Square Pegs

Author Alexander McCall Smith writes about his journey toward becoming a writer. In this three-part series, he notes: I suspect that one of the best starts for an author is an unhappy one. It is by no means an original observation, but it is clear that writing is often a response to pain and loss. He explores how life’s experiences inform your writing, even when they don’t seem to. He also looks at how writing slips into your life, sometimes unexpectedly or belatedly. I started to write, as so many writers do, before I could write. This may seem a […]

Why do people pay for what’s free? Convenience. If we learn anything from the 9/11 Commission Report (setting aside the subject matter, those lessons are a given), it is that people want to access information in their preferred manner. This is why MP3s continue to dominate the music download business despite record labels’ insistence on forcing proprietary formats down the consumer throat. This is why, to a large extent, that bound and printed remains the favored format for books. The book model is a comfortable fit for most of us; so many people spend entire days in front of a

If you are looking for a stable, practical career, do not choose writing. There are much better jobs to be had. There are jobs that don’t make you cry. Jobs that come with regular paychecks. Jobs that don’t invite perplexedd stares and rude questions. There are jobs that don’t require getting up in the middle of the night to capture a sentence slipping away because you’ve knocked your notebook under a piece of furniture you would have sworn had only a hair’s width of space. Being a writer isn’t a choice. Well, perhaps for some, but nobody we’ve ever met.

Since the growing market for Christian romance isn’t news (just as street lit isn’t news and so on), we are going to, once again, note that the so-called “paper of record” clearly has no respect for its female readers. Not only does it persist in perpetuating an image that, frankly, hasn’t existed since we were allowed to read novels, but uses the cliche to insult the reading choices of every person who buys romance novels. Since that group is almost (but not entirely) wholly female, the insult could not be more clear. Why do romance authors and readers object to

If we were the subtle type, we’d let the story speak for itself. We’re not. We’re such that we will guide you to our favorite thoughts. One, the creator of the art is not necessarily making the most money. Two, lower production costs have not translated to lower consumer costs. Three, lower production costs have not translated to higher royalties. On the positive side, you can get lots of great stuff electronically and eMusic is making a new push for customers. A story we didn’t link to recently talked about Audible.com has received additional investment dollars and is expanding. For

For the first time since this morning…ouch, it even hurts to type those words. We know our readers can’t get enough of copyright stuff. It’s like caffeine. Except maybe it doesn’t act as quickly. No drug is perfect. Or so we’ve been lead to believe. This story from Wired touches on something that comes up in conversation around our home. Yes, the same house that brings you loud outdoor rants about record labels and online music often shouts about so-called orphaned copyrights. We often wonder why our dinner parties aren’t better attended… While we could go on at length on

We think it’s okay to lie in headlines. Nobody believes them anyway, right? Sony’s acquisition of MGM is a minor source of fascination for us, not only because we were witness to Sony’s revamping of the MGM lot. We like the weird full circle aspect of the story. But it makes us wonder: do brand names matter that much to the consumer? We’re not talking about Gucci or Prada — we’re looking at publishers (labels, studios). When you go into a store, do you think, “Wow, it’s the latest from HarperCollins.” When it comes to art, are corporate labels as

If there is one* universal truth, it is something like this: independent publishers and labels will always have distribution woes. The machinery is set up to accommodate the big guys. Last week, we reported on Imajinn and their Chapter 13 filing; this was, in part, because the cash going out the door exceeded the cash coming in. It wasn’t necessarily the result of poor business decisions. Book distributors, like most people who pay bills, don’t necessarily take the concept of “Net 30” very seriously**. The distributors will argue that they can’t pay until they get paid. The bookstores will argue

This article about Damian Loeb and his use of photographs (by other artists) as the basis for his paintings leads us to wonder: what does copyright represent? We are not being obtuse. Much. Where does stealing end and homage or inspiration begin? If Loeb had identified his sources, would that have changed the nature of the argument? Though we like to think the opposite, copyright is not as black and white as it could be. And on an unrelated note, we particularly enjoyed the media relations director’s statement — it smacks, ever-so-slightly (which is sarcastic for “a lot”) of defensive.