In 2020, my publishers tried to cancel my work. Here's why I celebrate that!
Hot take: Nobody has the power to cancel you.
In August 2020, I was in the process of publishing of one of my books. My literary agent wrote me a letter, on behalf of my publishing team, requesting that I delete a video and blog post in which I discussed the scientific inefficacy of face masks.
(The video was later deleted by YouTube due to their anti-science “Covid-19 misinformation” guidelines, but the transcript is still available).
To be clear, this post was entirely unrelated to the topic of my upcoming book. Yet my publishing team said they were “very concerned” about my mask post, because it would be “divisive” and could “hurt” people who had lost loved ones to the “pandemic.”
The email explained, “The world we live in is cancel culture central,” and they were worried the “book’s empowering messages will and can get lost in the Covid inflammatory fray.”
In addition, the email noted members of the editorial team were “personally hurt by the post.”
(At that line, I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly fell out of my head.)
The hypocrisy of the letter astonished me. They were so afraid of the impacts of cancel culture on their bottom line, they were asking me to censor information essential to open scientific discourse.
I asked myself, “What kind of logic suggests the solution to cancel culture is canceling people’s work?” (The answer is: no logic. That argument is not based on logic, but fear.)
After reading the letter, I didn’t know what the stakes were. I wondered if my book contract could be at risk if I didn’t comply with their request.
If I lost my book contract, I would have to pay back my book advance, which I was using to pay my rent and groceries!
Still, I didn’t entertain their request for a second.
I wrote them back, and explained my values of free speech and open scientific discourse. I explained that my blog — and my book in question — challenged mainstream scientific dogma regarding nutrition and dieting. I was not diverging from my work by challenging Covid myths, but remaining true to my mission.
I also pointed out the hypocrisy of asking me to cancel my work to protect me from cancel culture.
In short, I said, in the most diplomatic way I could muster:
Oh for fucks sake. I’m going to write what I want to write. Deal with it as you wish.
Here’s the 5-page letter I wrote (edited to remove identifying details), if you’d like to read it.
In response to this letter, my editor wrote:
“Lauren, if you wish to keep the post up, I respect that. It is absolutely your choice. Our wish for it to come down was a suggestion (and I recognize it is a strong suggestion). It comes from a place of wanting to see your book succeed!"
That’s when I realized…
…we have very different definitions of success.
What is true success?
My agent and editor believed success required compromising integrity and truth, in order to appeal to the marketplace.
In other words: producing materials that appealed to people’s limiting beliefs, instead of producing materials that challenged their limiting beliefs and offered an invitation to empowerment.
That, to me, is the opposite of success!
In the end, they moved forward with publishing my book in question. I parted ways with the publishing house after that, and I also parted ways with my “Big Fancy New York Literary Agent.”
These were the two things I had worked my entire writing career to achieve: a reputable publisher, and a Big Literary Agent. I thought those factors meant I was a “successful” writer.
Yet in a world that pressured me to compromise my integrity, I stood my ground. I got bolder, instead of quieter. That’s true success!
After moving forward from that publishing house, I began self-publishing my books for total freedom.
Stay tuned for my upcoming whistleblower book, THE SCORPION AND THE LION! 🔥🔥🔥
(You can read or listen to a free preview of the book here.)
Concluding thoughts on “cancel culture”
Here’s my unpopular opinion on cancel culture:
Nobody can cancel you.
Instead, they can only offer you an invitation to freedom:
Freedom from your reputation (As I say: If your reputation gets in the way of you telling the truth, you must ruin your reputation thoroughly, and without hesitation!)
Freedom from seeking validation from a value system that insists you compromise your integrity and suppress your voice.
Freedom from seeking financial security from a compromised value system, rather than achieving the financial security of greater faith, courage, and love. It is those qualities alone — not a big paycheck or bank account — that guarantees financial security (read more about that in my free workbook, A Few Practical Steps to Enjoy the Apocalypse.)
Go forth and be cancelled, my friends.
Tell so much truth that you ruin your reputation.
I will celebrate your success!
STAY IN TOUCH
MY BOOKS
The Scorpion and The Lion | Whistleblower Exposé
The Invisible Corset | Heal the Relationship with Your Body
Beyond The Rulebook | 30-Day Writing Journey For Life Clarity
MY FREE GUIDEBOOKS
[FREE] A Few Practical Steps to Enjoy The Apocalypse | Workbook for Awakening
[FREE] The Master List Of Natural Remedies | Holistic Protocols for Chronic Health Problems
MY CLASSES
The Vaccine Class | Learn What Your Doctor Won't Tell You
Food without Fear | Spiritually Heal Food and Weight Problems
One thing people don't understand about the free market is that success is subjective and isn't always measured in money.
Well, thank you for sticking with actual reality. I had a career determining the overhead rate for federally sponsored “health” (dripping sarcasm) research. I was in and out of BSL (bio security labs) throughout the country….suited up like an astronaut, sprayed with God knows what on the way in and the way out in an anteroom. I saw the rollout of the masks and was like “what the hell?” I still see folks wandering around wearing cloth on their faces and it simply lets me know who drank the Koolaid. Thank you for acting with integrity.