This is going to be a little bit of a rant post but here we go.
I want to start by saying I do not condone bullying in any form. In fact, I’ll be the first person to step in and defend the bullied party and/or break up whatever it is I’m witnessing that I don’t like. I wasn’t always this way. I was a really shy person in my past life but my skin is as thick as an elephant’s now and I will be a person’s person (to steal from Grey’s Anatomy) whether we’ve been friends for a a day or 20 years. It’s just the type of person that I am.
Recently on Twitter there has been a storm amongst authors in the romance world. The hashtag has been #cockygate and it’s talking about one specific author who did something that, well, is a pretty shitty thing to do. Basically the story goes, this author decided to publish a book series with the word Cocky in the title because the last name of the brothers she describes in her books is Cocker. One day, I guess, she woke up and decided that she wasn’t making enough money because her books weren’t top in the search results for other authors’ work with Cocky in the title so it was hindering her ability to make money. Her solution? To file for a trademark on the word “cocky” and the font she used (a font she did not create btw), in order to stop authors from using the word.
Now, you’d think she’d stop right there. I mean that alone is outrageous considering she did not create the word and many have been using said word for many years before she was a blip on the author radar. No, she took it a step further. She proceeded to send emails out to authors who had the word “cocky” in their titles and told them to “cease and desist” using the word from this point forward and to change the title of all their books, past and present or she would sue them. If they did not comply, well, sucks to be them because her lawyer supposedly assured her that she would get all their royalties from any books they sell using her “trademarked” word and she’d create a firestorm on Amazon for them.
Now, going back to what I said in the beginning. I do not condone any form of bullying. I really don’t. But you have to ask yourself, especially in a situation like this, what did you think was going to happen? Did you honestly think all these authors would just bend over backwards spending tons of money to change what has already been made and apologize for using the word that wasn’t trademarked previously? I mean honestly, I wonder if people really think through the consequences of their actions before they do stuff. She’s now complaining that she’s being bullied by the Twitter world because people are leaving one star reviews on her book among other things; basically ruining her reputation.
In a case like this, I honestly cannot sympathize with the woman. She went about this the complete wrong way. Authors strive so hard to support each other. I mean it takes time to create and make the most perfect form of a book, it takes courage and confidence to release it to the world and it takes strength to accept that not everyone is going to 100% love your book and handle negative criticism with grace. If she needed a boost in book promotion, I feel like all she had to do was reach out and ask the community to help her and she probably would have received it in droves. Instead she did some slap in the face underhanded nonsense and then proceeded to threaten the ones in the hardworking community.
At the end of the day, I honestly hope she learned some kind of lesson here because this will most definitely hurt her career. I also hope she’s not getting super harrassed because the message is pretty loud and clear from a lowly reader. It doesn’t need to be pounded into her to death.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts on the matter. Have you all ever heard of a situation such as this and thought as much as you want to sympathize with a person, there’s that 95% of you that just can’t? Let me know in the comments below!
Hi. I just want to say that I really liked what you’re written here. I’ve been reading new posts on my feed and I am glad I found this. You have a talent and I am proud to be a part of this community where I get to meet awesome writers like you. I hope you could follow my blog, hopefully you’ll get inspired too. 🙂
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I just read a post about this a few days ago and I’ll say the same thing which probably isn’t nice, but this entire situation just reminds me of how stupid people can be. I can’t believe that anyone in their right mind would think to do it. I surely won’t read this author’s books now. Great post… 💜
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Yeah. I realized I had one of her books on my TBR and immediately took it off. It was definitely not a smart move and I don’t understand how she can get upset now and claim she’s being bullied when she started it you know? Crazy.
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I’m totally against bullying too, but it seems she’s getting what she asked for in a way. Everyone makes mistakes, but does she truly realize now that what she did wasn’t right? That’s my question.
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What do you mean she’s getting what she asked for? And I feel like that wasn’t a mistake. It was a flat out an attack. I feel like you don’t threaten to take other people’s royalties as a mistake, lol. Does she realize it now? I really hope she does but you know how some people are. They will never admit they’re wrong.
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With the expression that I used “getting what she asked for” I’m saying she asked for this sort of reaction she’s getting from the community. You mentioned that you wonder if people think about the consequences of their actions which is why I also said–I wonder if she’ll realize with the shitstorm that she caused that what she’s doing is wrong in hindsight. That’s what I meant.
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Ah I see what you mean. I think her ego will be her downfall in the end even when the shitstorm winds down. But I hope I’m wrong.
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Even your rants sound so deeply from your heart. I don’t know this story , just hearing it now from you but she sounds like a c*** and I don’t mean cock! People are quick to be arseholes, disguising it with “I’m just sticking up for myself” or “I’m just being honest” or”this is just who I am” or even in this woman’s case, “I created literally zero of what I am vehemently defending but don’t call me out on it or I’ll cry”!! And those people are then just as quick to pour or moan because they are being pointed at for their arseholiness, and they can’t take as much as they gave. Uuurgh….!
I don’t like any form cuntishness and she is just reaping what she has sown, unfortunately.
Good on you for voicing this. You’re brill 💋😉❤️
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Haha, thanks. I’ve been reading and thinking on it for a few days and it just boggles my mind. You are so right. She’s complaining about things she didn’te ven have creative license to in the first place and STILL thinks she’s in the right. I agree. She’s definitely reaping what she’s sown and will for a long time to come.
P.S. You’re brilliant yourself 🙂 ❤
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Huggly hugs 💋💋💋
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Wow!! I hadn’t heard about this, but how stupid can she be?? Honestly, like you said what did she expect?? She sounds like a selfish person, very greedy, and while I’m 100% with you about no bullying, this is different. You can’t do something like this and not expect to pay the consequences.
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Right?! I mean you can’t have thought you would get overwhelming approval for something so underhanded. I agree. Definitely selfish and definitely greedy. Oh yes, she’ll be feeling a lot of those consequences. She might be viral right now but it won’t last.
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I bet she didn’t think at all but was blinded by her selfishness. Or she didn’t care about the consequences since it garnered her some publicity even bad. I bet she enjoyed being viral but I doubt she thought long-term…like losing her readers. I don’t read her books, but I certainly wouldn’t now that she’s done this.
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Cray cray right? I think Faleena’s career is over unless she writes under a different name!!
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That’s exactly what I said Susan! She’s going to need a pen name if she wants to keep writing at this point because nobody is going to buy anything with her name on it now.
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Oh, my gosh. I didn’t know such a frenzy going on Twitter… but gosh, this is outrageous. I’m lost for words, honestly!!
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Yeah it’s pretty intense! You might see it pop up here and there if you follow a lot of authors
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I’ve been reading about this but don’t know who the author is. A few months back I read a book with Cocky in the title and now I’m wondering if that poor author is now being hassled by this woman with her trademark. Agree with your thoughts on this one
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Yeah I had no idea who she was either til now. If you remember that author’s name, and they re being harrassed, they can contact the RWA cause I know the association is looking to get lawyers for the ones she’s targeting. Shouldn’t be this way though sadly.
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Geeze, I think she got her lines crossed. I don’t think she trademarked the word just the wordmark. She made a fool of herself and opened the door to the wolves. The only way out of this is to admit her folly and retract.
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No she actually filed a trademark for the word as well as the wordmark. It’s insanity. You are absolutely right but I don’t think she will ever admit her folly. Doesn’t seem like the type.
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I just read up on this whole thing… how crazy!!!!!
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It is! She’s insane.
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You know my favourite part of your post… you did not include her name! Maybe you’re being nice. But I think people talking about her is probably one of the things she wanted to get her ‘google ranking’ raised as well. You know that crappy idea than any publicity is good publicity… yada yada.
I for one never heard of her before and will not be reading anything by her or looking up her name.
This is also one of the cases where the law is clearly an a*$.
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Yeah I wasn’t going to grace my blog’s presence with her name. Figured I’d have enough info for ppl to look her up if they want. You are probably right. She has gone viral and can’t deny it’s getting her ratings even if they are negative ones. There’s a petition going around trying to call on USPTO to cancel her request. We’ll see what happens.
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It’s worth following… especially for authors! Cuz, where will the madness go next?!
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I hate to think that this is a publicity stunt, because how many people have never heard of her before this? I hadn’t. However, she Workmark trademarked, which means she has trademark only for a specific word in a specific font. Similar to Coke and Pepsi. I think this is going to get messier and others are going to jump on this bandwagon. What’s next? Is someone going to trademark (wordmark) the word THE?
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I hadn’t either to be quite honest but I did go through my TBR and saw I had added a book of hers and I don’t remember doing that. I agree with you about it getting more messy. It gives other authors ideas they shouldn’t even think about especially since it’s so selfish.
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This comes on the heels of her announcing that she’s funding her own indie movie. My money is on publicity now that I know that. As a writer, I find it offensive that she would claim an everyday word as her own. If it were a made-up word, sure have at it. It’s rather Cocky of her. (Sorry I went there I know, shame on me.)
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What… Indie movie?? Just wow. I agree. It’s quite offensive especially going after people who used the word long before you. Haha, nice pun!
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And did you see the 90min video she made calling autistics stupid and calling herself daughter of a slave and having a pity party. Gawd I couldn’t tolerate her for 10min on the vid.
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I hadn’t but I just went to search for it and I just read the highlights in someones tweet thread. She is definitely off her rocker.
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Wait will send you the link on DM on twitter if I find it.
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Here you go: https://twitter.com/Jenny_Trout/status/993903697087352832
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Gawd this was fun to read, I couldn’t bear to see the vid. She was terrible, not a good actress too
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I read a little about this on Facebook but I haven’t seen it on twitter yet. I agree with everything you said. I mean how could she not know that she was going to get this kind of reaction she can’t possibly be that stupid. I don’t agree with bullying either but doing something like this you can’t expect authors not to stand up for themselves or for readers to stand up for the authors. I hadn’t even heard of her before now. I looked her up one time in Goodreads just to make sure I didn’t have any of her books in my TBR because I definitely do not want to support an author who would do something like this.
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Yeah it seems to be making the rounds which is a good thing because readers especially need to know what crazy lengths and author will go to for greed which is quite sad considering it’s a job that requires so much passion and time. I’m with you on not supporting authors like this. It’s bad behavior all around.
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Ye wot?!?! She filed a copyright complaint on the word cocky?!? That is absolutely not okay that she did that- ugh, just ugh. Honestly, I think she’s the one being a bully with this to be honest- she’s literally *trying to exploit money* from other authors over A SINGLE EFFING WORD! She has no right to play the victim in this. Look, I don’t condone people going after her and would always advice to avoid directing any anger at the individual. But frankly, she does deserve to have her reputation ruined- this is a vicious card to play against other authors and is not acceptable. So hehe no, I think it’s pretty clear that I do not have any sympathy for this woman- she’s made her bed. It’s hard enough for authors to fight for their copyright of their entire books being stolen, and she goes and pulls a stunt like this. Like I said, I don’t believe in harassing the woman, but I would never buy her book and have zero respect for her. Ugh this sort of thing pisses me off.
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Yes! Unbelievable right?? Totally agree. I mean you don’t want psychos going after her or burning her books on her lawn but her reputation definitely deserves to go down the drain after this. It’s just not classy at all for a career that’s usually a struggle for most but try find better avenues to get help. You are so right! Authors fight for ppl copyrighting their books and hell even pirating is a HUGE one and she does something like this? Crazy. Yes, she will not get any royalties from me either.
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Exactly!! I’ve looked into it as well and can’t believe she’s playing the victim after she legit bullied so many other authors. EXACTLY!! Hope could she even consider this as an option? And why is she so surprised at the backlash? Yeah for sure.
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My information is limited from your writing and comments I read – so no comments.
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omg I saw the hashtag but I didn’t know the story behind it. Thank you so much for explaining it! Honestly like what was the author thinking?? It’s such a common word? You can’t trademark a word that’s that common?
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You are very welcome! I don’t think the author was thinking at all and she’s got a hurricane blizzard of a storm to deal with going forward. I actually made a new post today about common words that are trademarked. I guess it all depends on how it’s used. Thanks for visiting! 🙂
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How does one trademark a word? This is lunacy!
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I am so glad you asked that Linda cause it sparked my today’s post. 🙂 I agree though. In this instance, it is definitely lunacy.
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Wow! I hadn’t understood what the cause of it all was, so thank you for explaining it so easily. I could comment for hours, but I think it’s all been said above! 🙂
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You are very welcome. Haha, fair enough. I didn’t expect to get such a huge response so this is great. 🙂
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I checked the dictionary cocky means arrogant. A word in the dictionary cannot be trademarked. This word finds its roots in 1700s or even before that. Does she plan to sue Shakespeare?
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Interesting thing that. Words in the dictionary can be trademarked. For example, Apple is trademarked but because it has nothing to do with the original meaning of the word “apple” it’s allowed. I actually wrote a continuation of the post today. I should have added Apple to my list. Think I’ll go edit it now, haha. Thanks Shalini! 🙂
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I don’t mind that Nel, but she wants everyone not to use that word ever. How can we stop using the word? Her books are atrocious. And her vid was all the more bad. It has backfired. She called autistics stupid gawd, that was the limit
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Agreed. I mean she took it way too far and its clearly out of legal context cause I’m not sure she understands fully how trademarks work. Just because you file for one doesn’t mean it’ll be approved and even if it is approved doesnt mean it can’t be reversed. She definitely was out of line sending cease and desist letters to people. That’s a authority’s job like her lawyer. Not hers.
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Amazon has said it won’t pull back books with the word in the title. It is putting back all the books it has retracted. So one good news for authors
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Well yes because she probably only applied for the trademark and the status is pending. Trademarking words is not as easy as people think. I wrote a bit of detailed post on it today if you’re interested. 🙂
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I saw that. I was thinking of applying for a few trademarks and copyrights 😏😏😉😉😂😂 which word should I ¿
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Bahahaha. Shalini works. It’s very unique! 🙂 ❤ My next post will actually be about copyrighting since I seem to be on a roll this week with these types of posts, haha.
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Oh yes do that… Copyrighting trademarking Shalini, so no parent can call their child by that name? Hahaha…. My name came from an Indian where the actress was called Shalini and my dad liked her 😉😉 will I get the millions from them? Hahahaha 😂😂 in the land of internet, there is no such thing
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Hahaha in a perfect world! I’m named after perfume cause my mom liked it so much but am I wracking in millions from Chanel? Nope, lol.
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Damn… If only we would have thought of such an idea before her, we would be raking it all in 😉😉😂😂
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Hey Nel, sent you a direct message on twitter. I had to sent it to you. Hope you like, and don’t laugh too hard
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I just heard about this yesterday and was shocked. Not only that she was allowed to trademark the word, but also her bullying of authors. To be perfectly frank, her actions are deranged and her career is probably over. I can’t see this trademark not being cancelled.
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Yeah I mean anyone can file a trademark application for anything unfortunately. I talked about it in my today’s post a bit more in depth but just because you applied doesn’t mean it’s automatically approved and even if it is approved, doesn’t mean it can’t be redacted either. I agree with you though. Her career is done for. Might as well bask in this attention while she has it cause it won’t be for long! Thanks for the follow too btw! I followed you back 😁
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Thanks Nel.🤗
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