SNAKES & SETBACKS

Hi, I’m Kayla Morton — but you would have already known that because Sage & Sparrow Publishing has decided it best to share my private information online as a result of my recent Twitter thread and all that followed in its wake. 

This thread has brought in a lot more attention to both myself and my stories, both of which I’m insanely grateful for (despite the crappy circumstances that surrounded its existence). But this blog will give light to my thoughts regarding their most recent Tweets about me and the situation itself. All quotes being referred to come directly from Sage & Sparrow and all those who have tweeted in support of me.

In actuality, there’s no need for me to write this blog. I did my best to not be bitter, despite the pettiness that was warranted. But for the writers who have since reached out to me, expressing the fact that they were bullied into silence as a result of unfair encounters they had with Sage & Sparrow, I will not be quiet. I will continue to throw my “internet tantrums” — if not for the fact that I have every right to do so, but for the fact that I will reclaim my identity and my right to speak, and I won’t let them or their totally real legal counsel take that away from me. Elle and Nick, if you ever want to reach out to me directly for that defamation case, you can find me at kmortonwrites@gmail.com — oh wait, but you would’ve already known that, since you shared my private information in the screenshots you posted. Your 16K+ followers know it now, too. 

The day you don’t end your official emails with

[ Sent from iPhone ]

is the day I’ll take your threats seriously.

Anyway,

Like Sage & Sparrow have done in the past, I’ve ensured I have ways of seeing the multiple Tweets they’ve made about me and the situation (“we have declined to make a statement” *proceeds to make a thread thereafter*). I’m sure they wouldn’t mind this considering the fact that, though they have never followed my account, they still found time to stalk through and have predatory screenshots of everything I talk about because they’re jealous that my story had eyes other than their own on it.

FRITOS WITH A SIDE OF A [ REDACTED ] OFFER OF PUBLICATION

Sage & Sparrow were 5 minutes late to our initial call.

Whilst maybe not a big deal to most, the call had already been rescheduled once at that point and I was anxiously awaiting it for weeks prior. They were tweeting at the time we were meant to be in the call, and when they did arrive, they were eating Fritos (which they made a flippant apology for). Not only were they sitting on what appeared to be a livingroom couch, they had no office nor proper setup — now, I’m not one to judge but after being told by them directly that this was their full-time job — and as the owners, acquiring editors, publishers etc — I did worry at their lack of professionalism.

And whilst I was speaking, talking passionately and openly about myself and my stories, Elle yawned. Directly into the camera. She didn’t turn her head to the side or cover her mouth. At that moment, I wanted to stop talking.

I’ve only come to terms with my Autism in recent years — and after a lifetime of multiple diagnosis and struggling to communicate, I’ve done my best to adhere to the standards of professionalism, especially in important calls such as this one. I have my flaws — I struggle to keep eye contact and often forget to ensure my facial expressions are constantly palatable to those I’m talking to — but seeing this did not elicit a good feeling.

I don’t blame them for being tired; I mean, they must be, especially with signing all those authors in such a short period of time. As those who run the Sage & Sparrow show, I can imagine that their time is very precious, especially when it’s taken up with all that manuscript reading that they 100% do, even though they hadn’t seemed to do so prior to our call because they needed to look over it again before offering the contract even though I assumed that was what the call was for….hm.

Actually, going into the call, I wasn’t even sure what it was supposed to be.

And although being reassured by my friends that it couldn’t have been anything but an offer call, because why else would they need said call after loving your manuscript so much (see attached the screenshot of the full request they sent me), Sage & Sparrow didn’t mention my book ONCE in that call. Didn’t mention what they liked about it or why they wanted it. Nothing. And the important questions I asked were met with vague responses and unfulfilling answers — not to mention that there was no mention of an advance. 

Now, for anyone unaware, this is a red flag. 

THIS IS A QUERY, NOT A MONOGAMOUS RELATIONSHIP 

My Twitter account is for me; it is for sharing my thoughts and experiences and for the community that I share. Querying is a very hard process and I’ve always done my best to be as transparent as I can with my experience because in the past, as it has helped others: like this blog. As writers who told me during the call that they themselves are supposedly agented, Elle & Nick should be very well aware of the struggles of the querying process and how important community is. 

And the fact that they sought me out after a Twitter Pitch event makes this whole situation even more ridiculous — these events are designed to attract attention to writers, from multiple agents and publishers if they’re lucky. For once, I was lucky. Sage & Sparrow must’ve known this, as it’s easy to click on the pitches and see who has interacted with them prior to showing your own interest — and if they didn’t know this, then they were very well made aware during our call, where I was 100% transparent regarding the fact that I had agent interest. I wanted to see the contract because if I were to be offered agent representation during my consideration period, which they confirmed was FINE (see the below screenshot), then it would’ve made sense for me to have a contract to actually show them, rather than an email alone stating that they were offering me — not because I wanted the contract “to shop around”. Are they unaware that I can also be agented whilst being offered publication? And what they failed to also include were the tweets were I was openly excited about the prospect of signing with them; reminder, a human in a very stressful situation is allowed to feel a mix of emotions and share said complicated emotions, especially when they get a rejection on their birthday from a dream agent they’d been in talks with since months prior.

So to then openly stalk my social media and be upset that I was shown interest from other people is abhorrent — and I wanted to hope that I was just being pessimistic when considering that they’d made me exhaust my options purely to dismiss me thereafter, but now, it doesn’t seem so implausible. Not only is that extremely predatory and unprofessional, it’s also plain unfair. I openly told Sage & Sparrow about the struggles of my querying process and how for many, many months, I had absolutely no interest. I have pages and pages of agents who have rejected me. How dare I celebrate interest and be sad over rejections? How dare I do so on my personal Twitter account? 

And if you were so sure about signing me, and so desperate to have my story as yours and yours only, why not just send me the contract? Why not be more transparent with your communications instead of trying to gaslight me into signing with you without any tangible reason as to why I should do so?

OH NO, THE AUTISTIC GIRL IS THROWING A TANTRUM!

Not only is the way Sage & Sparrow is talking about me completely untrue, it’s infantilising, disrespectful, honestly fucking ableist and quite hypocritical. I’m a 21 year old woman who lives in Australia and whose life doesn’t go on pause when stuff like this goes to shit. I walk my dog, I sit down at my desk and do my silly little tasks and write my silly little stories. I take my medication and I try to be the best person I can; and when I speak up about a shitty situation, and said situation goes fairly viral, I think it’s wildly unfair to call it an “internet tantrum”.

I have not “decided to utilize internet mob mentality” — I shared my story, Sage & Sparrows wrongdoing and Twitter answered; and I’m not surprised they have, considering Nick & Elle have done this before and I’m not the only one hurt by them. If Sage & Sparrow were smart about their business, they’d apologise — or at least show accountability for their wrongdoing, both morally and professionally. I can most certainly be upset about the offer I was given and then had taken away from me, no matter whether a contract was sent or not — that offer stood when I reached out to bump agents, who rejected because of the short notice or time constraints; that offer stood when I crossed off potential interest and narrowed down my list; that offer stood whether or not Sage & Sparrow were my last fucking choice or not because it was made, and that was their decision, whether done “begrudgingly” or not (which I call bullshit on). I didn’t mistake the call as an offer of publication. I didn’t misunderstand anything — so why try to backtrack?

When I received the rejection from Sage & Sparrow, I was absolutely devastated. My interest in other agents doesn’t take away from that devastation, nor does it give back the time I’ve wasted and emotional labour I’ve been put through. 

I hate that they are now weaponising mental health as an excuse for this, as they did when they tried to silence other writers who were hurt by their actions. I understand that people make mistakes, that even business make them, but I expected empathy from them at the bare minimum. Instead, I’ve been demonised because they don’t like the fact that the Twitter writing community saw through their bullshit — and as they should, because my thread has saved hundreds of other writers from heartbreak. 

I don’t want indie publishers to be put to shame by this because indie publishers aren’t to blame. Sage & Sparrow acted of their own accord and THAT is why I’m mad, because their treatment of me is not normal. I won’t allow myself or anyone else to be gaslight into believing it was or is okay to treat someone like this. Also, the mentioning of POC in their tweets is…not a good look. My tweet regarding the whiteness of their acquired authors was simply speculation. I made no official statement as to their policy on diversity. But to then play the, and I quote, “while we are not BIPOC or members of a race other than white, we have several BIPOCs in our own family, and have never, not even for a second, prioritized anyone based on skin color or heritage–only based on writing and story content“….not a good look and it speaks for itself.

Whilst I’m sorry that the writers who withdrew their submissions from you have had to go through this emotional turmoil, I’m NOT sorry to you for losing out on those clients. That was their choice, not mine. And as a publisher who claims they only want the best for people’s stories, you really have no right to be mad when you’ve done nothing to secure your writers or make them feel safe and comfortable under your lead. If they leave, that’s on you and it says more about you than it ever will about me. To reiterate my original point: “i’m so happy for those signed with them, and wish them no ill-will — i just can only hope they’re getting the fair treatment they deserve. i want transparency around this because it’s never okay to treat writers like this, especially as writers themselves who KNOW what it’s like”.

—

I think there needs to be more transparency in this industry, in more ways than one. It’s hard for querying writers out here, especially those who feel as though they’ve lost hope in pursuing a traditional publishing route and turn to indie publishers as a beacon of new hope.

As of today, Sage & Sparrow has not directly reached out to me nor responded to the email I sent. There has been no accountability nor apologies for both the time they’ve wasted and the mental strain this whole fiasco has caused. 

I will not apologise for being open about the stories others never got to share. I will not apologise for being upset or for the attention I’ve received. I’ve done my best to be happy and humble throughout my entire querying process — but as of now, I have over 2,000 followers and the best fucking community around me. I have had interest from PenguinHouse and publishers who want to make things right. I have had agents re-consider my work. I’ve been shown, time and time again, the importance of standing up for yourself — and I will not be made to feel small for doing just that. And I can only hope the same for all the other writers who’ve felt wronged — I’m with you, I see you and I wish you nothing but the best home for your stories, as you deserve.

As I mentioned, I’ve been bullied and was stalked for a major period of my life — it made me fearful of sharing anything about myself, of being loud and proud about my hobbies and interests on the internet. Writing has become a safe space for me, as it is for many others. I’m taking this identity back, even if it’s not how I planned it to be.

Additionally, I wish nothing but growth for Sage & Sparrow and hope their owners take this as an opportunity for self-reflection.

—

I wanted to quote those who have defended me, especially for the fact that my brain is still in shambles. Thank you for all those who have had my back — thank you a million times over. 

• “As the publishing house, you have the power here. You’ve chosen to use that to patronize and demoralize an author with a rightful complaint against your ethics.” — @moonbornewriter

• “We aren’t bandwagoning. We are standing up to a bully. You are threatening to sue someone instead of just eating a little crow, apologizing, and trying to do better in the future. She isn’t having a tantrum. She is standing up for herself. And I’m very glad to stand with her.” — @HarrowingDell

• “Pretty sure this hits every “bad social media response to a callout” on the bingo card AND the publisher red flags. Never agree to a contract you haven’t read. Never let anyone make you decide without encouraging you to explore all your options first.” — @muliebris

• “As a small publisher @wildhuntbooks, we have a face-to-face meeting w authors we want to extend an offer to so they can get to know us & vice versa. We then send a contract so they can review, ask questions, seek support from @Soc_of_Authors.” — @ariellcacciola

• “Considering the emotional and chaotic direction of this entire thread by a publisher, it would seem that it is not the author who is the one having the “tantrum” here (especially when the author - and others! - have very legitimate complaints and concerns)…” — @loganashes

• “The same screenshots are used, aside from a few random and irrelevant creeper shots from the author they blocked, and they have essentially proved the author’s (and several others’) point, as far as I can tell?” — @erikaleewrites

• “Far be it from me, author who has tweeted about being bit by a clown at 2am, to critique others on professionalism. But this is by far one of the most chaotic threads of unprofessional behavior by a publisher that I’ve read in years. It has it all. lying, stalking, gaslighting - not following generally understood industry protocol, evasive language”, I gave you an offer because I didn’t want to be mean”, weird racial propositioning, mental health as a shield, dubious legal claims, bullying, screenshots that have the opposite effect intended.” — @KaylaAncrum

• “You didn’t just lower yourself to the level of an internet tantrum; you also shared the full name and email address of an author who has not made that information public herself. This whole thread is the height of unprofessionalism.” — @kayleyjothomas

ALL QUOTED WORDS IN BOLD ARE THOSE THAT HAVE COME DIRECTLY FROM SAGE & SPARROW TWEETS.

As of the 25th of August, all of Sage & Sparrow’s social platforms (including their personal accounts and accounts across TikTok, Instagram etc) have been deleted. They have released their signed authors from their contracts. I’m yet to receive a written apology or any direct correspondence at all, let alone a lawsuit. I have not forgotten, and will not forget, the way both Nick & Elle treated the writing community — but all I can hope for myself, and everyone involved, is nothing but healing and luck going forward, whilst we all fight to find the best homes for our stories. Thank you for your support. 💌