C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

05/22/2012 • 7:51 PM 1

DAVENPORT DIALOGUES: MARRIED TO THE HIT MAN

See on Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

A theme is emerging today: Another remarkable story from the trenches. When Kiana Davenport dared to publish a couple of stories on Kindle, things got ugly and Penguin demanded the advance on her novel back. Fascinating post at the link, and frankly, the author comes out the end of the feces storm smelling of roses and lavender. Read on at the link below.

See on kianadavenportdialogues.blogspot.ca

(Tomorrow we’ll go back to being our usual, happy and positive selves in a dimension without conflict, sadness or anxiety. It’s going to be awesome. Of course, we’ll all be on mushrooms, but still…)

Filed under: publishing, Amazon Kindle, fiction, Kiana Davenport, Kindle, Penguin

05/22/2012 • 7:17 PM 0

Top of the Pack

See on Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

I said I would write a bit about my experiences with literary agents. Here is the first one that is worth noting: A few years ago a friend who is in the publishing industry allowed me to use her name…

This post, among others, got into some interesting discussion of trad vs self-pub vitriol across blogs (Nathan Bransford’s blog, Sarah LaPolla scolding us for calling ourselves indie authors and The Passive Voice‘s wry take). I report Laura Novak’s link here as a tale of endurance ending in success. For the record, I don’t think Ms. Novak’s post is vitriol at all. It’s reportage on dealings with a specific agent. I replied in the comments thread on the Passive Voice blog because I felt the crowd was a tad more evenhanded in the discussion there. As for the whole, don’t call yourselves indie thing, please don’t tell me what to call myself. I don’t wear a collar and you’re not holding my leash so I call myself an indie author proudly, even if you scream at me in all caps. As someone pointed out in one of the comment threads, self-publishing connotes less than all that I do to publish and arguments over semantics might get somebody riled up but it’s doubtful anyone will be moved to change.

If you read across the blogs, you’ll also notice a recurring theme: Some folks in traditional publishing seem to resent indies and don’t like it if we complain in a similar fashion. Then you’ll see stories of agents and editors who gushed about how great a manuscript was just before they rejected it. Gee, why is this model not working? Of course, there doesn’t have to be an enemy. We could tend to our own businesses and respect each other’s choices. We could be happy for each other’s success. We could, but sometimes we choose otherwise.

See on www.lauranovakauthor.com

Agent Fail (chazzwrites.com)

Filed under: publishing, agents, Literary agent, Nathan Bransford, publishing, self-publishing versus traditional, traditiional publishing, Writers Resources

05/21/2012 • 10:22 PM 1

Carolyn Arnold: #Amazon “Lag Time” – Just the Beginning?

See on Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

Carolyn Arnold asks some uncomfortable questions about Amazon sales tracking. Are all your sales getting tracked? Pull out your sales report and follow along as she breaks down her questions at the link.

See on sassy3421.blogspot.ca

Filed under: publishing

05/20/2012 • 9:43 AM 3

I can’t come to the phone right now. I’m dead.

A man speaking on a mobile telephone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Usually I laugh at the weird stuff that pops up in my spam filter. However, this morning I seem to be inundated with crap and the spam filter isn’t catching it for some reason. It’s not that it isn’t easy to spot: Yoda-like syntax and the fourth or fifth word is always twisted around.

But this one annoyed me very much:

“You are an excellent wrietr even if I have thought your writing seems sad sometimes! I am so glad you are honest! The truth will set you free, is true! I love you and I am so blessed to be your Mom!”

Thanks for the shitty surprise reminder, spambot! My mom’s dead. Lung cancer. When I call my dad and he doesn’t answer, the voice mail kicks in. The recorded voice is my mother, saying just two words: my father’s name. After she died (and a long and terrible decline, it was) I wrote some fairly bad and very dark poetry. I mulled mortality’s cruelty and our shared helplessness. I was crying after the funeral when my wife came into my childhood bedroom. I pretended to be asleep on the bed and when she covered me with a blanket, I pretended it was my mom, covering me one last time. Later, I called to hear my mother’s voice again and again and again.

Maybe I should leave a new voice mail message: “I’m sorry I’m not here. I’m elsewhere, or maybe I’m not, but if I could get back to you, I would. If I can’t, know that I tried. I really wish I could talk to you right now. But whatever we talked about, it would all come down to the same thing: I love you.”

PS I reject helplessness to the end. Go here if you reject helplessness, too. And spread the word for Indies Unite for Joshua.

Filed under: publishing, #IndiesUnite4Joshua, Cancer, death, E-mail filtering, Indies Unite for Joshua, mom, Spam, Voicemail

05/19/2012 • 7:19 PM 1

Are agents still necessary? | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics

See on Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

Are agents still necessary in the new e-publishing world? I’m running across a number of people who don’t seem to think so.

(Personally, I think there are some specialized situations where I’d still like to have an agent [such as negotiating foreign rights], but there are more situations where an entertainment lawyer would be a better choice for me. Interesting article that encompasses the spectrum of opinion. ~ Chazz)

See on www.teleread.com

Filed under: publishing

05/18/2012 • 9:17 AM 0

VIDEO: Yes, you could be Batman Jesus!

This week I posted about how the Internet rose up in indignation and, with one voice, condemned a small press publisher for his treatment of a writer and her work. The Internet has so much power for good when an idea goes viral. It’s not all about harsh German porn. Okay, a lot of it is, but we could do something really amazing here. You, sitting at your keyboard right now, could do something amazing. Joshua is a young man with leukaemia and he is suffering. I’m asking all of my loyal followers, casual readers and cranky haters to please harness that same fire we used for righteous condemnation to rise up and help ease the financial burdens on Joshua and his family during this terribly trying time. You know cancer sucks. Let’s punch it back in its smug face.

Please spread the word to help the son of author Max Cyn.

Raise the cause and raise the money and raise up this family.

If someone were drowning, you’d throw them a rope. If someone yelled for help, dangling from a cliff, you’d help. You don’t have to be Batman. It’s just tossing a little rope, but that still makes you a hero. This IndieGoGo campaign is about tossing this family a rope. Working together, we can help pull them up and out.

Please donate if you can and if you can’t, then just spread the word. Tweet (Twitter tag: #indiesunite4joshua), share, reblog, tell your boss, tell the woman beside you on the bus, whisper about it to whomever’s in the next bathroom stall. Spreading the word can help immensely. Even small donations pile up. We’re very close to meeting this worthy charity’s goal, but there’s only 13 days left in this campaign so please help out Joshua today! Thanks for this. When you help this young man with leukaemia, not only will you get perks from awesome indie authors, you will feel a little like Batman. Or Jesus. Or both. ~ Chazz

Filed under: publishing, Batman, Cancer, charity, donate, IndieGoGo, Indies Unite for Joshua, Jesus, Joshua, leukemia

05/18/2012 • 8:27 AM 0

The Truth About The Price Of Books

See on Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

Over at Moody Writing, mooderino has posted an interesting take on ebook pricing, the competitive market and the value of art. Some stark realities here. Click the Scoopit! link and have a read. See on moodywriting.blogspot.co.uk

Meanwhile, on a related note, Russell Blake has another thought-provoking blog post about Amazon’s changes in how rankings are calculated. Going from tracking unit sales to tracking dollars makes a huge difference to indies. Mr. Blake also predicts the end of free withing the next 30 days! The future is uncertain. On the other hand, same as it ever was. Read that excellent post here.

Filed under: publishing, Amazon, ebook pricing, ebooks, Russell Blake, Writers Resources

05/17/2012 • 4:24 PM 0

PODCAST: To err is human. To forgive is unprecedented.

As the story of the zombie story writer versus the undead anthology creator emerged this week, lines were drawn in concrete, barricades were built and razor wire was erected around the dignity of being a writer. The writing community was inflamed and things have turned around for the writer. But is there a resolution in sight?

In today’s Self-help for Stoners podcast, I wonder about healing, forgiveness and our capacity to get over the bad stuff. When the world disagrees with us, do we still dig in our heels and somehow convince ourselves the world is wrong? When we’ve won, in our anger, do we keep kicking? Can we move forward, or are all judgments permanent? Are we as good as we can be? And could we, possibly, ever be as good as Batman? After dealing out a savage beating, can we forgive?

Have a listen at my author site, AllThatChazz.com.

PODCAST: The No Bullies Edition (allthatchazz.com)
Get heard: Podcast Your Book (chazzwrites.com)

Filed under: publishing, allthatchazz.com, Batman, forgiveness, iTunes, Podcast, writer, Writers Resources, writing, Writing and Editing, writing community

05/17/2012 • 9:01 AM 0

VIDEO: Confrontation over copyright infringement & CYA

Caricature of Gregory House Italiano: Caricatura di Gregory House (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This week, the theme that emerged on the blog is: Writers in Conflict with People Who Undervalue the Work and Try to Take Advantage of Them. In this tense video, a writer whose work has been stolen gets recompense from a newspaper. (Well done for keeping it civil and still getting paid.) I can’t help but wonder how this would have gone down differently without the camera running. Got a problem? Take a camera.

Failing that, keep all your emails and the paper trail so when people cross you, you can crush them if you need to. Don’t crush them if you don’t need to, of course, but be assured that at some point it will come up. Recently I felt I had to use a digital voice recorder when forced to chase someone over a bill. Even though I ended up only leaving a voicemail, I kept the recording to show how unfailingly polite I was if I needed to show the transgressor what reality looks like. It saddens me that these things are sometimes necessary, but after getting harassed by someone once, I now keep the recorder by the phone should anyone ever make the same mistake. When people get nasty, they inevitably hang themselves with their own rope.

What a downer. So we should also affirm that mostly? Things work out. Most people in the industry have good intentions. Most people deal in common, solid business practices. Very few people set out to be unkind. Usually, the problem is in a miscommunication, a misunderstanding or the person who is in the wrong is only wrong. A mistake is not the same thing as a sin. Also? When people are unkind, it often catches up with them. (Just yesterday, an old enemy fell due to the atrocity that is her personality. Am I unkind to taste the delicious schadenfreude? Yes, a little, I suppose. However, despite my efforts to stay pure and innocent, I’m still human so I have to point out that karma is a bitch and so was she.)

We have to believe that most people are doing the best they can. We have to believe that most people are good. To keep moving forward through our days, we have to believe it.

Believe it, even if it’s not true.

You don’t really want to be Dr. Gregory House.

Blogger confronts copyright infringing newspaper publisher on camera, gets paid (EndtheLie.com)

Filed under: publishing, are people good?, Copyright, copyright infringement, karma, karma's a bitch, protect yourself, theft, video, writers, Writers Resources, YouTube video

05/15/2012 • 10:05 AM 2

Agent Fail

See on Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

This morning I was alerted to a big mistake lit agent Scott Eagan made, and then his humorous attempt to cover it up by deleting it, all documented nicely here at Passive Guy’s blog. (See, Scott? It’s important on the Internet to LINK to posts you reference.)

I was going to spend the morning excoriating the moron, but the commentors at Passive Voice have done an admirable job already, meaning I didn’t need to draw extra attention to the stupid things he said.

So instead I’m going to draw attention to the stupid things agent Steve Laube says in his post Goodbye to Traditional Publishing?

(Between the comments on Mandy de Geit’s blog post on her bad experience with an editor who was a rewriter –see below– and Konrath’s and Passive Guy’s vivisection of this agent’s post, the Internet is showing the power of righteous wrath once again. It makes me wonder about our capacity to change as individuals. If everyone is telling you you’re wrong, do you at least consider their point of view or do you double down? Can the offenders change, or is a persecution complex forever warm and cozy? Just wondering about our nature as a species this morning. Check out the links and make up your own mind. It’s all laid out very neatly. Also, RE: Agent Fail, please be sure to read Konrath’s original guest post that Eagan appears to comment upon (and then says he didn’t mean that one!) as I feel the ex-Harlequin author’s points are diluted and/or mischaracterized. ~ Chazz)

See on jakonrath.blogspot.fr