaining a listing with us are an up-to-date official website with signs of regular publication. Also, the project must adhere to its publication frequency within reason. Any publication that does not meet those standards will not qualify for a listing at Duotrope. You can see the full list of requirements here: https://duotrope.com/about/listingcriteria.aspx Our staff manages thousands of listings. We truly appreciate your help in keeping this listing as accurate as possible. If we don't hear from you within a few weeks, we may assume you are no longer actively publishing and/or disqualify the listing. We hope to hear from you soon! Important: To reply to this message, please use this form: https://duotrope.com/contact/reply.aspx?cid=m1Q298fKToFjFGP Best wishes, The Duotroopers (admin team) https://duotrope.com (*Our emphasis.) Good morning
I was slightly surprised to receive this email from Duotrope this morning. Friday Flash Fiction is an extremely active site, posting new work daily in the 100-word, 500-word and short poetry formats. In addition we run occasional contests, including one free-to-enter one at Christmas each year which offers a small prize. Our coverage is worldwide, although we only accept submissions in English. I therefore have no idea why you should have come to the conclusion that our site has fallen behind its publication schedule. Perhaps you are attempting to use some algorithm, in which case it's faulty and you should review its continued use. We remain fully open for business. However we particularly take offence at your sentence "we noticed that you appear to have fallen behind your publication schedule." That sort of sentence is more appropriate to a debt collecting agency, and the implicit threat contained is totally inappropriate. If it's standard language in your organisation then I suggest you reconsider it with immediate effect. I've always understood that Duotrope was an agency that pointed (paid subscribing) writers, mostly in the US, in the direction of possible outlets for their work. You're welcome to carry on doing that if you so wish, but if you really wish to stop listing Friday Flash Fiction, please feel free to do so. In that event, we would of course write to all of our subscribers to reassure them that we are as active as ever, quoting this conversation. I should point out that any false suggestion from you that we are inactive would, of course, also be actionable in law in the UK. On the other hand, an apology and full retraction might work quite well. Best wishes Gordon Lawrie (editor) Hi, Gordon,
Thank you for the quick response. I checked the website and I see what my error is. The date is published in British/European format so the day is posted before the month. In written American English, the month of the date comes before the day and year, and I saw the date of 3/6/18 and believed it to be March 3, 2018. My apologies for the email. The listing had not been altered. We always check with the editor first. Important: To reply to this message, please use this form: https://duotrope.com/contact/reply.aspx?cid=8Rz0OwqpAoF0aiP Best wishes, Carol -- one of the Duotroopers (admin team) https://duotrope.com Thank you for your apology, although it leaves more than a few questions unanswered.
I’d have thought that an American would have read the date as the 6th day in March, not the 3rd day in March. It also seems a curious excuse given that your own original email expresses the date in the British manner, i.e. date first (“03 July 2018”). I’m also interested to know who or what brought this (apparent) lack of activity to Duotrope’s attention. Is this some sort of algorithm, or do you depend on reports from Duotrope subscribers? I can’t believe that individuals check our publication routinely, there are too many of them. Either way, I’d like to know that information, please. In fact I think I’ve a right to know and check the details you hold on us, especially under data protection legislation and GDPR. Duotrope is liable to large fines (€10,000,000) for getting this wrong, as you’ll be well aware. Finally, I repeat that I think the tone of “you appear to have fallen behind with your publication schedule”, and the paragraph that follows, is wholly and totally inappropriate language. In this case the error was entirely yours, of course, but even if your information had been correct there might have been number of reasons why the language used was insensitive – illness, to name but one. I don’t see any apology in your email for its tone, only for the error itself. You’ll gather that I’m extremely disappointed in Duotrope. This isn’t what I expected from you at all. Regards Hello, Gordon,
Friday Flash Fiction has been delisted from Duotrope. GDPR is not applicable here, but since you have chosen to threaten/intimidate with legal action over an already-remedied human error on a date, please note that you can have your attorney direct all further communication to the law firm of Modrall Sperling, who represents Duotrope. You will receive no further replies from Duotrope staff, on this or any other subject. The Modrall Sperling website is https://www.modrall.com Important: To reply to this message, please use this form: https://duotrope.com/contact/reply.aspx?cid=A89l3bj54oaVFiP Best wishes, J.E. -- one of the Duotroopers (admin team) https://duotrope.com |
That's it, that was the entire correspondence between Duotrope and Friday Flash Fiction, cut-and-pasted.
This is not something that we at Friday Flash Fiction care about greatly, as can be seen by the fact that almost three years passed before we made any attempt to reach out to Duotrope! We were certainly surprised, though, to see that we were referred to as "delisted" rather than having our listing removed, and now and again someone would write asking if we were accepting submissions. So in March 2021, we reached out to Duotrope, suggesting that they review the correspondence and that we try to sort it out. We've received no response to our approach. Nevertheless, we ourselves remain open to any approach from Duotrope.
To us at Friday Flash Fiction, it seems that Duotrope communications aren't quite up to the polite and effective standards we might expect in publishing, but we'll let our readers make their own judgements and leave it at that. However we don't think there can be much doubt that Duotrope has deliberately chosen to represent FFF as 'delisted' for reasons that have nothing at all to with publishing. Anyone considering subscribing to Duotrope in the future should be aware that they might do that, and that their database is, by design, not always accurate.
This is not something that we at Friday Flash Fiction care about greatly, as can be seen by the fact that almost three years passed before we made any attempt to reach out to Duotrope! We were certainly surprised, though, to see that we were referred to as "delisted" rather than having our listing removed, and now and again someone would write asking if we were accepting submissions. So in March 2021, we reached out to Duotrope, suggesting that they review the correspondence and that we try to sort it out. We've received no response to our approach. Nevertheless, we ourselves remain open to any approach from Duotrope.
To us at Friday Flash Fiction, it seems that Duotrope communications aren't quite up to the polite and effective standards we might expect in publishing, but we'll let our readers make their own judgements and leave it at that. However we don't think there can be much doubt that Duotrope has deliberately chosen to represent FFF as 'delisted' for reasons that have nothing at all to with publishing. Anyone considering subscribing to Duotrope in the future should be aware that they might do that, and that their database is, by design, not always accurate.
IN THE MEANTIME, WE CONTINUE TO ACCEPT SUBMISSIONS,
INCLUDING FROM DUOTROPE SUBSCRIBERS.
INCLUDING FROM DUOTROPE SUBSCRIBERS.
