I usually don’t link to internet fist fights, but not linking to this one is like not telling y’all that there’s free candy and ice cream being given away in the puppy & kitten store down the street. Besides, as someone who’s contemplated posting free fiction on my website (and who once posted an entire novel on a f-locked Livejournal), this whole series of arguments is of great interest to me.
Nick Mamatas rips him a new one, in the way that only he can do.
John Scalzi at first decides there’s not much to comment on…
…but then changes his mind and rips Dr. McScaberson a new one, in the way that only he can do.
Update: Using Gresham’s Law, Dr. Hendrix tries, fails to logically explain his use of the term “scab”.
For the record: I love Hendrix’s fiction, and will keep buying it as long as he keeps writing it. But I disagree with his argument that posting free fiction online prevents “legitimate” writers from earning a living. My little stories and novella excerpts are not stealing the bread from the mouths of writers and their families. The only person it might prevent getting paid for their work is… me, if publishers refuse to buy the work on the grounds that I already “published” it through internet posting. However, John Scalzi’s success with his online novel “Agent to the Stars” (and writers who’ve posted even just a few chapters of WIPs online – such as Cherie Priest, the most famous example) disproves the theory that once online, it can never be sold – so you never know. But I’m not yet as popular or as talented as those writers, so for now, I’ll keep online fiction limited to reprints and excerpts only.
2 Comments
Well said.
Giving away stories and articles free is a well established route to publication.
In the UK, ITV companies don’t charge for the soaps and films they show. They rely on advertising to enable them to pay for the stories.
So too, with the advent of the Internet, authors can put their work (and it is work) online in an attempt to do the same.
Whether, an author submits work to publishers or puts their work online in the hope people will click on the ads around the stories, the route to success is hard.
It may be that the guy ‘lost it’ as a result of the pressures of the hard author’s life.
In any event, attacking other struggling authors cannot possibly be the answer.
By the way, I read your exerpts and thought they were very fine indeed. You are a great writer
If you have a complete online story (perhaps a short one) I would welcome linking to it from one of my sites. I doubt it would change your life but it might be ‘one small step for man’.
Bye for now
Rob
(Rob Hopcott – online – and struggling along with then rest – author)
I happen to work in pubishing, and our company often signs authors who’ve established a presence online with their writing. We publish non-fiction, but it’s the same principle – if it’s good, we’ll buy it, even if it’s been online. It’s the same for where I used to work (at Tor).
Thank you for the compliment – most people seem to slink away in stunned silence after reading my fiction, so I’m never quite sure what they’re thinking. So naturally, I think the worst.
I do have one story online – it’s “Jetsam”, over at the Sybil’s Garage website. You’re welcome to link to it:
http://www.sensesfive.com/samples/jetsam.php