Since yesterday’s post was a “A Writer’s Lament,” I thought this video would be appropriate.
Very clever refashioning a cat’s mournful cry into a song. But even more, it sounds like the cat is a writer!
Defusing Contract Landmines
It is crucial that every author knows that if they sign a contract, they are legally bound by the terms within that contract. Even if it is to their disadvantage. Our agency is often approached with a phrase like “I signed a bad book contract and want out of it. Can you help?” Usually, the answer is “Unfortunately, no.” After so many years of running into landmines buried …
Fun Fridays – February 9, 2024
Today’s video suggests two things: 1. Technology advances are astounding. 2. I may be classified, by some, as old. In 1975 I programmed a computer to play golf, using a random number generator. The computer was in a university where I attended a summer math camp as a high schooler. The computer was the size of a living room with spinning wheels of tape. I input my data on a keyboard, which …
For Authors With an LLC
If you have ever read Franz Kafka’s novel The Castle, you know the frustration of the main character trying to cut through the endless bureaucracy of the local village. There are times when we, in America, feel the same about our government’s endless need to generate new laws and paperwork. I have recommended that authors who are generating income and also need to write off expenses …
Fun Fridays – February 2, 2024
Little known fact. While in college I worked for a few months in the back room of the school library, restoring damaged books. When I found today’s video, I was fascinated by the extraordinary skill of Sophia Bogle, book restorer. Hope you find this 10-minute video an education on a lost art.
The First Lines of Your Novel
The opening lines of a novel are like an introduction to the rest of the story. Some have become famous. “It was a dark and stormy night” is the well-known beginning of that struggling novelist Snoopy in the cartoon Peanuts. It is also the first line of Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel Paul Clifford (1830), as well as the first line in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. (L’Engle admitted she …
Fun Fridays – January 26, 2024
Time to blow your mind. Today’s video is a visual representation of J.S. Bach’s “Canon” that was written to be able to be played forward and backward–and simultaneously front to back. Genius composition on display. Seemingly simple and even mundane. Just wait for it to unfold. Apparently composed in response to a composition challenge by King Frederick the Great …
What Entered the Public Domain This Year?
I try to post something about this every year. This year is no exception. In the United States, under U.S. copyright law, works published in 1928 and earlier are now in public domain. One can publish them or use them without securing copyright permission. In case you are wondering about the specifics, the Copyright Term Extension Act (passed in 1998) gave works published from 1923 through 1977 a …
Fun Fridays – January 19, 2024
Since many of you have been experiencing an extra dose of winter this month, I thought this video about the symmetry of the snowflake is fascinating. As you watch the video, consider the magnificence of God’s handiwork. Awe-inspiring. Worthy of worship.
A Year in Review: A Look Back at 2023
It is always a good idea to reflect on the previous year. As those who follow Jesus Christ, we are pressed because the lost world around us is being crushed by the enemy called sin. And yet we should still count our blessings (and as the hymn reads, “name them one by one”). The goodness of God remains unchanged despite attempts to proclaim otherwise. The following is an attempt to review some …