Please Don’t Feed the Writer

Getting writing jobs is a whole lot simpler to do if you are known for your work.  While there are no shortcuts to gaining a reputation, there are methods that you can employ to make the process a bit more predictable.

Maki, the enigmatic voice behind Dosh Dosh, a blog dedicated to helping you make money online, spells out these steps in his article How to use the Web to Build a Powerful Reputation In Any Industry. I’ve gone over this article several times, and as a 20 year veteran of the Internet game, I’m going to say that I agree with his insight on this one.  If you follow along with the steps he’s outlined, you’ll have little problem gaining name recognition within 12 months time, if not sooner, and let’s face it…  As a Writer, your name is everything!

If you’re looking to become a power writer for the web, Dosh Dosh is one of those sites you just must have in your RSS Reader or bookmarks.  He really will help you make oney online.  He’s helped me to do so already!

The venerable Sci-Fi author Ursula K. LeGuin has posted an Open Letter against piracy and copyright infringement. The original letter can be viewed here, but as Miss le Guin has kindly specified that her text may be reprinted, I’ll post it here, then comment on it.

SFWA, Piracy, and Serious Literature — An Open Letter

I’d like to correct some misapprehensions about Cory Doctorow’s unauthorized posting of my short comic piece “On Serious Literature” on his boingboing.net site.

I originally sent the piece to David Langford for Ansible, because that’s where I first saw the quote from Ruth Franklin that the piece riffs on. I also put it on my web site. (It’s still there.) Jon Carroll of the San Francisco Chronicle then reprinted it entire in the Chronicle, without asking permission. My agent Vaughne Hansen and I immediately demanded an apology from Carroll, and immediately got one. Harper’s asked to publish it, offering me $200.00, which I accepted (I love gravy.)

I then discovered that Doctorow had put it on his web site, without asking permission and without observing copyright, misrepresenting its purpose, and falsely claiming that it was under license by “Creative Commons” so that anyone could copy it.

My agent and I had just decided to ask the e-piracy committe of SFWA, which I had come to count on in similar situations, to intervene on my behalf — when we found that the committee had suddenly been dissolved, following complaints about unauthorized interference, issuing from Cory Doctorow.

The irony of this situation is fairly visible. While Doctorow was making a huge fuss over an honest mistake, which when discovered was immediately redressed, he was publishing another writer’s work without asking permission and in clear violation of copyright.

With my consent, Andrew Burt exposed Doctorow’s piracy in a letter printed on Jerry Pournelle’s web site. Doctorow scoffed, blustered, made no apology to me for misidentifying my work and using it without permission, and behaved as if his action was legitimate, although the Fair Use exception explicitly does not cover reprinting an entire article or poem no matter how short. But he took part of the piece off his site.

At the request of Michael Capobianco, President of SFWA, acting on my behalf, Doctorow has now finally removed the entire piece.

He has not apologised either to me for using my piece without permission, or to the people he misled with his pretense of a “Creative Commons License” into thinking they could reprint a copyrighted piece without violating the law. Nor has he offered to help them remove these many additional copies.

But, thanks to SFWA, he has taken the piece down. My agent is writing to request him to redress some of the other matters. I hope then to be done for good with Mr Doctorow. What I remain upset about is the confusion and destruction he seems to have effected within SFWA.

An overworked committee mistakenly identified a few works, among many, as infringing copyright; the mistakes were promptly admitted and redressed, with apologies; and President Capobianco invited any other parties who thought themselves wronged to contact him. Where is the cause in all this for dissolving a committee which has worked with extraordinary effectiveness to redress real wrongs?

In my view, the best thing that could come out of my brush with the Doctorow Doctrine would be this: the honorable reinstatement of the SFWA e-piracy committee, with an expression of appreciation from SFWA officers and members of the honest and effective work they have done for us for so long.

This letter is not copyrighted and may be excerpted or copied entire.

— Ursula K. Le Guin

October 12 2007

First, let me say I would like to applaud Ursula for her response and for her actions. I would also like to thank her for making this piece a publicly available work, so that all writers can have access to it, and so that bloggers like myself can help spread the word about copyright infringement.

It is not ever a good idea to reprint someone else’s work without permission! At worst, it’s a violation of copyright. No matter what the result, it’s just plain rude.

If you visit Ursula’s site, you will see the posted update. Apparently Mr. Doctorow did finally apologize publicly to Miss Le Guin. All I have to say is…

What took you so long?

Sometimes you learn of a great new read simply because someone thought that you had something worth reading. There are more blogs on the subject of writing than you can shake a stick at. (I know, it’s cliché, but it is a phrase I use all the time.) Finding the really good ones can be difficult, but sometimes, the good ones find you. This entry is proof of that.

I might never have stumbled upon Writing for Us on my own. It is only by happy coincidence that Rosa left a comment on one of my entries here, and just because I was curious, I popped on over. I’m very glad that I did, it’s been a wonderful read, and now has a permanent spot in my RSS reader.

Write for us is currently running a series called 30 days to writing better articles. The information ic concise, easy to digest, and well worth the read. Please do go check out this wonderful writing resource at Writing for Us, you’ll be glad you did!

20 Master Plots and how to build them is a wonderful resource, especially for NaNoWriMo entrants. Ronald B. Tobias goes to great lengths to detail the 20 different “Master Plots”, or the 20 plots from which all stories are derived. Armed with this kowledge you’ll be able to outline with greater ease, especially since you have the arc of your chosen genre at your fingertips.

Mr. tobias covers the following topics and more:

• Invisible fiction
• The lowest common plot den ominators
• The strong force
• Deep structure
• Triangles

I found the book insightful, interesting and thought provoking. For instance, i didn’t know that the original “riddle” plot line was “The lady and the Tiger”, though I remember the story well and remember that it hung with me for weeks after reading it originally. (I think the poor fool died at the end, but I’ve been jilted a few times.)

Take chance on 20 Master Plots and how to build them. If nothing else it will give you a better understanding of how some of your favorite works are put together. For me it helps greatly to fit my latest idea into a category, if not necessarily a mold. Is the tale a Quest or is it an Adventure? What defines the two and why are they different? This book will tell you

I own it, I use it regularly and I recommend it.

Copywriting is a good way to gain income, and offers a steady source for those who are good at it, but finding an “in” to the copywriting market can be difficult.

I recently came across an article titled “How to find Copywriting Assignments” at Copywriting Basics 101, that givs a few good insights into the process. Definitely worth a read if you’re interested. I know I’ll be looking into a few of the options mentioned.

Can magazine writing help you as a writer? I’ve always thought so, especially if you write nonfiction. Apparently W. Terry Whalin thinks so too. His article on right-writing.com titled Magazine Writing Leads to Book Publishing covers the topic in an informative and no-nonsense way that I’m sure will benefit a lot of writers out there.

While you’re there, be sure to look over some of Mr. Whalin’s other articles, and take the time to check his research materials.  Everything is incredibly well thought out and definitely worth the read.

I mentioned the AP Style Guide in a previous post, but honestly, knowledge is power and the more references you have at your disposal the better prepared you are. (If you use them, that is.)

The Economist Style guide is based on the style book given to all journalists at the Economist magazine, and is a great source of information if you’re looking to produce some very concise articles or just improve your writing skills in general. The guide covers topics ranging from metaphors and jargon to common spelling problems and pluralization in an easy to navigate format, with definitions that are far simpler to understand than the ones I remember from my high school textbooks.

If you just have to have your reference books on the desktop next to you, the economist has a bound version of the guide available for purchase on the same page.

I’ll post more tools like this as I find them. I hope that it helps your writing!

I just came across a very interesting article titled “10 Big Myths about copyright explained” by Brad Templeton.  This article, as well as Brad’s article titled “A brief intro into copyright” are topics that every writer should go over, especially those writing for the web or writing freelance articles for magazines or other publications.

Another good resource to bookmark is “THE BAND-AID AP STYLEBOOK“, which is an overview of the Associated Press Stylebook, and a good source for avoiding libel, along with brand infringement.  A definite must if you’re writing articles that mention company names, brands, or affiliations.

Crawford Killian is a name you may or may not have heard.  I’ll admit I’ve never read any of his books, but I’ve been reading his blog, Writing Fiction, for over two years now.

Crawford is not only a writer, but an expatriate American, a college professor, and a veteran of the U.S. Army.  His insight into the writing and publishing process is born of years of experience, and his matter-of-fact answers to questions from his readers are a joy, plain and simple.

Take some time out of your busy day and visit Writing Fiction.  I think you’ll be glad you did.

I’m extremely pleased to announce the very first release by a very talented author (who also happens to be my very lovely wife) Mrs. Jessica D. Russell!

Introducing Monday’s Child, Tales of New Tortuga, Volume 1, available at Aspen Mountain Press.

If you read one new science fiction short this year, this should be it! The tale is dark and gritty, without ever losing the sense that hope still remains, even for those of us with scars on the inside.

The world is well thought out and the characters, including supporting characters, are gripping (My personal favorite simply bears the name “Cook”.)

It’s not often that I claim to have read something that I just couldn’t put down. this is one of those reads. I suggest printing it out and plopping down on the sofa with your beverage of choice. While it’s not long enough to keep you up late into the night, it’s definitely worth missing an episode of your favorite late night T.V. drama over.

From the publisher:

Ianna James’s band is cursed. Several members have died in freak accidents. Returning to the lowtown area of New Tortuga, Ianna hopes to escape the curse put on her show but now she must reconcile her disastrous past, one she’d hoped to leave behind forever.

Excerpt:

The dark streets of New Tortuga’s lowtown would drive any sane woman behind the safety of locked doors. Too bad I’ve never really considered myself sane. As I pulled out a cigarillo, I growled at the noise level assaulting my sensitive ears. The landing dock hadn’t been this bad.

Down in lowtown the shrieks of incoming cargo skimmers and shuttle offloaders blended in with the hustle and bustle of the blue collar men trying to make a credit or two. The deadly business of smuggling kept its cool, maintaining an appearance of calm, at least on the outside. I knew what was what. It may look busier than it had before, but it was still the same.

I stepped into the shadow of an alley doorway and tucked the brim of my Old Earth cowboy hat over my eyes. With steady hands I lit my cigarillo and inhaled the sweet scent of Alpha 6’s delicious tobacco reserves. They cost a pretty coin, but damn, they were worth it. I inhaled the smoke, letting the burn tickle the back of my throat. We never smoked on ship and I’d craved the cigarillos from the moment I’d touched them at the Traders Emporium.

I hated lowtown’s stink. Greasy, slimy, all the things I left behind. The soft flow of my jacket swirled around my calves, sliding against my boots in soft swishes. What the hell was I doing here anyway? There was nothing beautiful or recognizable about the place I grew up. Everything I’d known died in that fire decades ago. I should just head up to the resort and call it good.

So why was I looking around for a place to stay? Pampering and rejuv sounded like heaven. I was officially insane.

A group of kids ran toward me and I chuckled. When one brushed against me I grabbed his scruff.

“You know,” I chewed on the end of my cigarillo, trying not to bite through the delicious stick, “I could kill you for that.”

The angelic face of innocence smiled at me. Yeah, right. ‘Ol Satan was an angel too, so the old tales say. “Miss, I don’t wanna die, please, what did I do?” Crocodile tears in big brown eyes, you have got to be kidding me.

With a quick twist, I turned him around and pulled my identacard and pass from his back pocket with a smile. In a moment I had a rabid kid in my hands. He came close to squirming out of the hold I had on his collar. I pulled him very close, making sure he could see my eyes.

“I need a guide and they tell me you’re the best.” I had no idea who this kid was.

He stopped struggling instantly, his eyes narrowed to slits. On him it looked ridiculous, but hey, who was I to tell him so.

“Who told you?” His voice sounded a little nervous. Tough kid, I almost liked him.

“One of them.” I jerked my head toward the area the kids had disappeared.

He crossed his little malnourished arms and I wanted to rage. How could the same system that screwed up my life still fail the kids here? Politicians, I never had much use for them. Empty promises no matter what universe you traipsed into.

“What if I am?” He raised his little chin, his brown eyes glowing behind the tight slits of his lids. I wondered if his face would ache later from all the squinting.

“Well, I need a place to stay; room and board, in a place where I can keep to myself without being bothered.” I growled low in my throat and watched the kid’s eyes widen. “By anyone.”

“You want work?” His face took on a sly calculation that I remembered from my own childhood. He wondered how much he could get from the stranger. His lower lip puffed out in self-importance.

“Yeah, lowtown honest.” I hoped the slang still applied to this area of New Tortuga. The Upper crusts called it the heights. Lowtown folk called it the lowest height. It had been lowtown since I was born.

“Steady work?” I could watch the gears turn in his head. He’d find me a place to lay low for a while.

“Yeah, steady.” I let him go, trusting in his greed to get me what I needed. Of course I could be wrong and he was a Death Spinner, or whatever name the gang called themselves nowadays. If that was the case, I’d be dead by morning anyway.

“Follow me.” In a moment he was running through the streets, leading the way to something he’d called Haven’s Cross. I felt the burn on the back of my neck of a media sweep camera. With a grimace I kept the brim of my hat close to my face. It wouldn’t pay to get caught. The last thing I needed was publicity. A woman screamed and the sweep moved toward the commotion. Lowtown had its advantages. Godless law, I never thought I’d be back here.

I know that you’d expect me, as her husband, to tout this book to the world, regardless oof its merits.

You’d be wrong. I’m touting this because even after helping out through 4 rounds of edits, I never grew tired of the story, or the people in it. It’s a genuinely good read, and one I find more than worthy of attention.

Give it a read, i know you’ll enjoy it.  When you’re done, send a little love the author’s way with a quick email to jessica (at) jessicadrussell (dot) com.

Now if only I could finish the project I’ve been working on…