So I had a post for today. No really I did, I hadn’t written yet but it was all planned out about the whole diversionary tactics a lot of people are using in the Helix debacle. There are a bunch of folks completely ignoring the bigotry to focus on whether the author should have posted the letter in the first place. I was gonna talk about how most editors and authors I’ve met talk about the sharing of rejection letters all the time and it’s the content that’s getting people up in arms and this is really just a straw man argument. I could also talk about the published book of rejection letters I own but I digress
So yeah the post was gonna be about that but Tempest beat me to it so go here and read her great post: Dear People On The Asimov’s Boards and Elsewhere…
We can spend the next week quibbling over whether or not rejections are private correspondence and whether it’s unprofessional to post one to public or private spaces. (I don’t believe it is based on the fact that, since I’ve been a writer, writers have shared rejections, either in whole or in part, in forums relating to writing. Also, I agree with those who’ve said that once a person says truly despicable, racist things in letter form, professionalism is already off the table.) It may very well be true that, from a legal standpoint, Luke didn’t have the right to do what he did. But, again, would anyone care if it hadn’t revealed what it did?
And if you’re interested in reading what editors have to say about the sharing of rejection letters go to the link in the quote. The consensus seems to be that while it may not be completely legal on copyright issues it is something that most editors expect to happen so they wouldn’t write anything in a letter they wouldn’t stand behind. They also understand that those are professional correspondence that reflect not only on them but on their publication as well.
Now just a few interesting, useful or just plan weird links
– 100 Web Tools For Writers – Haven’t read the whole thing yet but it looks interesting.
– Humans only use 10% of their brain – Bullshit!
– How To Turn Your Vacuum Cleaner Into A Bazooka! – For when the Zombie ‘Pocalypse goes down!
And finally a weird little online Neopets-like thing were you get to raise a dragon! I know dragons are trite and all that but come on raise a dragon from egg on how can you say no?
Words From The Center, Words From The Edge 