Form & Style Magazine - Owes writer $5579.00!

[angelahoy]

From: Angela Hoy
To: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Subject: COMPLAINT about Form & Style / Water Lilly Publishing / Jeannette Porrazzo
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:48:15 -0500

March 27, 2006

Jeannette M. Porrazzo, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief - jeannette@formandstyle.com
Water Lilly Publishing, LLC
FORM & STYLE Magazine / formandstyle.com
P.O. BOX 9832
Denver CO 80209
P(702)225-9349
F(303)777-7484

WritersWeekly.com has received a complaint about:
FORM & STYLE Magazine / formandstyle.com / Water
Lilly Publishing, LLC / Jeannette M. Porrazzo

WritersWeekly.com is a publication that publishes information for and
about freelance writers. The publication is the largest-circulation
freelance writing ezine in the world.

As part of that information, WritersWeekly.com publishes a Warnings
section on its website and in its newsletter. This warning section
contains reports about publications that are unprofessional in dealing
with writers, have refused to pay writers money owed to them, who have
not
abided by their contracts, or who have unfair contract terms. These
reports are used by WritersWeekly.com's subscribers to decide which
publications they should and should not work with.

Your firm has been submitted to us for inclusion in the
WritersWeekly.com Whispers and Warnings section.

Step one of our investigation of this report is to gather all relevant
correspondence between your publication and the person submitting the
complaint so that we can piece together that person's side of the story.
Step one of our investigation has been completed.

J.M. (name removed for publication here but was, of
course, provided to the publisher) alleges you owe her
$$5579.00 and are in violation of your contract.
See allegations and correspondence under my signature.

-----------------
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
-----------------

The second step in our investigation is to send this communication to
your firm to get its side of the story. If you have evidence disputing these
allegations, or would like to make your own statement about these
allegations for publication in our report, please email
angela@writersweekly.com within two business days.

***All correspondence for our investigations must be in writing and is
subject to publication.***

Our report on your firm is scheduled for inclusion in our publication
next
Wednesday.

If there is no response to these allegations, WritersWeekly.com will
still publish this complaint, but our readers will not be able to read
your side of the story.

We appreciate your prompt response in this matter.

Angela Hoy
Publisher
WritersWeekly.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE COMPLAINT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:57:12 -0800 (PST)
From: J.M.
Subject: Form & Style Magazine

Dear Angela,

I am writing because I have yet to receive payment for
my contributions to the magazine Form & Style. I will
forward you the last piece of correspondence I
recieved from Jeannette Porrazzo, the publisher.

I have a signed contract that says I should have been
paid 30 days after my work was posted on her site and
after spending a week (after the 30 day period ended)
requesting that she remove my work and pay me she has
yet to respond.

I want to make sure that nobody else makes the mistake
of working for a publisher who is unable to honor
their ethical and legal obligations.

She owes me over $5579.00 and right now she is in
breach of contract.

I appreciate any action you could take on my behalf
and I would like others to hear about my experience so
they do not make the same mistake.

Thank you.

J.M.

~~~~~

From: J.M.
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 10:18 AM
To: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Subject: Got them!

Hi Jeannette:

Just to give you some peace of mind, I wanted to let
you know that I did get the signed and altered
contracts this afternoon. I noticed that you added the
"per published word" next to section 4 on each
contract and that seems to be fine. Can you just tell
me what the final tally is on the web site right now?
Everything that I submitted appears to match the word
counts that I submitted on the contracts (in other
words, that's how many have been published), so I will
expect the exact amount that I invoiced for for
each story. Thanks for overnighting it back!

My best,
J.M.

~~~~~

From: Jeannette Porrazzo <jeannette@formandstyle.com>
To: J.M.
Subject: re: Got them!
Date sent: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 16:32:18 -0800

no problem.

my best,
Jeannette Porrazzo
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
www.formandstyle.com
"brown is the new black!"

~~~~~

Water Lilly Publishing, LLC
P.O. BOX 9832, Denver CO 80209
Ph. 303-803-4847 Fx. 303-777-7484

From: jeannette@formandstyle.com
To: [List of writers removed for publication here]
Subject: important memo
Date sent: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 22:17:51 -0800
Send reply to: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Copies to: <dana@formandstyle.com>

To: All FORM & STYLE Magazine Contributors

From: Jeannette Porrazzo-Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Re: Payment for Feb/March issue

March 16, 2006

Dear Contributors,

I would like to inform you at this time that payment will be late for your contributions to the Febuary/March 2006 issue of FORM & STYLE Magazine.

At this time we are currently and actively seeking investors - with meetings weekly. We anticipate that A a deal to finance the magazine fully will be happening in the very near future,-and I’d like to point out that you will be paid in full upon receipt of funding for the magazine and Water Lilly Publishing being funded.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your hard work and dedication to FORM & STYLE Magazine.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me via email or phone. I will be in touch very soon.


My bBest,

Jeannette M. Porrazzo
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
www.formandstyle.com

~~~~~

From: J.M.
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 5:14 PM
To: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Subject: Important Message from J.M.

Dear Jeannette:

I have yet to receieve any correspondence or
communication from you and so I can only interpret
this as a lack of interest on fulfilling your legal
and ethical obligations to your writers.

If I do not receive a response from you by the end of
the week I will assume that I am correct in this
assumption and will take further action on my behalf.

Thank you,
J.M.

~~~~~

From: jeannette@formandstyle.com
To: J.M.
Subject: re: Important Message from J.M.
Date sent: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 17:41:10 -0800

your request is unfair. I have been out of town all week and am still out
of town.

my best,
Jeannette Porrazzo
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
www.formandstyle.com
"brown is the new black!"

~~~~~

PUBLISHER/"EDITOR-IN-CHIEF" RESPONDS TO WRITERSWEEKLY
(And she calls herself an editor?!)

Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:23:44 -0800
Subject: re: COMPLAINT about Form & Style / Water Lilly Publishing / Jeannette Porrazzo
From: jeannette@formandstyle.com

I think that this issue should be handled by myself, my attorney and has no
merit being published online. it is a legal matter pertaining to the company
and ms (M.) and should be delt with in a proper manner.
my response to this matter would be that I did send out a letter to all who
contributed say that they WILL be paid! and we are still in the start up
faise and looking for funding.

my best,
Jeannette Porrazzo
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
www.formandstyle.com
"brown is the new black!"

~~~~~

WRITERSWEEKLY RESPONDS

It is J.M.'s constitutional right to tell others her story.
And this information does need to be published because other
writers need to be made aware that you aren't paying your bills.
You shouldn't have hired writers when you didn't have the money
to pay them. Using a writer's work without payment is copyright
infringement, which is also a crime. Ignoring emails from someone
who is trying to collect past-due funds is unprofessional and unethical.

Sending a letter to contributors saying they will be paid doesn't
negate the fact that you have a contract with Ms. M. and you
are in violation of that contract and owe her the past-due amount
of $5579.00.

When can she expect payment?

Angela Hoy
WritersWeekly.com

[angelahoy]

From: J.M.
To: WritersWeekly
Subject: Fwd: re: Cervical Cancer Article

Hi Angela:

I let one of my sources know that I asked to have the
article taken down for non-payment when she asked for
some changes to be made to the article and this is
what I received from Ms. Porrazzo.

I have edited out the source's personal information to
protect her privacy.

Thank you,
J.M.

~~~~~

Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:59:15 -0800
Subject: re: Cervical Cancer Article
From: jeannette@formandstyle.com
To: J.M.

please STOP airing this matter of payment delay to
EVERYONE! I will not stand for this! this matter is
between me, my attorney and you. not the entire
world. you will be paid and I am activly seeking
investors. you've known that fact from the get-go.
and I have been strait with you! and honest.
if you keep dragging my good name in the mudd you
will regret it!

my best,
Jeannette Porrazzo
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
www.formandstyle.com
"brown is the new black!"

~~~~~

From: J.M.
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 3:19 PM
To: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Subject: Request for payment

Dear Jeannette:

Please stop making threats. Please let me know when,
per the agreement in my contract, I will be paid for
my work. I have an ethical obligation to my sources
to let them know I have requested that my work be
removed from your website because I have not been
compensated.

Thank you,
J.M.

~~~~~

--- jeannette@formandstyle.com wrote:

no actually you don't. you don't need to tell then
such things that, "I haven't been paid so..."
I sent you a letter almost 2 weeks ago letting you
know of the situation and I sent it to all the
contributors. and you are the only one making waves
and mistrusting that the magazine will be funded.
I'm working hard to ensure the success of the
magazine and that everyone who contributed to it
gets their due reward(compensation). and that is if
funded fully so it can go on to be a success for a
lifetime and not a one hit wonder.

I have an investors meeting on the 4th. and I'm not
giving up until it's funded. it takes a lot to raise
1m. I'm doing my best and partnering with another
publisher in town. you will get paid. I
promise you that.

my best,
Jeannette Porrazzo
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
www.formandstyle.com

~~~~~

From: J.M.
To: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Subject: re: Request for payment

Dear Jeannette,

Please let me know when I can expect my check.

Thank you,
J.M.

~~~~~

-- jeannette@formandstyle.com wrote:

as soon as a deal goes through I will notify each
and everyone who contributed.
what kind of champagne do you like?

my best,
Jeannette Porrazzo
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief
www.formandstyle.com
"brown is the new black!"

~~~~~

From: J.M.
To: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Subject: re: Request for payment

Dear Jeannette:

You are in violation of contract and you need to
remove my work from you website immediately and send a
check for my work. This is unethical, illegal and
unprofessional.

Thank you,
J.M.

[angelahoy]

March 30, 2006

Jeannette M. Porrazzo, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief -
jeannette@formandstyle.com
Water Lilly Publishing, LLC
FORM & STYLE Magazine / formandstyle.com
P.O. BOX 9832
Denver CO 80209
P(303)803-4847
F(303)777-7484

WritersWeekly.com has received ANOTHER complaint about:
FORM & STYLE Magazine / formandstyle.com / Water
Lilly Publishing, LLC / Jeannette M. Porrazzo

WritersWeekly.com is a publication that publishes information for and
about freelance writers. The publication is the largest-circulation
freelance writing ezine in the world.

As part of that information, WritersWeekly.com publishes a Warnings
section on its website and in its newsletter. This warning section
contains reports about publications that are unprofessional in dealing
with writers, have refused to pay writers money owed to them, who have
not
abided by their contracts, or who have unfair contract terms. These
reports are used by WritersWeekly.com's subscribers to decide which
publications they should and should not work with.

Your firm has been submitted to us for inclusion in the
WritersWeekly.com Whispers and Warnings section.

Step one of our investigation of this report is to gather all relevant
correspondence between your publication and the person submitting the
complaint so that we can piece together that person's side of the story.
Step one of our investigation has been completed.

N.S. (name removed for publication but was, of course, provided to
the publisher) alleges you owe her $5000.00. See allegations
under my signature.

-----------------
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
-----------------

The second step in our investigation is to send this communication to
your firm to get its side of the story. If you have evidence disputing
these
allegations, or would like to make your own statement about these
allegations for publication in our report, please email
angela@writersweekly.com within two business days.

***All correspondence for our investigations must be in writing and is
subject to publication.***

If there is no response to these allegations, WritersWeekly.com will
still publish this complaint, but our readers will not be able to read
your side of the story.

We appreciate your prompt response in this matter.

Angela Hoy
Publisher
WritersWeekly.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE COMPLAINT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject: form and style
Date sent: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 08:00:33 -0700
From: N.S.

Angela,

I worked for Form and Style for two months as its managing editor. The
publisher Jeanette Porazzo never paid me a dime for my work, published
my stories on the web without paying for them, and four months after
letting me go she still lists me on the web as her managing editor and
still uses my resume and bio in her business plan when she presents it
to investors.

She owes me exactly $5,000. She gave me a promissory note - signed in
front of her lawyer - for $3,500 of it.

N.S.

[angelahoy]

From: Angela Hoy
To: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Subject: ANOTHER COMPLAINT about FORM & STYLE Magazine

March 30, 2006

Jeannette M. Porrazzo, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief -
jeannette@formandstyle.com
Water Lilly Publishing, LLC
FORM & STYLE Magazine / formandstyle.com
P.O. BOX 9832
Denver CO 80209
P(303)803-4847
F(303)777-7484

WritersWeekly.com has received ANOTHER complaint about:
FORM & STYLE Magazine / formandstyle.com / Water
Lilly Publishing, LLC / Jeannette M. Porrazzo

WritersWeekly.com is a publication that publishes information for and
about freelance writers. The publication is the largest-circulation
freelance writing ezine in the world.

As part of that information, WritersWeekly.com publishes a Warnings
section on its website and in its newsletter. This warning section
contains reports about publications that are unprofessional in dealing
with writers, have refused to pay writers money owed to them, who have
not abided by their contracts, or who have unfair contract terms. These
reports are used by WritersWeekly.com's subscribers to decide which
publications they should and should not work with.

Your firm has been submitted to us for inclusion in the
WritersWeekly.com Whispers and Warnings section.

Step one of our investigation of this report is to gather all relevant
correspondence between your publication and the person submitting the
complaint so that we can piece together that person's side of the story.
Step one of our investigation has been completed.

N.S. (name removed for publication but was, of course, provided to
the publisher) alleges you owe her $5000.00. See allegations
under my signature.

-----------------
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
-----------------

The second step in our investigation is to send this communication to
your firm to get its side of the story. If you have evidence disputing
these allegations, or would like to make your own statement about these
allegations for publication in our report, please email
angela@writersweekly.com within two business days.

***All correspondence for our investigations must be in writing and is
subject to publication.***

If there is no response to these allegations, WritersWeekly.com will
still publish this complaint, but our readers will not be able to read
your side of the story.

We appreciate your prompt response in this matter.

Angela Hoy
Publisher
WritersWeekly.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE COMPLAINT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject: form and style
Date sent: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 08:00:33 -0700
From: N.S.

Angela,

I worked for Form and Style for two months as its managing editor. The
publisher Jeanette Porazzo never paid me a dime for my work, published
my stories on the web without paying for them, and four months after
letting me go she still lists me on the web as her managing editor and
still uses my resume and bio in her business plan when she presents it
to investors.

She owes me exactly $5,000. She gave me a promissory note - signed in
front of her lawyer - for $3,500 of it.

N.S.

~~~~~
PUBLISHER RESPONDS
~~~~~

The publisher has said she does not give permission for me to publish her email...so I'll paraphrase:

From: jeannette@formandstyle.com
To: Angela Hoy
Subject: cease and desist

First, the publisher seems to have a problem using capital letters. She rarely uses them, even at the beginning of sentences, and her email is laden with incomplete sentences.

She first says that N.S. was "fired" for many reasons. She then claims that most of N.S.'s statement is false. And she then says N.S. can't be trusted.

She then agrees that she owes N.S. $3500 and that she'll be paid once the magazine has been funded. (N.S. claims she's owed $5000.)

The publisher then claims N.S. tried to manipulate the magazine and the publisher and didn't share the same vision. She said N.S.'s demands were out of line that that she "disrespected" the pub's attorney during a meeting and that the contract was never signed nor agreed upon.

She then claims N.S.'s name is not on the business plan and blames N.S.'s byline still being on the website on her web designer.

She then says she once again doesn't believe this matter should "be brought out like this" and says that J.M. (the first writer above) "has forever ruined her chances of being fashion editor at Form & Style." (We found this statement humorous, to say the least. Who would want to continue working with a woman who has owed them thousands for this long?)

The publisher then asks why we don't publish the writer's name but we publish her cell phone. (That's the number we had and nowhere did it state it was a cell phone number. I've since replaced it above with the phone number on her website.).

She then says, "you will be getting a cease and desist order from my attorney shortly!"

While she's already admitted she owes both writers above thousands of dollars, she then says I don't have her permission to post her name, company name or contact info. on our website. I guess she needs to brush up on the U.S. constitution. If you owe people money and you don't pay them, it's their constitutional right to tell others about it.

She then closes with, "consider yourself warned."

~~~~~

J.M. (the first writer) Responds to Publisher's Comment Above

She wanted me to be fashion editor but I would not
agree to it or want her to say that I was (she said
she wanted to use my resume for her investors as well
and I did NOT want that to happen). I did give her a
short bio that was to be used in what I thought would
be a print publication. Again, I never should have
gotten involved with her. I am still mortified to be connected
with her in any way!!

-J.M.

[angelahoy]

Email received by WritersWeekly.com on 5/15/06:

From: Edward Salas - timecast - at - mindspring.com
Subject: Jeannette Porrazzo
Date sent: Sun, 14 May 2006 14:56:08 -0700

Dear Angela;

I came across a thread on Writers Weekly regarding Jeannette
Porrazzo, "Form and Style Magazine". I too have had a extremely
regretful experience with Ms. Porrazzo. After reading the writers'
comments and replies from Ms. Porrazzo, it is painfully apparent to
me that Ms. Porrazzo continues to maintain a complete lack of respect
for anyone, is horribly dishonest, and has no business integrity
whatsoever.

Ms. Porrazzo has posted images of our family wedding she
attended and photographed on April 15, 2006 to her wedding business
web site with no authorization, or model releases from any persons
appearing in the images. There are also minor children, ages 2 to 13
years appearing in the images. These postings without authorization
has quite understandably upset the parents of the minor children, and
they are seeking legal counsel to have the images removed.

Ms. Porrazzo photographed the wedding as part of a project she was
required to complete for her photojournalism class at Denver Metro
State College. Her project was funded by the college. Our family
agreed to allow Ms. Porrazzo to photograph the wedding for her school
project with the understanding that she would supply the pictures to
us in digital form on CD at no charge. We had already contracted a
professional photographer to 'shoot' the entire wedding and didn't
see any harm in allowing her to complete her school project. A week
after the wedding we received an email from Ms. Porrazzo stating that
the photos, resulting from her project funded by Denver Metro State
College, were now for sale at a per picture price and that she had
posted some of her "favorites" to her web site.

My family does not care to be publicly associated with Ms. Porrazzo
in any manner whatsoever, specifically for any advertising or public
endorsement of her, her services, 'Form and Style magazine, or "True
Beauty Photography."

I have respectfully asked Ms. Porrazzo on five occasions to remove
the images from her web site, and have stated my reasons, including
the extreme aggravation and concern of the parents of the minor
children. She arrogantly refuses to honor my request.

I have as of Friday, May 12, 2006 filed a compliant with Denver Metro
State College regarding her actions and have contacted her attorney.
I am presently awaiting replies from both.

If I can be of any assistance to you, and the unfortunate writers who
gave their time and talent to such a deceitful individual, please
feel free to contact me anytime.

Edward Salas, Timecast Productions
timecast - at - mindspring.com
http://www.timecastproductions.com

[angelahoy]

One of the victims above just sent us a link to Jeannette Porrazzo's blog. It's very, um, interesting. See:
http://blog.myspace.com/jeannetteporrazzo

[angelahoy]

EMAIL RECEIVED BY WRITERSWEEKLY ON 10/27/06:

From: Newwz@....
Subject: Whispers and Warnings: PLEASE POST
Date sent: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:23:37 EDT

Dear Angela:

Please post in your next Whispers that Form & Style Magazine does not pay,
even though they have writers sign a contract that states 25 cents per
word payment 60 days from publication.

The publisher, Jeannette Porrazzo, rounded up writers for the September
and October issues, which she put up on the Web site, and recently informed us
that she cannot pay us due to lack of subscriptions. This obstacle to payment
was never mentioned in the contract. There was no "We'll pay you unless..."
clause in the contract.

A lot of writers are fuming and steaming. What she might do is post
another ad for a whole new batch of unsuspecting writers, since none of her duped
current writers will write for her ever again.

I suspect this is what she's been doing all along---posting ads to
generate new writers every time she tells her working writers she can't pay them.
It's a cycle and this is how she gets quality writing for free.

Please post something major on your site about this.

Sincerely,

J

[angelahoy]

I just pulled this directly from the publisher's personal blog.

She wrote:

HIGHEST PRIORITY!:

Get a better job in the journalism field (currently delivering flowers, my magazine has gone bust (for now)).

The blog is here:
http://blog.myspace.com/jeannetteporrazzo

The post was made yesterday (10/31/06).

So, she admits her magazine has gone bust. But, this is the email she sent to her writers:

This memo is to inform all contributors that due to low magazine
subscription sales Water Lilly Publishing, LLC is unable at this time to
make any payments on contracted work.

The 200 subscription sales per month needed to break even didn¹t even
come close to the actual number of subscription sales.
Therefore Water Lilly is seeking further capital investments/ors.
I¹d like to thank everyone for your talented writings and patients given
this matter.

I would like to ask all of you for more time so that Water Lilly can pay
its debts and reestablish that Water Lilly has every intention of settling
it¹s debts when the funds to do so are made available through sales of the
magazine and further funding.

WritersWeekly.com wishes to remind all writers to avoid this woman!

[angelahoy]

PUBLISHER PULLS THE OLD "HER WORK WAS CRAP" EXCUSE.

From: Angela Hoy
To: jeannette@formandstyle.com
Subject: ANOTHER COMPLAINT about Form & Style / Jeannette Porrazzo
Date sent: Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:50:50 -0500

November 10, 2006

Jeannette M. Porrazzo, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief -
jeannette@formandstyle.com
Water Lilly Publishing, LLC
FORM & STYLE Magazine / formandstyle.com
P.O. BOX 9832
Denver CO 80209
P(303)803-4847
F(303)777-7484

WritersWeekly.com has received a ANOTHER COMPLAINT about:
FORM & STYLE Magazine / formandstyle.com /
Water Lilly Publishing, LLC / Jeannette M. Porrazzo /
http://blog.myspace.com/jeannetteporrazzo

WritersWeekly.com is a publication that publishes information for and
about freelance writers. The publication is the largest-circulation
freelance writing ezine in the world.

As part of that information, WritersWeekly.com publishes a Warnings
section on its website and in its newsletter. This warning section
contains reports about publications that are unprofessional in dealing
with writers, have refused to pay writers money owed to them, who have
not
abided by their contracts, or who have unfair contract terms. These
reports are used by WritersWeekly.com's subscribers to decide which
publications they should and should not work with.

Your firm has been submitted to us for inclusion in the
WritersWeekly.com Whispers and Warnings section.

Step one of our investigation of this report is to gather all relevant
correspondence between your publication and the person submitting the
complaint so that we can piece together that person's side of the story.
Step one of our investigation has been completed.

[GM] (name not published here but was, of course, provided to
the publisher) alleges you owe her $390.00. See
complete allegation under my signature.

-----------------
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
-----------------

The second step in our investigation is to send this communication to
your firm to get its side of the story. If you have evidence disputing
these allegations, or would like to make your own statement about these
allegations for publication in our report, please email
angela@writersweekly.com within two business days.

***All correspondence for our investigations must be in writing and is
subject to publication.***

If you do owe this person money, we strongly suggest you read
this article before responding:
http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/003628_09132006.
html

Our report on your firm is scheduled for inclusion in our publication
next Wednesday.

If there is no response to these allegations, WritersWeekly.com will
still publish this complaint, but our readers will not be able to read
your side of the story.

We appreciate your prompt response in this matter.

Angela Hoy
Publisher
WritersWeekly.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE COMPLAINT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: [GM]
To: Angela Hoy
Subject: Jeannette Porrazzo
Date sent: Thu, 9 Nov 2006 17:54:34 -0700

Hi Angela,

Jeannette Porrazzo (JP) of Form & Style Magazine (Water Lilly
Publishing) has generated a number of complaints on the WritersWeekly.com site due to
her non-payment of writers and editors. I, too, have a JP story.

In early July 2006 I noticed an ad on your site for a copy editor for
Form & Style Magazine. I checked the magazine's website and was impressed by
a photo of the very professional looking cover (think Cosmo, Glamour).
Perusing the remainder of the site, however, was a lesson in
what-not-to-do when trying to get a business off the ground. JP stated
on the site that she was actively seeking investors for the magazine (turns
out the cover was just a mock-up; the magazine was online, not on
newsstands, and of inferior quality in many ways) and that she has a
master's degree in journalism. Having stated those two things, she had
then created a site that was an absolute train wreck, filled with
spelling/grammar/structure errors (master's from what university, I
wonder?). Know-it-all that I am, I sent a polite email pointing out
that she would never attract investors for her magazine with such an
error-riddled website and that she should hire a proofreader. JP
responded that she was looking for a copy editor, why didn't I apply? I
replied that I did not meet the criteria the ad mentioned (several years
experience and a degree in journalism). That was my last contact with
her until August 27, 2006.

At mid-morning of that day (a Sunday) JP e-mailed from London, asking me
to proofread 14 articles @ $30 each ($420 to be paid in 60 days) and she
had to have them back by 11AM (my time) the next day. The problem for
me was that at the exact time I opened her email, my husband and I were in
the midst of gathering and packing gear (not a quick job) for a tent
camping trip in Yellowstone NP, for which we were leaving VERY early the
next morning. I discussed it with my husband and we decided that it was
decent pay, it was something to add to my writing resume and it was an
opportunity to get my foot in the door for subsequent proofing jobs so,
therefore, my husband agreed to take care of amassing and loading all
the gear and food. I could do my personal packing--including clothes for an
out-of-state wedding we'd be attending en route home from the camping
trip--after finishing the proofing. JP was made aware of what was going
on at my house and the time crunch under which I was working but I
assured her the work would get done.

There was some rapid faxing of contracts (I specified that I'd be
responsible for spelling and grammar, but not fact checking) and tax
forms. The articles were emailed and I went to work. Nothing is ever
as easy as you think it will be and that was the case with the F & S
articles. Two of the articles were nearly perfectly written and
required little of my time. The others, however, were another story. Although
my contract was for 'spelling and grammar' only, it felt impossible to do
just those two things when sentence structure was so abysmal, so I began
to fix all that, too--and there was a lot to fix. I began to see a very
late night in my future but I kept plugging away. At 10PM my husband
stuck his head into the room where I was working and announced, "You may
not get paid for this." When I asked why, he said I should look at what
he'd found on his office computer. He'd Googled JP and several negative
things had come up, including some things from WritersWeekly.com--complaints from
a couple of people who were owed money, among others. One mentioned a
letter she'd received from JP stating that F & S was not profitable, she
could not pay the money she owed writers/editors but everyone certainly
would be paid when the financial situation improved. At that point I
was disheartened, exhausted, still needed to pack and wanted to quit but,
since I'd signed an agreement, I decided I'd give JP the benefit of the
doubt and see it through to completion. I finally finished the work at
1 or 1:30 AM, threw some things into a duffle and went to bed. After a
few hours of sleep, I was up to finish packing, email the articles to JP,
jump in the van and hit the road.

After 5 days in a tent, we traveled on to the wedding. We stayed in a
hotel that had wireless internet, allowing me to use my laptop for the
first time since leaving home. I'd been a little nervous, wondering if
the articles I'd emailed had actually reached JP (you know how
cyberspace can be). I was expecting acknowledgement of receipt and at least a word
of thanks for my effort but there wasn't a single email from JP (good
news in the sense that, obviously, the articles had arrived). Later that day
an email with a minor criticism came through. You're welcome,
Jeannette.

I waited patiently for 62 days from the date of the submission, then
emailed JP to remind her that my payment was late. Without any
additional explanation she emailed to me the same letter as mentioned by your
respondent: no money, seeking investors, everyone will be paid. Yeah,
right. Interestingly, despite being identical to the letter received by
your respondent, it was dated just 2 days before I received it. Perhaps
she adjusts the date to make it appear to the recipient that this
financial downturn is a recent occurrence. If the letter had been dated
before the date of my contract, I suppose that could/would be viewed as
fraud.

The chaos of the day prevented my thinking of checking Google before
signing the contract--wish I had. Don't know why I didn't cease the
work after the 10PM discovery of bad faith--too ethical and true to my word,
I guess.

Lessons I've learned? It pays to do a little detective work before
jumping into any job and never, ever work for Jeannette Porrazzo/Water
Lilly Publishing. Non-payment for work completed is, simply, stealing.
And, we all know (except, perhaps, Jeannette) that we shalt not.

Your weekly newsletter is the best! Thank you, Angela, for being an
advocate for writers--we need you.

Warm regards,

[GM]

EMAILS EXCHANGED BETWEEN PUBLISHER AND WRITER AFTER WORK SUBMITTED

Angela,

This e-mail contains the only semblance of criticism I have received from
Jeannette, until a few days ago. She says, "some peoples (sic)
comments...." but, as far as I can tell, the comments are from just one
person (who I hope didn't sign the new contract she mentions).

Thanks,

[GM]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeannette Porrazzo" jeannette@formandstyle.com
To: [GM]
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 9:39 AM
Subject: FW: correction & contract

Some peoples comments about the editing/proofreading...

-Jeannette

------ Forwarded Message
From: Jennifer
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2006 08:50:33 +0000
To: <jeannette@formandstyle.com>
Subject: correction & contract

Hi Jeannette,

I was just reviewing the site and noticed that when I mentioned
America's Next Top Model in my piece, it wasn't italiczied. I also noticed that
the states weren't abbreviated (CA vs California, etc), but in other
articles, they were (see Jennifer Coleman's piece and Summer Moore's piece on
+-size pagaents). I just thought you might want to change it for consistency's
sake -- just responding to your request to let you know if I notice
anything.

I also wanted to know what to do about a new contract (where I should
send/fax it). Please let me know when you have a moment. Hope all's
well.

-Jennifer


On 10/31/06 12:15 PM, [GM] wrote:


Jeannette,

Perhaps you will recall that I proofed 13 articles for Form & Style
which were submitted to you via the Internet on August 28, 2006. Our
contract agreement was that I would receive payment in the amount of $390
(13 X $30) within 60 days of your receiving the completed work. I realize
it is now only two days past the date the payment was due but it is late,
nevertheless, and I would like to know when I might expect payment as
specified in our contract.

Respectfully,
[GM]


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


PUBLISHER RESPONDS

From: Jeannette Porrazzo <jeannette@formandstyle.com>
To: Angela Hoy
Subject: Re: ANOTHER COMPLAINT about Form & Style / Jeannette Porrazzo
Date sent: Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:15:14 -0700


Her work was crap and I was very disappointed!


PUBLISHER RESPONDS AGAIN

From: Jeannette Porrazzo <jeannette@formandstyle.com>
To: Angela Hoy
Subject: Re: ANOTHER COMPLAINT about Form & Style / Jeannette Porrazzo
Date sent: Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:17:05 -0700


She didn't edit using the AP handbook and I had to re-edited every
single article. I don't even think she knows what an AP handbook is!



WRITER RESPONDS

From: [GM]
Subject: Rewrite of Porrazzo Rebuttal
Date sent: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 22:28:14 -0700

Jeannette,

Our contractual agreement of August 26, 2006 stipulates that I be paid a
total of $390 for proofreading 13 articles that you intended to publish
(and have since done) in your online magazine, Form & Style. I have yet
to receive payment, which was due October 27, 2006. Now, I read that you
feel I did an inadequate job of proofreading the articles. I am surprised
that you are unhappy with my work, since you have never before made
mention of that fact. You have never before indicated that my work does
not merit payment. In fact, in your e-mail to me dated October 31, 2006,
you thanked me for my 'talented contributions to Form and Style' and asked
for my patience in allowing you more time to settle your debts.

This is an e-mail message, in its entirety, that you sent to me on
September 5, 2006, nine days after I submitted the corrected articles to
you:

<i>"Yes. I always prefer AP style. Have you looked at the magazine?
The issue? You have to register. Yes I agree we should of (sic) had
better communication, and I assumed as well on my part. We'll get it
strait (sic) next time. I'm still in London, getting a teaching job here
while working on the magazine....gotta stay busy." </i>

The above e-mail does not give the impression that you were displeased
with my work and, in fact, indicates that we will work together again in
the future.

Although I was given a very small window of time--just a matter of
hours--in which to complete the assignment, I feel confident that my work
was far more than adequate.

I am disappointed that you hired me with no intention of honoring our
contract.

With regret,

[GM]

[angelahoy]

If you are owed money by Form & Style / Jeannette M. Porrazzo -

You can file a police report online in Denver, Colorado here:

http://www.denvergov.org/policereport/PoliceReport1.asp

You can contact the Colorado Attorney General here:

Attorney General
1525 Sherman St.
5th floor
Denver, CO 80203
(303)866-4500
FAX: (303)866-5691
Attorney General - attorney.general@state.co.us
Consumer Protection - stop.fraud@state.co.us

You can contact the Denver, CO Better Business Bureau by filing a complaint online
here:

https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/complaintlink.aspx

First fill out the form above and then contact this individual:
agomez - at - denverbbb.org
Alan Gomez
Denver/Boulder BBB

Jeannette Porrazzo's attorney is:

Wanda J. Abel
Davis, Graham & Stubbs
http://www.dgslaw.com

[angelahoy]

EMAIL RECEIVED AT WRITERSWEEKLY ON 11/15/06:

I'd like to go on record as stating that Jeannette Porrazzo has dealt
me with in a completely professional manner, from obtaining a very
solid contract (written by Wanda Abel of Davis, Graham & Stubbs of
Denver, CO - http://www.dgslaw.com/ ) to staying in contact with me
even during a family disaster (her father's recent heart attack) and
travel. She's been detailed and thorough in her communications and
answered my questions promptly and concisely. At no time did she
dissemble or misrepresent the project in any way, shape or form. All
parts of the contractual agreement were held to and I feel I have
been dealt with honestly. My contract very specifically stated that
my payment was contingent on the site's profitability, a calculated
risk on my part. Since I am currently unemployed, I cannot continue
to support the enterprise and have ended the contract per specific
terms of the agreement. Jeannette was polite and supportive at all
times during that negotiation. I have agreed to continue helping her
as my time permits. I think the magazine itself is a great idea and
the content superb. As for others, I cannot say, not being privvy to
their contracts, but for my part, I have no complaints and would be
delighted to see Jeannette carry on with this endeavor, hopefully
taking it one day to profitability.

Doug Wray

[angelahoy]

EMAIL RECEIVED BY WRITERSWEEKLY ON 11/15/06:
Hi Angela:

I was saddened to see that Mr. Wray would support an
unethical and unprofessional person. After teaching
university courses on business ethics, hosting panels
on communication in the corporate world, not to
mention courses on feminism and philsophy, I would
imagine that someone who sees that she not paid
writers thousands of dollars owed would also have
the moral fiber and character to sympathize with
writers (not to mention the man whose *family* photos
she used for her own profit!!) who have been
taken advantage of. As can everyone else, I can
provide a signed copy of my contract that states I
should have been paid 30 days after she used my work.

As her web guru, I wish he had the moral fortitude to
take a stand and refuse to post the work she has not
paid for.

As just one of the many who haven't been paid, I am
deeply saddened that Mr. Wray would fail to see the
reckless abandon and lack of character on her part and
I know that I would never want my name associated with
someone of her caliber.

Nowhere in my contract does it state that payment is contingent upon
generating 200 subscriptions per month, or securing investors, or anything
of that sort. My contract simply states I will get paid 60 days from publication.
PERIOD.

Jeannette owes a lot of writers money. PERIOD. A contract is a contract.
The one I signed and she signed is simple and to the point. Nothing is open to
interpretation. I urge all visitors to this thread to not allow themselves
to be swayed by Doug's letter. He did not write for Jeannette. He did something
having to do with Web maintenance. Thus, his contract, not surprisingly,
is different from the rest of ours.

J

[angelahoy]

EMAIL RECEIVED BY WRITERSWEEKLY ON 11/19/06:

I am in complete agreement with J's response to Doug Wray's support of
Jeannette Porrazzo (JP). I have had some e-mail exchanges with Mr. Wray
and my impression is that he is a pleasant fellow who seems to be aware of
and sympathetic to JP's struggles. He admitted to me, as he stated in his
message on this thread, that he has been paid nothing and he and JP have
some sort of "deal," whereby his payment is contingent upon the
profitability of the magazine. Well, the rest of us did NOT have such an
agreement. Our contracts stated that we would be paid a specific amount
on a specific date and that has not happened.

Mr. Wray has every right to put forth his experience with JP but, let's
face it, he has had no problem with her not paying him because, well,
money has not entered into the equation. Duh! It is easier to feel a bit
warm and fuzzy about someone if you haven't been stiffed by that person.
So, Mr. Wray, it is nice that you're happy with JP, and that you are
willing to give away your time, but you're not in the same boat with the
rest of us. We were all counting on real paychecks, not imaginary ones.
You're a smart guy, Mr. Wray. Why can't you see that JP's pattern of
hiring writers (by SIGNED CONTRACT), publishing their work, not paying
them, gathering another group of unsuspecting writers, hiring them by
contract, publishing and not paying--despite how grandly JP treats you--is
nothing short of theft? It all smacks of a complete lack of morality,
ethics and professionalism. Her word, to put it simply, means nothing.
Isn't her behavior comparable to hiring a painter to paint the entire
interior of your house and then saying to the painter, "Oops! I don't
have any money right now and don't know when I will, but I'll pay you when
I get some?" Do not dismiss our concerns and do not excuse JP's criminal
behavior in her dealings with those of us who are owed money just because
you feel you have been treated fairly. Please note that you are the ONLY
ONE who has anything positive to say about JP. Surely you see all those
red flags right before your eyes.

I find it interesting to read that JP's attorney is with the Denver law
firm, Davis, Graham & Stubbs, arguably one of the three top--and most
expensive--firms in the city. She can't pay her writers/editors but hires
(very) expensive legal counsel. Hmmmm.

Yes, JP must be stopped, once and for all. Have any others of you, as I
have, considered small claims court?

GM

[angelahoy]

This so-called publisher is looking for a babysitting job (shudder!) and a place to live! Oh my gosh!!!

http://denver.craigslist.org/sha/275169520.html