Friday Project has a Manic (and last) Monday

The Friday Project, the UK publishing house that develops books from websites and blogs, called in administrators at the end of last month after it had insufficient funds to continue trading. Today it was officially liquidated, according to The Bookseller.

The Telegraph, stated on March 9th, “it was believed that HarperCollins intends to buy publishing rights to The Friday Project's book titles. It also plans to use the company's expertise in new media publishing to bolster its existing new media operations.”

The Friday Project was founded in 2005 with the goal of converting popular websites and blogs into books. It published 44 titles in 2007 and was planning to publish 60 this year. Published titles include Blood, Sweat and Tea, the diary of a London ambulance driver, and An A-Z of Harry Potter. Last year it had four of its titles featured on Richard & Judy within a three-week period.

Now why has this business not made it work? No doubt we will hear more as the news unfolds. What seems to anger many involved in blogs around the unofficial news at this time, is the lack of communication. The difficulties in situations such as these, are numerous. What do you tell people who want to know answers to concrete questions, if you don’t know yourself? I am a freelancer when will I get paid? I submitted my book, now what? We invested money - now we get a letter saying it looks like it is gone, but we’ve no idea where. Better to tell people nothing, than tell them the various options from different potential buyers, who all want to maintain discretion? Sure. Better to tell them nothing, and make up the news themselves, no. Some information can only be better than none. A clear concise bullet point press release would be a good idea - what are the facts. What does this mean for anyone who invested money, has outstanding payments for books or freelance work, and by when will the next update be given. At least then, the speculation is tamed.

I remember the comment made by Harrison Ford, as Jack Ryan, in the film ‘Patriot Games’. When the US president is in the position of having a friend with personal difficulties, with which he does not want to be associated, Ryan corrects him, and suggests instead, ‘if they ask if you were friends, say no. Say you were good friends. Give them nowhere to go.” Get the facts out there and remove the speculation in hyperspace, where anonymity allows anger to flare up into rather disrespectful comment. If you know the people involved are doing their best, yes you can be angry at mistreatment, but it won’t get you anywhere to ask them feel worse than they do already. Ask how you can help them. You never know, they might ask you to write the facts out.