(no subject)

[erastes]

I'm rather loving Windows Live Writer. I've used Semagic for years, but I do like this new thing because it means that I can crosspost to Blogspot. Aficionados of the tango and of CGI will love this En Tus Brazos. Superbly touching.

Good Lord! I've just seen a video of Alan Moore! Now that's what I call an eccentric writer! Fascinating man.

What price writing? I know the old adage of "the labourer is worthy of his hire" or however it goes but if one submits a piece of work to a publisher, shouldn't one do the very best job they can? I'm not only talking about editing here, although that's very much part of it, but one should have a certain... I don't know...pride's not the right word--arrogance? that the work is as good as one can make it. Even if the anthology or the publisher concerned is not paying much - or is not paying anything - it doesn't matter. If they don't accept your work, you can't just say "what do they expect? You pay peanuts you are going to get monkeys" because - why did you submit in the first place? I'm not aiming this at anyone in particular, but rather a lot of people - i've seen this attitude over and over and over again in the last few years. I may be bonkers for thinking it, but frankly, if you send work off to someone - whether they pay $500 or $5 then it doesn't matter. Shouldn't matter. If you don't want to sell your work for peanuts, or for nothing - then don't bloody send it to those places!!

And finally - Yahoo messenger REALLY pisses me off. When I'm busy, or go for food or whatever, I put up a busy sign and for no bloody reason without any notification it changes this to "available." No love, yahell, none at all.

Comments

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

I think pride of craftsmanship is the phrase. Whatever the publication, it's going to have your name on it, and even if it's not making you rich, it might be attracting readers who'll buy your other work. In an ideal world I think any creative artist would be striving for that. But I've never seen an 'ideal world,' and not everyone has that goal. I've run across writers who think it's nit-picking to put an apostrophe in the right place, and don't think it's important to know why you should. Do you think that sort of writer would care if the work is the best possible? I don't.

What I'm going to say next is not aimed at anyone in particular; these are general observations and some of them refer to writers I knew 20 years ago--I am not throwing stones.

I can easily imagine situations where a writer's stuck with a lousy publisher. We've all read horror stories of writers trapped in contracts with publishers who haven't put their books up for sale, who've reneged on their contracts or behaved in other unprofessional ways, but who still have the option on the writer's next book and would probably sue if any other publisher turned up with a new title. If I were in that situation, I'd find it awfully hard to bust my butt for such a publisher, unless I knew the contract was short-term and I'd get my book back eventually. (I've heard of writers pounding out something awful to get out of 'next book' options--an iffy proposition, since the publisher might buy it anyway.)

Or a writer could make a commmitment and then have a huge personal crisis of some sort, and wind up doing the best job possible in the time allowed. Or someone who didn't read a contract carefully finds out it was a one-time-only payment, or the publisher hired a cover artist who does horrible work and the author is sick about the covers going on her work ... I can imagine lots of reasons for not being inspired to excel.

And then there are writers who are not interested in quality, but in quantity. It's easy to say 'hack,' but face it - when writing for a living is what you do, and your spouse gets sick or fuel prices double in the course of a year and you've got kids to feed, it's difficult if not impossible to just stop writing and go get a high-paying job. I hope I never face that sort of crisis, but yeah, I could see doing 'first-draft-and-that's-all-it's-worth' rather than not be able to buy insulin for my cat.

I'd do it if I had to -- but I wouldn't be proud of it. And I don't think I'd talk about it in public.

[zamaxfield.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much for sharing the En Tus Brazos, link. That was simply lovely!

I watched the Moore video as well. At first, when he was talking about magic, I was looking under all that hair for Tom Cruise...

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I agree with both you and Lee. I'm in the fortunate position to be writing mostly for myself at the moment, and so I make every effort to write something I can be proud of, whether I'm getting paid for it or not. But if I was supporting my family and could do that better by churning out five books a year which didn't go through my usual three-draft-and-polish process, then I'd probably do that. I'd make an effort to make them the best written-in-a-hurry books I could, but paying the bills would come first.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

It's not that that I'm meaning exactly. I'm not saying that people should craft everything with the precision of a sculptor - hell, if Mills and Boon were doing gay historicals I'd be banging out 3 a year and not worrying if I'm "truly writing individual voices" - but what I'm seeing is sort of "bad losing" that when people are rejected they say "what do they expect for [that low sum] they aren't going to get any decent stories" - and people who think they are doing charity anthologies a favour by gracefully submitting a story!!!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Oh, that -- I agree that a publisher who isn't going to pay for decent work shouldn't expect it. But that's why you check the payscale up front, no? As for charity contributions - that's priceless promotion if the thing flies.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I can't be having with writers who think they are somehow entitled to write badly because they don't think the place they're submitting their work is important enough. Or authors who blame a publisher for having higher standards than they expected. High standards are a good thing, even if they work against us.

[mzcalypso.livejournal.com]

Moore's not an eccentric--or maybe he is, but he's dead right. Consider the insidious but delightful effect of slashfic.

[angelabenedetti.livejournal.com]

I'm with Lee. [nod] How much I'm being paid isn't the point. What's important is that that's my name out there, and I don't want my name attached to a piece of garbage forever and ever. :P

Angie