writing projects

[sngwthme]

Congratulations Oldfolkie! Great Job!!

Check your PM.

[stuffyrandL]

I\'ve been super busy with work and all.  oldfolkie, good for you and it\'s a comfort to know it\'s anonymous unless I want it to be otherwise.  I\'m still writing.  Fictionalizing events from one\'s life is hard.  A friend tried to fictionalize an event I was trying to write about.  I was getting stuck at this one point.  She tried fictionalizing it and I read it and told her it was nothing like that.  I dreamt about it that night and woke myself up, flipped open my laptop at four in the morning and put it all in, every bit.  My friend said when she read it the next day, she felt like it was her in the river.  It scared her.  That\'s the point I guess.  Make the reader feel it.  

gkg, a lot of people have told me the literary business is cutthroat.  They said I\'m too trusting and will be taken for a ride.  My hubby and his father will handle all negotiations, he says.  Since dad-in-law is an attorney, I don\'t worry too much.  I have heard about agents taking a gargantuan cut and the actual author getting peanuts.  I\'m really glad to have them involved when it\'s finished.  Hubby has big plans for this poor book.  He\'s like an expectant father who says "My son will play for the Red Sox!"  before the child is born!  LOL!  

Thanks for your kind words.  oldfolkie, maybe we can visit about writing sometimes and bounce ideas back and forth!

Take care and be safe,
Stuffy

[oldfolkie]

I think it\'s great you\'ve got all that support, stuffy. My husband is very supportive of my various artistic gyrations too.  Which include music & photography as well as writing. He doesn\'t even mind reading my poetry - now THAT\'s true love

Would love to trade writing chat, who knows when but we\'ll find a time.

[stuffyrandL]

sounds good! gotta turn in now!

[buswolley]

I was just wondering if you had any luck, any of you?

I am currently writing a novel.  I'm up to 65,000 words and still working, but the story has come to a screeching halt.  I am sitting here frustrated and I remembered seeing this thread so I decided to read the whole thing.  I was amazed at how many of you wrote or that is to say write.

I'm not really looking to publish, not that it wouldn't be better then a wet dream (joke), but I don't have those kinds of delusions of grandeur.  I'll be happy to finish and have friends and family read it and hopefully like it as well.  

I was also wondering if any of you have simply considered publishing to the web?  That is my goal; however there is quite a lot of copy written music and lyrics in the story.  I don't currently know what all the legal ramifications are, but I will discover them before I infringe on someone else's art.

Anyway, I would love to read some of your stuff, please consider posting it to the web and giving us the link.

P.S. because of this forum I had to put a Buckethead song in the book    

[oldfolkie]

Depends what you mean by luck, buswolley. I\'m certainly no expert, but I\'m glad to share the little I know & have experienced.

Both times I have done NaNoWriMo I have finished with more than 50K words and a completed story. I think I\'m improving my writing, too. Both of those are accomplishments in themselves!

The only thing I\'ve had published so far in traditional media (apart from journal articles for my day job) is one lone poem in a poetry magazine. I\'ve also had a couple of poems recognized on-line, in the Poem of the Day at Poets Against The War. All of that felt good! I\'d like to publish more, sure, but there\'s a lot of luck involved apart from all the hard work. And there\'s this day job that consumes a lot of my time & energy...

I\'m not up on copyright laws in the USA, but I did go to a copyright seminar a few weeks ago here (Canada), and one thing they mentioned was the difficulty of getting ASCAP permissions to quote song lyrics, and that getting permission for those is a MUST. I think quoting titles is fine, though. And copyright applies pretty much the same on the web as in print. But you\'d need to check out on-line sources, or there may be some reference materials on copyright at your local library.

I\'ve seriously considered //www.lulu.com for publishing a poetry chapbook, and may yet pursue that. They seem to be a pretty good place to deal with. If I ever write a novel I think is saleable, I guess I\'ll make the effort to find an agent though, and go through channels like the rest of the writing world.

Good luck with your book! It\'s great to hear from another writer.  

[buswolley]

I think I just meant how was it going, writing, publishing, whatever you wanted to share.  I am sooo curious about other artist's work I was just looking to be impressed.  I was hoping some one had posted to the web so I could enjoy their work.  Do you have the links to your poetry?  I have no skill for that art form, so I admire people who do.  If you ever want to share your any of your work, message me I'll send you my e-mail address, I would love to read it.  I figure published works are already polished; I like to see something grow and mature.  I can't promises to read all 50,000 words, but I will do my best.  I can sure relate to that pesky day job thing... it ruins everything!!  

Thanks for the info on ASCAP.  I really do know about copyright law.  They do not have control over lyrics.  They only control the public playing of music, so if I wanted a song to play over a web link they are the ones to take my money as long as it is not down loadable (which is actually were the idea for the story began: incorporating a audio art form to enhance a literary one.  You hear what is happening in the story as well as reading about it.)

Example of copyright law: If you are surfing I-tunes and listening to music ASCAP licenses the 30 second sample, but if you purchase said music that goes to the recording label that is usually represented by Harry Fox Agency and RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).  Furthermore, if you want to publish lyrics or sheet music, you have to get permission from the Harry Fox Agency and the label.  If you want to record music for anything other then personal consumption it\'s the same hoops.  For the most part publishing titles and artist names is fine, but even that can get gray.  They usually fall under 'public figure' laws.  I think I'm getting dizzy --  for right now only friends and family get to read anything -- the last thing I want to do is get sued.    

[oldfolkie]

Good to hear more about copyright. Important stuff to know. There are some fine lines -- you need to be able to quote and give examples to discuss things. And permissions aren\'t always easily come by.

Check your pm\'s.

[sarahd]

Just some ideas:  sometimes small presses don\'t require agents:  here\'s a list, and there\'s others:  
http://www.litline.org/links/presses.html.  Also try University Presses.  Do a search (not that I\'ve published
a book!).

 Also, get one of those guides on how to write book proposals, or search around online.  You can use those to querry agents.  I got an agent interested in my work from an online publication.

Also, start small.  Get a copy of Poets and Writers and flip to the back to see whose looking for submissions, then send em.  Expect lots and lots of rejections and be willing to revise.   Also, check out The Writers Chronicle:  www.awpwriter.org out of George Mason U.  You might have to be a member to get their pub, but you should be able to find it in libraries I would think.  Poets and Writers is as good, I think.  

[buswolley]

Thanks Sarah, it looks like great information.

I personally am not looking to publish; my ramblings are not even close to worthy.  I just wanted to get this freaking story out of my head.  And I don't like knocking down doors. That's why I spent ten years paying off a useless MFA in theatre and am now smearing paint on a wall for a living.  Note: MFA's are not useless just mine.

However I am interested in reading other's work – HINT!  I read your piece on your Dad's sight.  I loved it!  I also read Hometown. Loved it too!!  I can't get to Goddess.  Please consider posting more.

I was privileged to read some poetry by Oldfolkie.  She's pretty good, in my humble opinion.  I'll let her post the link if she is so inclined.  

[sarahd]

I agree:  MFA\'s are useless.  Time spent writing was good.  The degree\'s not much..

[gkg]

as one without i must say that i envy the time spent reading and studying, and sometimes wish i hadn\'t walked away from it.  not to mention that it really helps in the employment arena, regardless of how little it applies to your job function.

[sarahd]

No, not all MFA\'s are useless, I suppose.  I wouldnt\' be teaching without it, but I have no permanent job yet, and may never get one.  Its excruciatingly difficult.  I\'ve been told if I want to teach, to get a Ph.d.  I\'ve toyed with it, but I\'m not much of an academic.   We\'ll see.

[gkg]

depends on what level of teaching you\'re after and where you are - they are starving for good teachers out here and if you can pass the C-Best and have an MFA you are in so far as i know.

i have a friend teaching English/Language Arts at a college out here in SF.  if you want i can try to hook you up so you can ask him about it.

i know that a degree is probably the only thing keeping an artist whose work i love from a real teaching position.  she asked me what does an artist without a degree do to make a living - i said: "they are stuck doing something else, like most other people without a degree - not doing what they want to do."

[sngwthme]

 she asked me what does an artist without a degree do to make a living - i said: "they are stuck doing something else, like most other people without a degree - not doing what they want to do."

The unfortunate truth! However to put a positive spin on it, the work place would not be the same without us!