NaNoWriMo

There's been a bit of discussion on the IWW's Writing list about NaNoWriMo, and so we now have a poll here on the blog.

Note the upper right hand corner of your computer screen.

And vote!

• What is NaNoWriMo?
  

• If you intend to NaNoWriMo and would like your progress chronicled here on the blog, you should send your contributions here.

Copyright Class Action Lawsuit

Long-time IWW member and multi-published author Mona Vanek recently noted, "For those of you involved, or just interested -- the latest update on the Copyright Class Action Lawsuit (writers seeking damages for unauthorized reproduction of their works) can be found through this link."

The [objectors to the settlement decisions] "parties now intend to file a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court ... The deadline for the parties to file the petition is August 13, 2008.
..."

Explanation of "certiorari" can be found here.

FAQ about the case: http://www.copyrightclassaction.com/faq.php3.

Mona concluded her note with "I hope other writers didn't count on receiving a settlement anytime soon. Wonder how many of us will live to see it finish dragging through the courts -- to whatever final decision."

Amazon, and Small, Independent Publishers

The story of the Bezotion Empire following in the footsteps of Brobdingnag Gates hit the New York Times yesterday.

PARIS — Amazon, the online retailing giant with a fast-rising share of the consumer book market, has adopted the literary equivalent of a nuclear option for rebellious publishers who balk at its demands.

Then the struggle with Hachette broke into public view this month when the publisher’s chief executive, Tim Hely Hutchinson, sent a defiant letter to many of his authors explaining the “oddities” of vanishing buy buttons. The online retailer, he said, was demanding a bigger slice. Publishers traditionally sell books to retailers at a discount off the recommended retail price, but Amazon was demanding more than its existing 50 percent.

“They’re still threatening us and other publishers, but they haven’t flipped the switch yet,” said Angela Hoy, the co-owner of Booklocker.com, a print-on-demand publisher in Bangor, Me., which filed a lawsuit in May seeking an injunction to keep Amazon from imposing BookSurge’s services on publishers.

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Read the full article by Doreen Carvajal in the Times here.

National Novel Editing Month

Raymond Cuttill (aka iPhoneiscool), sends us this:

"I am writing to you about National Novel Editing Month. Editing is a chore that some writers have difficulty doing. National Novel Editing Month, NaNoEdMo for short, is a group dedicated to the idea of editing a novel throughout March. It is completely free and run by dedicated enthusiasts. The idea is to have a definite deadline and because everyone does it. In March there is also mutual support and a community via the website .

"This can make editing a pleasant or at least pleasanter activity. Often this is done on a novel written during National Novel Writing Month, a separate group, the previous November, but it doesn't have to be. I was hoping you might post this or mention it on your mailing lists, and perhaps some of your writers might like to have a look at it.

"We would also be interested in articles from writers, say 500-2000 words, about editing they would be willing to put on our site. The article could of course include mention of the writer's site or book, etc."

"The site is here. You can register now and the forums are open. Editing starts on 1st March. I can be reached here if there are any queries."

Hollywood Writers Strike, A Report from the Front Lines

A Report
by Jerry Buck

It looks like it's going to be a long, cold winter for the writers in Hollywood. The L.A. Times talks about it today.

The studios have finally revealed their true intentions: To give nothing new and take back concessions granted in the past. Their hope is to do away with residuals and not give an inch on the Internet.

The studios are now owned by large corporations, backed by big bank accounts, unused to dealing with creative people, and run by execs who play rough and dirty. The thought of paying residuals gives them apoplexy. They've hired tough political consultants to unleash a public relations campaign labeling the writers as leftist apparatchiks.

Their aim is to break the Writers Guild before the Actors Guild contract expires and they can join forces. The actors are very militant this year. The Directors Guild contract expires next, and historically the studios have given them what they want ... because the directors don't like the writers ... or the actors.

Residuals are what allow writers and other creative people to live through lean times. Perhaps even a strike, since the money must be paid. A hit television show can be worth a billion dollars in rerun sales. I'm not exaggerating. The creative people deserve a share of that.

The studios are laying off thousands of other workers to put more pressure on the writers to settle. The movie business creates a huge chunk of the L.A. economy, and a lot of businesses are beginning to suffer. So far the public has been on the writers side, but it could change when the strike starts hurting their pocketbooks.

I don't know if, or when, the writers might yield. A lot of them don't have the money to sit out a long strike. Some of the richer writers are giving money to some of the needier writers.

The thing about the creative guilds. A majority of the members work only rarely. A few jobs and they're in the guild as long as they pay their dues. They could sway a vote.

In any case, the studios are out to break the Guilds and unions. I'm sure they'd like to return to the days when actors made what supermarket cashiers make today.

In the meantime, millions of kids may abandon television for the Internet. Personally, I have yet to watch any of the so-called reality shows turning the networks into dead end streets. The Writers Guild meanwhile is encouraging its members to go entrepreneurial and bypass the studios to create their own shows for the Internet.

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The Writers Guild

A Lively Discussion about Being Paid

There's been a lively discussion on the IWW's Writing Discussion List about freelance writers working for free. One writer, an essayist who has been published in national venues, offered these resources "for those thinking about writing and money in the same sentence, here are a couple of websites that speak to that topic and more precisely about giving it away."

• Erik Sherman's WriterBiz: A spot about the business of writing as seen by a freelance writer. That includes marketing, sales, contracts, copyright, planning, research - in short, the business end of writing.
• The Long Tail: A public diary on themes around a book.