Writerly Ways
May. 6th, 2018 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessLet's talk rules for being an author. Rule #1: Don't be a total asshat.
Really that's the most important rule. Don't be an asshat. Everyone's life becomes so much easier. There was a saying in my former job: 'Podiatrist eat their young' In other words, the established doctors would cut the throats of anyone up and coming. It was horrifying true. Academia isn't much better. Maybe NO job is.
How sad is that?
So what brought this up. Why this ROMANCE AUTHOR GETS UNDULY COCKY OVER REGISTERED TRADEMARK
If you haven't heard some complete ass has trademarked the word cocky. At first people thought she meant the flourishy version she used as a series title because in theory you can't trademark random words. Which is why Coca-Cola is trademarked but coke isn't (that and coke means other things). But no she trademarked both the font and the word and has been sending out bullying letters to people including those who published using the word as a title before she did.
But it gets better. She apparently doesn't understand how stock photos work for cover titles. She thinks people are stealing or copying from her. Um no, that's how stock photos work. The elf picture I turned down as the cover for Conned has appeared on two other stories I've seen recently. I'm sure the cover model that will be Arrigo on Blood Red Roulette has been/ will be on other books.
This blog sums up most of my thoughts on this (profanity included) Don’t Do This, Ever
Naturally the whole internet has blown up with this. I was amused with her statement that her fans are buying wrong books because they had the word 'cocky' in the title. OMG are there that many people who don't even look at the author before buying if that matters to them? Apparently yes because someone put up a tweet about how Stephen King and another author (woman) published books at about the same time with the same title. King laughed it off (but yes he can afford to do it I supposed)
To be honest I've never heard of this author before unsurprising since I only read het romance if friends write it. But it's not true all publicity is good as the second blog article points out. Yes, she's definitely on my never buy list now. I've done that before like after some blaming comments Tamora Pierce made or when Anne Rice talked about how she never needed editing and wouldn't allow it (no loss by then her stuff was pure crap) or Orson Scott Card outed himself as a misogynistic homophobe.
I'm fairly amused by all the pot shots being taken. I've never wanted to use the word cocky in a title but now I kinda do.
RWA is getting lawyers involved. I did see a lot of squawking about how terrible the RWA was for only including their own members and not everyone and how elitist that was. Yeah I call bullshit. Is RWA (and SFWA) elitist? Not as much as they used to be, that's for sure and they are a bit pricey but membership has benefits. Lawyers are insanely expensive to hire so why should we expect them to hire a lawyer for someone who hasn't paid into the funds that would pay for those lawyers? In the long run if their lawyers crush her (which seems likely) you'll benefit anyhow.
So enough of that. Let's get to something more interesting, the links.
From around the web
Find The Rhythm In Writing
How To Improve Your Author Website I desperately need to do this. Mine's shit.
Panic For Fun And Profit: Submission Deadlines And My Book Series
SPF-117: GDPR – What All Authors Need to Know
From Betty- World Building Using POV
Indie Author support network
Storytelling’s Terminology Problem
An Ode to Radically Accepting All Our Feelings—Good and Bad
Where Does Your Novel's Conflict Come From?
Comparisonitis Or “Everyone Else Is Better Than Me”
Distinguishing Structured and Unstructured Advice
Distinguishing Structured and Unstructured Advice
I'm too tired to dink with the word count right now
Really that's the most important rule. Don't be an asshat. Everyone's life becomes so much easier. There was a saying in my former job: 'Podiatrist eat their young' In other words, the established doctors would cut the throats of anyone up and coming. It was horrifying true. Academia isn't much better. Maybe NO job is.
How sad is that?
So what brought this up. Why this ROMANCE AUTHOR GETS UNDULY COCKY OVER REGISTERED TRADEMARK
If you haven't heard some complete ass has trademarked the word cocky. At first people thought she meant the flourishy version she used as a series title because in theory you can't trademark random words. Which is why Coca-Cola is trademarked but coke isn't (that and coke means other things). But no she trademarked both the font and the word and has been sending out bullying letters to people including those who published using the word as a title before she did.
But it gets better. She apparently doesn't understand how stock photos work for cover titles. She thinks people are stealing or copying from her. Um no, that's how stock photos work. The elf picture I turned down as the cover for Conned has appeared on two other stories I've seen recently. I'm sure the cover model that will be Arrigo on Blood Red Roulette has been/ will be on other books.
This blog sums up most of my thoughts on this (profanity included) Don’t Do This, Ever
Naturally the whole internet has blown up with this. I was amused with her statement that her fans are buying wrong books because they had the word 'cocky' in the title. OMG are there that many people who don't even look at the author before buying if that matters to them? Apparently yes because someone put up a tweet about how Stephen King and another author (woman) published books at about the same time with the same title. King laughed it off (but yes he can afford to do it I supposed)
To be honest I've never heard of this author before unsurprising since I only read het romance if friends write it. But it's not true all publicity is good as the second blog article points out. Yes, she's definitely on my never buy list now. I've done that before like after some blaming comments Tamora Pierce made or when Anne Rice talked about how she never needed editing and wouldn't allow it (no loss by then her stuff was pure crap) or Orson Scott Card outed himself as a misogynistic homophobe.
I'm fairly amused by all the pot shots being taken. I've never wanted to use the word cocky in a title but now I kinda do.
RWA is getting lawyers involved. I did see a lot of squawking about how terrible the RWA was for only including their own members and not everyone and how elitist that was. Yeah I call bullshit. Is RWA (and SFWA) elitist? Not as much as they used to be, that's for sure and they are a bit pricey but membership has benefits. Lawyers are insanely expensive to hire so why should we expect them to hire a lawyer for someone who hasn't paid into the funds that would pay for those lawyers? In the long run if their lawyers crush her (which seems likely) you'll benefit anyhow.
So enough of that. Let's get to something more interesting, the links.
From around the web
Find The Rhythm In Writing
How To Improve Your Author Website I desperately need to do this. Mine's shit.
Panic For Fun And Profit: Submission Deadlines And My Book Series
SPF-117: GDPR – What All Authors Need to Know
From Betty- World Building Using POV
Indie Author support network
Storytelling’s Terminology Problem
An Ode to Radically Accepting All Our Feelings—Good and Bad
Where Does Your Novel's Conflict Come From?
Comparisonitis Or “Everyone Else Is Better Than Me”
Distinguishing Structured and Unstructured Advice
Distinguishing Structured and Unstructured Advice
I'm too tired to dink with the word count right now
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no subject
Date: 2018-05-07 12:23 pm (UTC)Last I checked, there were two, but there may be more by now. I love the internet when it's clever.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-07 02:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-10 10:56 pm (UTC)I believe you're talking about Tanya Huff! When I googled for her 'Blood and Smoke' series once upon a time Stephen King came up. If you're interested, while the main relationships are het in the Blood series, one of the main characters is a vampire who is not entirely straight, and they introduce a gay character who becomes the main character in the Smoke series. Additionally, the author herself is married to fellow author Fiona Patton.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-10 10:59 pm (UTC)Cocky Romance Author
Taleela Lewis is a successful author - so much so that she tries to trademark the word "Shifter", to force out the plethora of other authors using the same word.
Little does she know that one of the holdouts is a sexy man who knows where she lives - and decides to pay her a visit, to try to resolve the issue in person.
And the tension between the two explodes, resulting in Taleela learning for the first time what it really means to submit in safety to another's control.
Enjoy this erotic encounter between two Romance authors that will get you hot under the collar!
no subject
Date: 2018-05-11 12:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-11 12:32 am (UTC)I love Huff's stuff. Actually I've read most of her series (though there is one I didn't care that much for set in a Canadian antique shop). Or at least I thought I had because I'm not sure I've read one with a gay protagonist. Was the blood one the one with the private eye who was going blind?
no subject
Date: 2018-05-11 11:02 am (UTC)Yes, the Blood series is mainly about Vicki (who has a degenerative eye disease); she was a cop until then, now she's a P.I. who stumbles on a supernatural case and a vampire who helps her out. (Vicki is my least favorite character [in both the book and tv series] because of how prickly she is.)
In the companion Smoke series, Tony is the main character. He was introduced in the Blood series, but I won't tell you how in case you do decide to read them.
ETA regarding Anne Rice: https://twitter.com/AnneRiceAuthor/status/993035744707936256
no subject
Date: 2018-05-11 02:35 pm (UTC)I remember liking Blood and Vicki (I have two friends with that same eye disorder and the guy in my Christmas story I'm failing to write fast enough does as well). I didn't like the end of that one as I remember but it's been years. I haven't read smoke because like I said it's been years since I've read most of her stuff. I'll have to go look for it (Ironically Tony is the name of my blind character in that Christmas story)
thanks for the Rice tweets
no subject
Date: 2018-05-11 05:55 pm (UTC)You're welcome. *g*
no subject
Date: 2018-05-11 07:05 pm (UTC)