Tuesday, August 9, 2016

US Publishers Still Afraid to Publish a Truthful Book about Madeleine McCann


I wanted to update everyone on the situation concerning publishing books about Madeleine McCann. After the recent court victory of Goncalo Amaral against the McCanns and the return of his book about the case of missing Madeleine McCann to the Portuguese market, many of us thought there was a sliver of hope that freedom of speech on the case might be making progress. Although I certainly had my doubts that any book unsupported by the McCanns would find a publisher, my agent thought otherwise and she decided to take my book proposal out of mothballs and see if she could drum up interest. She put together the following pre-proposal query (based on my book proposal concept) and went out to the publishers. Here is what she sent and below the query is the result which I think all of you will find interesting. Names have been removed as I am not here to out the publishing industry; I just want to share with everyone the state of affairs with regards to publishing the story of Madeleine McCann in the English speaking world.


A Pre-Proposal Query

WHERE IS MADELEINE MCCANN?

                                      A Criminal Profiler Takes On the World’s 
                         Most Baffling Disappearance

                                                                   by
                                                            Pat Brown
  

WHERE IS MADELEINE MCCANN?
A Criminal Profiler Takes on the World’s Most Baffling Disappearance
By
Pat Brown

Overview

            The disappearance of little Madeleine McCann has become the most fascinating missing childcase since the abduction of the Lindbergh baby. In fact, over 2 million visitors have followed its progress in 2016 alone via the “The Complete Mystery of Madeleine McCann website.
This nine-year cold case continues to be an obsession with people around the world – profilers, bloggers, journalists, FaceBookers, Tweeters, and citizens of many countries,especially England, Portugal, and the United States. 
Gerry and Kate McCann were not your average parents of a missing child. They were both medical doctors, as were most of their seven friends (often called the Tapas Seven) who vacationed with them in Praia da Luz, Portugal from where Madeleine disappeared just short of her fourth birthday. Six of these well-educated doctors, including the McCanns, left their children unattended in their vacation apartments for five evenings straight, out of eyeshot andearshot, while they wined and dined in a nearby Tapas restaurant
On the fateful night of May 3, 2007, 3-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bed, and by morning the McCanns were claiming she had been abducted. They and their family and friends called in the international media, but despite the parents’ neglect of their children,which may have contributed to the disappearance of their daughter, the British government offered its support, including diplomatic assistance and the intervention of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. 
When no proof of an abduction surfaced, cadaver dogs hit on the area behind the sofa in the McCanns’ vacation apartment, and the Portuguese police found the statements of the parents and their friends to be conflicting and deceptive. Both of Madeleine’s parents were made arguidos (suspects), but mother Kate McCann refused to answer any of the 48 questions put to her. Shortly after, the McCanns left the country and the case was shelved by the Portuguese police for reasons unknown.
At this point, the McCanns mounted a high-profile publicity offensive in the media,including appearances on Piers Morgan and OprahThey created a private Find Madeleinefund, which brought in four million dollars in donations to be used in any way they wished. Some of it paid for their mortgage, travel, and high profile attorneys. In 2008, Kate McCann wrote a book called Madeleine, which (along with a serialization in a top British newspaper) earned the McCanns another million plus.
With their publicity campaign in full swing, the McCanns sued or threatened to sue a number of people who had dared to speak up about the case and suggest that the McCanns may have been involved. Blog sites were shut down, promises to cease and desist were obtained, and free speech was muzzled. The McCanns sued the detective on the case, Gonçalo Amaral, for one and a half million dollars and got an injunction in 2009 against his book, Truth of the LieIt had become a bestselling Portuguese analysis of the police case (which had sold 180,000 copies in Portugal alone) and of his documentary DVD on the caseIn 2016, however, Gonçalo Amaralwon his appeal, and his book and DVD were returned to the market.
In 2011, American criminal profiler Pat Brown self-published her analysis of the case in a 32-page mini-book on Amazon. Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann vanishedafter five weeks of high sales and nearly 50 five-star reviews. Amazon informed Ms. Brown that Carter-Ruck, the McCann’s libel solicitors, had warned them of impending legal action if the book was not removed from the market. They caved and Brown’s book was taken out of all Amazon online stores worldwide.
As of this date, the 2013 Scotland Yard review ordered by the British government to solve the Portuguese case of missing Madeleine McCann (a very unusual action to be taken by the UK in a case that was not even their own) has cost British taxpayers more than twelve million dollars. Scotland Yard now states that they only have one line of inquiry left to wrap up (and it is not about the McCanns). Then, they will shelve the case with their final conclusions. The Portuguese will also likely re-shelve the case when Scotland Yard pulls out.
Pat Brown has profiled this case extensively over the last seven years and investigated it in person in Praia da Luz, PortugalIn addition to her mini-book, Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, she has written dozens of blog posts on the case at The Daily ProfilerBrown will bring out new information in the Madeleine McCann case; the evidence, the analysis, the profile, the players, the politics, and the corruption, and penetrate the international mystery that still surrounds the most confounding missing child case in history.
Pat Brown is an American criminal profiler, author of seven books and a crime commentator (seen more than 3000 times with regular appearances on Nancy Grace, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Dr. Drew, Anderson, Inside Edition, The Today Show, The Early Show, Wolf Blitzer, Larry King, Dr. Phil, Montel Williams, Bill O’Reilly, etc.).


WHERE IS MADELEINE MCCANN?
               Table of Contents

Chapter One: The Case of Madeleine McCann: Not Just Another Missing Child
Chapter Two: The Perplexing ParentsBizarre Behaviors and Strange Bedfellows
Chapter Three: Marketing Maddie: The Tot Heard Round the World
Chapter Four: The Worst PIs Money Can Buy: Crooks and Conmen
Chapter Five: Those Dastardly Dogs: Damning Evidence or Canines Gone Wrong?
Chapter Six: The Tide Turns: The Crucification of the McCanns on the Internet
Chapter SevenThe Hired Guns of the McCanns: Silencing the Experts 
Chapter Seven: The Strange Charade of Scotland Yard: Millions of Pounds SpentZero ResultsAchieved
Chapter Eight: Criminal Profiler Pat Brown’s Analysis of Madeleine McCann’s Disappearance 

Below is an example of the responses from the publishers. 


We are intrigued, but I don't think this one is quite right for our list. As the case is not concluded, and as the McCann's are more litigious than most, I don't think we have the infrastructure to handle a book like this one. Frankly, without the full-time in-house legal team for the vetting this would need, it's a costly proposal. 

Alas, afraid I'm taking the coward's position on this one, but I wish you and Ms. Brown great success in finding the perfect publishing home for it, and I thank you for thinking of us.

------------------

It is a sad situation that the McCanns have so cowed publishers that they are afraid to take a chance on a story that is as a big as this one. There still may be someone out there in the publishing world my agent hasn't contacted who might be willing to give such a book a shot, but I strongly doubt we will see anyone be brave enough until the case is long closed or the McCanns are out of the picture.

Criminal Profiler Pat Brown
August 9, 2016

Cover for 'Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann'
Rating: 1 star1 star1 star1 star1 star
Published: July 27, 2011

What really happened to Madeleine Beth McCann in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007? Was she abducted as the Gerry and Kate have claimed or did something happen to Madeleine on May 3 in the vacation apartment and the incident covered up? Criminal Profiler Pat Brown analyzes the evidence and takes the readers through the steps of profiling, developing a theory that is intriguing and controversial.



26 comments:

Pat Brown said...

Comment has been removed due to insulting comment about Goncalo Amaral. Please do not post ad hominem attacks and be polite.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat, I enjoy reading your blogs on this case and i think it's so unfair the McCann's can have their books published giving their version of events, but we the public are prevented from reading anyone else's work. What have they got to hide if they're speaking the truth!! why would they even care that other people have a different opinion to their own? and why would they need to keep changing their stories, if they were being truthful,I know what I and thousands of others think!! I hope one day your book, and Sr Amaral's books will be allowed to be sold over here.And they say crime doesn't pay, it has in this case.

Thank you for allowing me comment here, as I don't belong to any groups but just read the information on various blogs and comment there.

Take care B

TNH said...

Hi Pat, I am involved on a couple of forums discussing the disappearance of Madeleine and hoping upon hope that she recieves the justice she so deserves. Señor Amaral's English translation of the book, Truth Of The Lie, has been widely shared with his permission via the Internet and forums. Would you consider doing this? Obviously Señor Amaral loses his royalties when shared in this way, but his concern was about getting Maddie's disappearance and the truth of the investigation out there. I am sure you would find many, many people interested in reading your book.

Regards, Tracey

Pat Brown said...

To the person whose comment has now been twice removed; the first comment included two ad hominem attacks. Your second comment was more polite but insulting me on my own blog is rather rude. Finally, I have looked at what you have written about the case and I do not find your conclusions valid or scientific and so I could say the same thing on your own blog but I think that would be impolite. The discussion here is about publishing and is not a place to link to your work nor insult mine. Please refrain from commenting again.

Pat Brown said...

B and Tracey,

The McCanns simply wield powerful attorneys and that have a large amount of money at their disposal. For this reason, they have enough power to discourage publishers from taking the risk of publishing any account that would displease them. It is unfair, but it is not illegal. When Amazon pulled my book, they did so because it was poor business to allow it to continue on sale. They didn't think the gain from sales was worth the risk of a lawsuit, regardless of whether the lawsuit would be successful or not; it is the litigation that eats up all your money.

As to my book, it is still available on B&N and Smashwords, places the McCanns probably aren't that worried about because the sales generated off those sites are minuscule compared to Amazon, the big dog these days. I DO have many blogs with a lot of analysis on them on this blog, so you can certainly lean a lot from them. The McCanns have not threaten me with a lawsuit over the blogs because I think their impact is not as huge as a published book and they also probably realize I WILL go to court against them in the US and my chances of winning are high here in this country due to our libel laws being of the kind that would make it more difficult for the McCanns to succeed in court here than in the UK.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat, I believe publishers will come begging for your work and others when or if Mr Amaral wins the final (whenever that may be ) appeal.in one of the earlier hearings part of mccanns defence was that thousands of people had read the book and seen the documentary which in turn hindered the "search" they were asked iirc to prove their claims and couldn't .My question now is that with boasts coming from forums and certain documentary makers of hits/ readers/ viewers of over 2 million are these figures going to be of immense assistance to the mccanns in any future legal case ?

Pat Brown said...

To the person I asked to not comment; please respect my decision and do not force me to have to moderate comments on this board.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your reply Pat It's much appreciated.Lets hope some of the Celebratory's that supported them in the beginning realise all was not what it seemed, and they were taken for fools!! Whoever their enablers are they should hang their heads in shame, that poor innocent child it really makes me so sad that Madeleine is prevented from getting justice because money can buy wrongdoers their freedom.

As there's no proof Madeleine was abducted that fund should be frozen, as they may need to use that to defend themselves at a later date, I doubt very much that she will resurface any time soon, sadly.:(

Goodnight B

Pat Brown said...

Because of a guy who is obnoxious and has no manners and refuses to stop commenting as asked, he has forced me to moderate all the comments. I guess he thinks he is the only one that matters. I also had to block him from Twitter for the same reason. I will do my best to get to your comments as soon as I can so I can post them. Unfortunately, the Internet has many disrespectful and personality disordered people on it and this makes it difficult for the rest of us who are trying to be civil.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat

Amazon are now selling this book

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Truth-Out-There-Madeleine-ebook/dp/B01GG1HY4Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470647331&sr=1-3&keywords=madeleine+mccann. Its a very good read.

So why would they not sell yours?

Pat Brown said...

Anon 10:52

This is a self-published book which, at the moment, the McCanns are not overly worried about. They may indeed to action against the book if they see it does well, but the author is not a well-known professional nor is their a big publisher behind the book. The McCanns are not worried about another bunch of information being regenerated on the Internet (there are many blogs and books already on the Internet); they are worried about a book being put out that is written by a high profile author and hitting all the bookstore shelves.

Pat Brown said...

Also, Anon, Amazon did sell my book until the McCanns and their libel lawyers, Carter-Ruck threatened them and my book was removed from the market.

Anonymous said...

HI pat, no book can hamper a search, it keeps the child in question in the publics mind. Its normaly the details of how a child can vannish that impose the question of doubts, that are formerly the problem with a case like one presents? Books have been banned before, like the infamous satanic rituals, only giving in after the author was threatend with death threats, and now seeing that extreme threaten others in its own irony tale? So banning books serves no purpose in its own irony. Ask yourself why neither party were invited to discuss this in detail with the offended party, before any action is taken? It certainly looks like their triggerd over something, before its been discussed, or debated by invitation? My only guess why you wasnt hired to help the maccans, your not bent?

Anonymous said...

HI pat, i think there is alot of confusion, over the information, your book illistrates alot more, than the media dare print, or even touch upon, without camp lawsuit being obssessed in the order your book correctly follows what was put out by the maccans themselves? In effect its the maccans that have mislead the books that have been written about the case, since their stories only changed to take out lawsuits? In changing the content of any book, amounts to cohersive fraud? What do you think?

Anonymous said...

HI pat, there is a growing problem in narcasistic polatics, is now very obvious and getting more corrupt by the day, dangerous to challenge once the narcasistic personality has power, its very dificult, when media no longer has the freedom to point this out, because the internet dosent weild influence, like the narcasistic tabloids do, who no longer represent those they destroye in bihest, or dont conform to the new world tag, dont do as i do, but do as i say? You are genuine, and this is getting rare to find, and becomming eroded, and why i stopped reading news papers, to rethink how much garbage makes people depressed? Basic mental clear out to see what is going on, to have that space to stand back, and see that chaos, and question its existence, and what its doing to decent people, to call others nutters ect? Most normal people want honesty, and they know the tabloids dont deliver that quality i once put faith in.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for keeping us in the loop!

We very much look forward to reading that book! If your analyses of the case (so far) are anything to go by, this is destined to be THE definitive work on the case. Kate McCann will hate you for that but that's life in a modern free world!

Incidentally, will you be writing this with G. Amaral? I vaguely remember you suggesting it at some stage. That might give the book an added dimension and no doubt Amaral would very much love to work with you on this - if invited. Just an hunch!

Skipping through the provisory table of contents it might be worth the time and research to examine the role played by Clarence Mitchell - affectuously known among some of his British colleagues as "Mickey Mouse" - in "Marketing Maddie" ... be it from within the British government (as a media monitor) or afterwards as a PR and "reputation manager" for companies he worked for in tandem with the McCanns' - one of them you might remember was Freud Communications ... Matthew Freud married with Elizabeth Murdoch ... daughter of the media mogul himself ...thus perhaps the connection with Rebekha Brooks - at the time the Sun newspaper editor and married with Charlie Brooks - David Cameron's old chum from Eton... it was after that front-page "open letter" from the McCanns' in her paper that Scotland Yard was brought on stage to "teach the Portuguese how to conduct a proper investigation" and in the process become involved in the reputation management of the McCanns'.

Oh! And then you have the other coincidence of Clarence Mitchell being an MP (kind of senator) candidate for David Cameron's Conservative party! Small world!

To my knowledge one Portuguese writer (journalist) has attempted this, but then fell sick and gave up or lost interest. The book was tentatively titled "The McCanns' War" but I digress.

I suppose once the Portuguese Supreme Court sees through the McCanns' expensive legal gambits - which in my humble opinion, are nothing but sophisticated "reputation management" gambits which places the reputation of Portuguese Constitution at the heart of the matter - gives more weight to the children of Gonçalo Amaral if need be - and in the process exonerates him once and for all ... then he will have "carte blanche" to write and/or cooperate with you in that book!

Particularly bearing in mind the European Court takes years to address any case - I understand Tony Bennett remains carter-rucked and waiting for justice - which means that by then, Britain will be out of the European Union and without access to it.

In other words, the McCanns' will no longer be able to use the legal system for their own ends - in spite of the merit their shenanigans may or may not have.

One thing is for sure! As you aptly pointed out, the couple did, in a practical sense, abandon their children to their fate and from there and then on any conceivable theory was possible - including the one first suggested by G. Amaral and the Portuguese Police - and indeed you! Occam's Razor at its best (...)

I am sure if American publishers (surprise! surprise!) are afraid to take on the book Portuguese publishers might take it! Even in English! Assuming the Supreme Court sentence is unbiased and favourable to Dr. Amaral that is!

Keep up the good work! As Lord Guinness used to say (did he?)
; ) "Good things come to those who wait"

Anonymous said...

Its the Ramsey case all over. Rich, nrcissistic parents with no concern for their children, but much concern over the truth exposing them. So effective at control through bullying, they are above the law and our rights are suppressed.

Unknown said...

Hi Pat! I just wanted to say you should really self-publish your book! I do this for a living (I write a fiction genre). You can publish at Amazon (called KDP), Nookpress (which is Barnes and Noble), iTunes (or iBooks), and so on. You can have an audiobook made through Amazon's Audible program and you can have a paperback done through Amazon's Createspace site which would be available on their website. I know I'd buy it!

Katprint said...

Unfortunately, the libel/slander laws in the UK are very different from those in the US. In the US, the person claiming to have been libeled/slandered bears the burden of proving that the statements were false. In the UK, the defendant accused of libel/slander bears the burden of proving that the statements were true. Also, in the US, each side has to pay for their own attorneys fees but in the UK, the loser must pay the winner's attorneys fees. So, if the plaintiff spends $1 million in attorneys fees to win an award of $1 in actual damages, the defendant must pay the $1 million attorneys fees as well as the $1 in damages. IMO this ridiculously hamstrings the "marketplace of ideas" and if I were King of the World I wouldn't allow it.

pilchard said...

Bought profile from smashwords... Very interesting. Not quite sure I fully understand the significance of the sofa. Why is it proposed that madeline fell behind the sofa and what was the proposed cause of death.. Also just to be devil's advocate what sort of key do the apartments have electronic or traditional? Could a predator have seen the children during the week and somehow got hold of a key? Doesn't obviously explain why the mcmann's changed their story. Has anyone ever asked them why their story kept changing? Also how after death would a body have to lie before leaving a scent trail and how long would that scent last once the body was removed?

Pat Brown said...

Pilchard,

The dogs hit on the space behind the sofa which means there had to be a body there (If you believe the dogs are accurate). For the body of Madeleine to be there means she must have fallen behind the sofa because no one is going to hide a body behind the sofa...that makes no sense. And because the only way her body would have ended up behind the sofa would be due to an accident, then that is what it is (along with all the other evidence. As I always say, it is not one thing, but the totality of the evidence that tells the story.

There IS no predator, period. Not one shred of evidence supports this and all the evidence supports an accident and a coverup.

Pensive said...

Hi Pat, could you sell your book as a PDF document - so we could read it while it stayed under the radar?

Pat Brown said...

I already have for sale Profile of the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble and you can read updates after that on the blog. This new book, which looks into not only the case but all the shenanigans surrounding it would take a tremendous amount of effort and, quite frankly, isn't worth the work without the support of a major publisher.

Anonymous said...

I wonder, have you read the book series, DOUBT: The Madeleine McCann Mystery by Nick van der Leek and Lisa Wilson?

Whilst only on kindle, it is still a bestseller on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06ZYP2BMN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_U2sczbDF1R7XN

When you search Goncala Amaral it is the first book listed. Also, when you search Madeleine McCann, it is the second book listed.

As a side, the authors have also done a radio interview: https://youtu.be/_JjAX19YzU8

Pat Brown said...

Anon 2:47

Yes, I read the first book and returned it within the hour because I thought it was convoluted and bizarre. It IS selling well but, personally, I can't recommend it because it is ridiculously expensive - three parts at a high price for each part. My book of facts is available for $2.99 for the full book and I have over 60 blogs available for free. The reason this book is still on Amazon is because the McCanns either don't think it is a threat because of its content or they are just out of libeling steam. My book is still blocked by Amazon. While this book isn't my cup of tea and I find its analysis off the mark, anyone is free to publish any book he wants and the readers have a right to choose what they want to buy.

Anonymous said...

The Kobo store also sell your book on download. I take my hat off to your careful and well reasoned conclusions. I also challenge anyone accusing you of 'money making' as it was the cheapest eBook I've ever purchased.