Welcome to my writing laboratory. "Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little."—Tom Stoppard, playwright
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Harlan Ellison -- Pay the Writer
Warning, this film snippet contains foul language.
Ellison really brings home the argument of how amateur writers undercut professionals.
We all could help change this mentality if each of us asked for what we deserve. Negotiate our contracts. Ask for raises when we're due. The problem -- and I'm guilty of this -- is this business is so hard sometimes that there are times when we're so happy just to get a sale that we don't think to negotiate the pay rate.
Hi Amy and Michelle, Thanks for stopping by. It's so hard to take a stand on principle (as I found out this summer with SPJ), but I think this world would be a better place if more people did just that.
I love this guy because of his passion about professionalism for writers. I've been singing that tune a long time.
Kind of ironic that a guy closely associated with Cool Cleveland (a "no pay the writers" place) would sound off on this subject. Then again, I know that's not your doing, George.
See Jack Ricchiuto's recent post on irony and paradox, John. Thomas and I differ on lots of things. It's his pub. I just write the blog columns and make the technology work.
George - He was always like this. A Man and His Dog was written following his divorce. Read the columns he collected in The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat.
What I want to know is whether anyone paid him to have these interviews up on YouTube. Wendy did you inquire of him about this?
Hi Harlan, Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Actually, the clip is from a documentary about Ellison called Dreams with Sharp Teeth. Ellison owns the copyright on the production (it's produced by Kilimanjaro Corp., which is Ellison's company) and so he's making money from the use of this clip on YouTube.
13 comments:
Hi Wendy,
We all could help change this mentality if each of us asked for what we deserve. Negotiate our contracts. Ask for raises when we're due. The problem -- and I'm guilty of this -- is this business is so hard sometimes that there are times when we're so happy just to get a sale that we don't think to negotiate the pay rate.
Hope you're having a good day, Wendy.
Amy
Love this guy.
Hi Amy and Michelle,
Thanks for stopping by. It's so hard to take a stand on principle (as I found out this summer with SPJ), but I think this world would be a better place if more people did just that.
I love this guy because of his passion about professionalism for writers. I've been singing that tune a long time.
I read Ellison when I was a teenager. I used to have tons of respect for him. He seems like an old curmudgeon these days.
Hey G,
Agreed, but I suppose that can happen when you're fighting to get paid.
Kind of ironic that a guy closely associated with Cool Cleveland (a "no pay the writers" place) would sound off on this subject. Then again, I know that's not your doing, George.
See Jack Ricchiuto's recent post on irony and paradox, John. Thomas and I differ on lots of things. It's his pub. I just write the blog columns and make the technology work.
I know that, G. I suppose I'd like it even more if it had more of you and your approach in it.
Thx, John.
George - He was always like this. A Man and His Dog was written following his divorce. Read the columns he collected in The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat.
What I want to know is whether anyone paid him to have these interviews up on YouTube. Wendy did you inquire of him about this?
Hi Harlan,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Actually, the clip is from a documentary about Ellison called Dreams with Sharp Teeth. Ellison owns the copyright on the production (it's produced by Kilimanjaro Corp., which is Ellison's company) and so he's making money from the use of this clip on YouTube.
Hope that answers your question.
That was just great! Frickin' great!
I just came over by way of a Michelle O Neil link on another person's blog and had to thank you.
He's absolutely right!
Hey there, Go Mama!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. You're right, this is great.
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