Need Anyone Say More?

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Have a Laugh Please

What? It's time for Cartoon Friday already? 

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Idea Has Been Done Before

Essanay Film Management Company from Chicago, IL, took the easy way out of rejecting screenplays and scripts back in the day.  Love the list, especially "Overstocked," "Not Interesting," "Improbable," and "Robbery, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, Harrowing Death-Bed and All Scenes of An Unpleasant Nature Should be Eliminated."  Indeed!

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What's Your Lifetime Creative Earnings?

Today, because I'm a little bit anal and overly responsible, I'm pulling together my taxes, and realizing that in the year of our Lord 2013 my business writing earned enough income to sustain life (just barely), and my creative writing earned zero dollars and zero cents (zero sense). This is pretty much the same as it is every year, except for the occasional bonanza of a grant, fellowship, or lit prize with money attached, which due to the goodness of God falls in my lap once in a great while.
     If I had to tally my lifetime earnings for my creative writing over these few decades of my time here on earth, it would add up to about $44,000.00, and I'm counting a local library poetry prize from my long-ago youth. So that is an actual lifetime tally. The sad thing is, I am surprised by how much it is; not bad for a hack! By the way, has anybody seen that one 1099 from that company with the funny name? I can't find it all of sudden. How is it that papers can evaporate like that into thin air?  It's disturbing.
     Anyone else care to share their lifetime total earnings for creative writing? I don't tend to egg-on blog comments, but I thought that might be an interesting thread.

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We Don't Know How Old You Are, But You're Probably Too Old

One of the good doctors over at Psychology Today has put together this self-made "improved" rejection slip, which he suggests enclosing with submission manuscripts.  It's a nice idea: putting the manner in which you receive rejection back in your own control. Check it out; he has an article with some other thoughts for your consideration. In my opinion, there is plenty of room in the world for more psychiatrist/detectives!

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Pink is the New Black

Speaking of chick lit, my book cover is going to be bright pink. However, it has a large type treatment of the title taking up all of the cover. The publisher wanted it so because "mostly only men get bold type treatment covers." The above is the one that comes to mind: no comparison intended, of course.

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Question of the Month: "Chick Lit"

I just read this New Yorker article about Jennifer Weiner's complaints concerning how her books are (mis)treated. She makes a noble and worthy argument on the state of books by women, which are ignored and often belittled, but then slightly confuses matters by comparing apples to oranges. No one is in fact comparing her to Chaucer, nor should they, and elite male authors do often seem to be held in esteem as if they were the father of poetry himself, which is irritating, misguided, and often absurd. But there are different categories of fiction in the world, and to make an accurate comparison of a commercial fiction book with a literary fiction book is not necessarily a cogent argument for gender inequality. Wouldn't Weiner do much better to insist on parity with the likes of Stephen King or Dan Brown--she should be treated like those highly successful, very good, male writers of commercial fiction. She should be compared favorably in the category in which she writes, and c'mon, of course she should be reviewed in the New York Times Book Review! To ignore her is ridiculous. But why maudlin Franzen would even occur as her likely comparator is a mystery to me. Your thoughts on the matter?

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