http://www.murderati.com/blog/Mysteries, Murder and Marketing with 14 of today's hottest writers.en-USSquarespace Site Server v5.11.5 (http://www.squarespace.com/)JD RhoadesThu, 02 Sep 2010 17:38:22 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9590878
I'll sign.]]>Larry GasperThu, 02 Sep 2010 15:26:10 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9586337PLR is a good program for writers, though if you only have one book out like I do, the payment won't make or break you. A lot of poets and literary writers I know with multiple books out do count on the payments though.
One other program we have in Canada, which I don't know if they have in Britain, is Access Copyright, where you get paid for possible photocopying of your book. I'm not sure how it works, as I'm not registered, but it's another bit of money that can help a writer out.
We have a strong library system in my city and the economy is doing well so we don't have to worry about cutbacks and I'm grateful for that. Even though I buy lots of books, the library is still a great place to discover authors and even just to spend a few enjoyable hours.]]>LorenaThu, 02 Sep 2010 15:09:14 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9586204
And I will restrain myself and stay off my "libraries are good for society" soapbox....]]>DebbieThu, 02 Sep 2010 15:01:40 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9586131
Canada also has something called CanCopy whereby books can be reproduced with permission by the copyright holder for use by those who have a visual or perceptual disability.

I have over one thousand books for young children in my home and although that sounds like a lot, my daughter had read them all many times before junior kindergarten. The library is invaluable.\

So, back to the question.... Literacy is important and I think that libraries support learning, and promote accessability to books. How author's fare as a result-I imagine it's positive. As for Rowling and Brown...is the funding to help out lesser known authors or authors in general? Please don't penialize them because they are doing well. Instead, add tax incentives for those who donate to the library. Or in true government fashion, create a complicated funding equasion that reflects profits on a particular books sales and pay government officials to implement and moniter the above mentioned so that you create the appearance of ensuring tax dollars aren't wasted, while paying gov. officials and not the author's!]]>pari noskin taichertThu, 02 Sep 2010 14:49:09 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9586017
This has got to change.]]>CathyThu, 02 Sep 2010 14:05:39 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9585597
Several people mentioned not wanting a library to charge. Of course we all pay taxes to support them. In my area, most of the small towns have banded together into a regional library, which is wonderful for sharing resources and vastly expanding the available collection. My little town won't get its nose out of the air and join, so I quite happily drive to the next town and pay an annual fee to use the larger system. Would others do that? Quite a few do, but it would likely be a hardship for the dozens I see in the nearest branch, using the computers and reading by the fire-pit.]]>ShizukaThu, 02 Sep 2010 13:21:38 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9585267GraceThu, 02 Sep 2010 11:57:04 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9584869Jake NantzThu, 02 Sep 2010 11:51:26 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/9/2/right-or-privilege.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9584842
But I don't think library lending should be charged, either. I like the idea of writers getting a small percentage (especially if it's capped, bigtime bonus idea there), but I am certain it won't last when the federal government looks at their budget and says something pedestrian and idiotic like, "Hell, writers like Dan Brown and such are making millions, why on earth should we keep giving them federal money on top of that?" Because no matter where you are in the world, if you're talking about the government, you're about 96% likely to be talking about a collection of people who would improve the gene pool just by removing themselves from it, and instead they somehow managed to get put in charge.]]>Señor EccentricityThu, 02 Sep 2010 11:24:34 +0000http://www.murderati.com/blog/2009/10/31/kill-your-squirrels.html#comments327834:3625735:comment/9584748
A little backstory:

I'm in a band, we've been self-recording an album this summer, and the nasty humidity has yet again compromised my mixing board. It's been a rough year, what with an onslaught of things simultaneously happening in my life (nearly found employment after 5 months of fruitless job-hunting, went through 4 unsuccessful romantic pursuits with 4 different women with varying degrees of success but nevertheless ending on a bad note after biting the bullet and signing up on 2 different online dating sites, nearly lost the house, nearly had to euthanize our dog, etc.), and the entire time now I had a screenplay idea cooking in the back of my mind, something I wanted to turn into a film in a year or two (give or take depending on certain factors).

Well, 2 days of running a dehumidifier down in the studio got my mixer up and running again, but I took it as a sign to take a break, give myself some time to relax a bit before we get back into the swing of things. And I'd been toying with the idea of taking this time to focus entirely on fleshing the screenplay out (I've been slowly hammering the outline out over the past few months here and there), but those damned squirrels...

Then I stumble upon this blog entry while looking random words in Google Image.

I'm taking this as a sign from a higher authority to get my butt into gear: thank you for the laughs and the words of encouragement I didn't even realize I needed. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a screenplay to write...]]>