Many people have been asking if and how they can contribute to Dear Author and Jane Litte's legal defense in the defamation suit filed against her.
Consequently, and at Jane's request, I have established and am administering The Dear Author Jane Litte Legal Defense Fund.
Why a fund?
Because lawsuits are expensive (that's why they're so often used as a threat, if you've ever wondered).
Because of that, and because the duration of the litigation is undetermined, Jane will need financial assistance. Jane's attorney, Marc Randazza, is contributing by discounting his hourly rate. Even with a generous discount, it's still expensive.
Jane Litte has set aside $20,000.00 of her own funds to fight this defamation suit and has paid the large retainer out of that amount, but that money will be depleted quickly as the case progresses.
How do I contribute?
If you'd like to donate to the legal fund, you can follow this link to the GoFundMe site, and make your donation. Please note: these are NOT tax deductible donations, as this is NOT a 501(c)3 not-for-profit
entity.
All funds will be used for Jane's legal defense, minus the fees charged by GoFundMe, and because Jane does not know what the end result will be, she has no way of knowing what the total amount required will be. If the fees do not exceed $20,000, we will attempt to refund the donations per the GoFundMe policies. Countries with the following currencies are supported: $ USD, £ GBP, $ CAD, $ AUD and € EUR. I also want to make it clear that I will receive absolutely zero money for this project, and other than as administrator, I'm not involved in the litigation of this case. I'm the administrator of the fund itself at Jane's request, but all donations go to Jane's legal defense. If there are any funds left over when the suit is finished, they will be donated to the Society of Professional Journalists Legal Defense Fund.
Anonymous donations are accepted, and we will not reveal your identity if you chose to donate anonymously.
It may seem that because $20,000 is an enormous amount of money (and it is), that additional funds are not required. I would not have set up the legal defense fund if that were the case. Any amount that you can contribute is most appreciated. Thank you.
UPDATE: 6 October 2:30pm ET:
WE DID IT! Holy moses: our community raised $50,000.00 for the defense fund in only 4 days. I am in absolute awe. Thank you so much.
Thanks to Jane for standing up and to Sarah for supporting her!
Donated and thanks, Sarah, for setting this up.
I donated. Wish it could have been more. Thanks for setting this up for Jane, Sarah.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. A lot.
I echo the thanks for setting this up, Sarah. And … I donated. Easy to do so on the site. Again, thanks.
Donated and shared. Thanks!
I had to spend over 100,000.00 to in defense against a frivolous lawsuit, so I know Jane will need all the assistance she can get. But I have the feeling she’ll get it. Everyone recognizes how wrong this suit is. The judge will, too.
Just donated. Thanks for setting this up!
Donated. Still completely at a loss why Ellora’s Cave would do this. The lawsuit will only harm their reputation.
I’m in. The fund’s already hit over $10,000 by 10 a.m. EDT! Thank you, Sarah for setting this up. We all benefit when free speech is protected.
Thanks Sarah – as a former litigator, I know that even a phone call with her lawyers will cost Jane multiple donations – OH CRAP – I just put my pseudonym on go fund me but my credit card’s another name.
(Writers – don’t do what I just did).
I’ll go back and try to fix it.
@M:
Oh, have mercy. That is so awful. I’m so sorry you went through that.
Thank you everyone for donating and spreading the word. It is so appreciated. You’re all wonderful, marvelous human beings, and I’m proud to know you.
$15,000 pledged before 10:30 am CDT on the first day.
Brava, Sarah!!!!
Donated, and I’ll be spreading the word.
Well done, and thank you, Sarah! Donated (of course) and am sharing now. We’re a community. When one of us hurts, we all hurt.
Donated and shared.
Well, my credit card company told me it was okay that I’d used not-my-name and the charge went through b/c I had the correct 3-digit code and exp. date, etc.
So authors – it’s doable in your pseudonym.
Thanks again, Sarah, for coordinating all this. Lot of work for you. Jane has a good friend.
Done. Thank you for setting this up, Sarah1!
Thanks for setting this up, Sarah.
In case there’s anyone in a similar situation to mine (i.e.: a resident of a country that doesn’t have one of the currencies listed above), I’m going to copy and paste the comment I left on Dear Author.
“Quick clarification regarding the countries and currencies eligible for the GoFundMe donations/potential reimbursement of said donations. This appears to refer to people wishing to *set up* a GoFundMe account and run their own campaign. I live in Switzerland and my credit card was issued through a Swiss bank. I was able to donate without any difficulties—Switzerland is given as one of the options when filling in credit card details. However, I can’t set up my own account at GoFundMe. Just thought I’d point that out in case there are others in non-$ USD/£ GBP/$ CAD/$ AUD/€ EUR countries who wish to donate.”
Wow, over $20,000 already.
I’m rally glad Jane is getting such support.
Sarah, do you know if there’s going to be any other way to donate, for those of us involved in the Go Fund Me boycott?
It makes me so angry and sad to see the legal system used to harass and intimidate people. Good luck to Jane. Really hope this resolves quickly and in a satisfactory manner for her. One good thing to come out of this is seeing the way the community has responded.
Thank you for setting this up, SB Sarah. Donated and shared.
This is fantastic. I’d be happy to donate 🙂
I saw a good suggestion on the Twitter discussion (#notchilled). Readers can acknowledge authors whose names show up as donors on the Go Fund Me list by purchasing their books. I love it—-more excuses to buy books!
As a freelancer and first time novelist, I could only give a pittance, but every penny helps. And if this is over quick, I don’t want a refund. It can be saved for EC’s next target which will probably be one or more of its writers.
GO JANE GO!
And thank you for setting this up and administering it. I hope it makes goal inside of 24 hours.
Terri
Today I am really proud to be a romance reader.
Heading for $30,000! I am—obviously we all are—so pleased to be able to show our support with action.
You’ve got to wonder what Jaid thinks about this, and you’ve got to figure she has to realize that some of that money might have gone to purchase EC books if it hadn’t been for the lawsuit.
I know a few people have asked about alternate methods to donate.
If you’d like to use an alternate method to contribute, there are two options available. First, if you’d like to use a credit card, you can send a contribution via Paypal to jane @ dearauthor.com. Please make sure to earmark the funds “Jane Litte/Dear Author Defense Fund.” As stated previously, if the total costs for the lawsuit are lower than $20,000.00, Jane will refund the monies donated.
If you’d prefer not to use a credit card, please email me at sarah @ smartbitchestrashybooks.com.
(Please note – Yom Kippur starts for me in about 2 hours, so I’ll be offline for awhile, but back tomorrow night, and I promise I will get back to you. G’mar chatima tova!)
I’ve donated although only a pittance. I’m happy to support Jane in this problem.
At the local public library today, and the desk librarian was talking about EC suing Dear Author! I mentioned the fund drive, and she was very intrigued.
What the heck was EC thinking? When you annoy LIBRARIANS you have brought down The Wrath.
Well besides donating, I have been buying (shh don’t tell my husband) as many non-EC kindle books by authors supporting the cause and/or that are directly effected by EC as I can. Yeah, I have a hair trigger one-click ordering finger. It’s a win-win. They get the support they need and I get all those glorious books to read.
Hey, Sarah, I just want to throw out that the EFF (The Electronic Frontier Foundation would be all over this. They have several cases to protect bloggers’ rights, and they’re a massive and mouthy PR machine, when they get going. I know since Jane is an attorney she probably already knows, but on the off-chance… need all the firepower for this that can be had, yes?
Thanks for doing this fund, btw.
Just want to add my thanks to you, Sarah, for doing this and to send you good wishes on Yom Kippur. I had an ex-co-worker bring a nuisance suit that went nowhere and still cost thousands just to meet with the lawyer and forge an initial response. You are right that this can be spendy and I am glad to see how bitches/readers are responding.
SBSarah – Thanks for setting this up. I donated and hope for a swift end to the madness.
Donated! Go Jane!
You’re awesome for doing this. Also, Marc Randazza, by all accounts, is a fantastic attorney. I’ve been reading @ Popehat for years and he is legendary with first amendment cases.
Sarah, you rock. This was a great idea.
Over 38,000$ raised now.
My donation just got processed – gotta love the old credit card. And there’s over $40k in the fund now—that is SO FRICKING FANTASTIC! Thank you for setting this up so we could help Jane out, Sarah 🙂