The update on Raven: Humor for Men: Craigs List yanked the ad. It wasn't just the goofy reviews alone that did it... it was the weird way in which this was connected to that subscription fulfillment business that bothered me.
However, my curiosity remains, and therefore I think I'm going to have some fun with the "submissions." They want the funny? I will give them the funny, and out-phony them at the same time. I need a good male psuedonym for this, and I'll invite myself to a new and appropriate GMail account. Perhaps I will even MS Paint some "illustrations."
Yes, this is going to be fun.
6 comments:
Actually, he's bought some of my work & the last contact I had with him, he's launching the magazine in late July. I had similar misgivings, but I also make enough as a writer that I'm not worried about sending a few pieces out (really, what could happen to them...)
I actually work for a real, tangible men's magazine (in sales, though), and while I'm not sure about the viability of launching a new men's magazine, so far it seems on the up and up. After a few emails back and forth, I know some of the structure of it, and it definitely is a one-man-band in some respects, but he does have models, and he does have content...
Regarding the quotes, I think the joke he's making is that each of those names was embroiled in a plagiarism scandal, or is completely made up (and made up by movie studios or other publications).
I'm not defending anything---I wouldn't have found your blog had I not done one of my periodic Googles to see what the status of the magazine is; I mean, truth be told, I'm always worried what my name is going to be attached to when it comes to publishing.
Regardless, there are ads up dozens of places, and legit places, too---the Craigslist ad is simply a way to get volume. I even use it for my job for prospective resumes to work at a magazine. I guess I really don't understand what "scam" you think he could be running...
> I guess I really don't understand what "scam" you
> think he could be running..."
Um ... how about "take people's money and give them
nothing in return".
My guess is the plan is to get a few credit-card
orders, then vanish (or declare bankruptcy). The stuff
about looking for writers & models is just to make it
look legit for a short time. I bet if you looked into
it, you'd find that the "samples" were all taken from
somewhere else.
I found out about Raven Magazine when I got a spam
saying that the editor was a student at my university
and wanted to give us a special deal. Unfortunately,
some people around here are probably going to believe
that crap.
Face it, this Zane Valenti guy is just your basic con
man/thief. Sending him something of value (money, a
story you've put work into, etc.) is stupid.
What I can't figure out is why he is being obvious
about it. Especially that review from Jayson Blair on
the main page. Everyone knows who J.B. is.
I for one must confess shamefully that I fell for the RaveMag ad. An email was sent out to my university with the contents probably very similar to the email you received as well. Surely they charged me after I subscribed, but it took me a good few months (not receiving any magazines) to suspect this to be a scam, ultimately leading me to Google, finding this blog. What's lost is lost, but what can I do if the phantom magazine company attempts to charge me again, now that they have a hold of my credit card number?
I sold a story to Raven Magazine. The check was good. They sent me a copy of the magazine. High quality printing; primitive layout.
Looking for information and found it at this great site... » »
Where did you find it? Interesting read » »
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