the writing community--tolerance wanes
Mood:
Contemplative
Read/Post Comments (3)
December 6, 2005
I receive a number of capsule e-mails for listservs I'm on. DorothyL. eMWA. Midwest MWA (that's Mystery Writers of America, both the national and midwest chapters). MurderMustAdvertise. MWA Breakout (for professional writers). Association of Health Care Journalists. And then there's this blogging thing.
It's a community.
And sometimes I DELETE, DELETE, DELETE, DELETE without reading.
That's been the case for a while with DorothyL, the chattiest of the bunch. DL is made up of about 2500 mystery fans and writers and if you're in the right frame of mind it's wonderful. If you're NOT, well, you really want these people to SHUT UP!
At the moment my favorite of the bunch is the MWA Breakout. It's heavily moderated so it only deals with professional issues like royalty statements, touring, problems with editors, etc. Nothing basic. No: what font do I use? No basic research questions like: my character gets shot in the head from close range with a .357. Could he survive?
AHCJ is kind of interesting because you get medical writers that are freelance like myself, but also medical writers on staff at News & World Report and Newsweek, as well as everything inbetween. I've used them from time to time when I needed information about collaboration agreements and other things of that type.
Like I said, my appreciation for these things goes up and down. Places like MurderMustAdvertise tend toward repetition. From time to time I get something revelatory and think--yeah, I should try that--but most of the time I just wish the newbies would go buy Jeff Marks' book (he's the moderator) on Marketing the Mystery Novel before they touch the keyboard. It would save the rest of us a lot of DELETING.
Sometimes it reminds me of a bit from a West Wing episode, where Josh asks Leo if he thinks scientists let us down and Leo says yes, what have they really done? Josh says, "Well, the Internet." Leo says, "More efficient delivery of gossip and pornography. Big deal. Where's my Jet Pack?"
Don't get me wrong. I'm not sure how freelancers worked without the 'net. One of the wonderful things I receive regularly, not even considering how easy it is to do research, are job bulletins. I'm on several lists that provide me with freelance writing jobs sent right to my e-mail account. But it's a 2-edged sword. It makes you simultaneously more efficient yet creates an entire universe of distractions at your fingertips. And with that thought, I'm going to sign off.
Best,
Mark Terry
I receive a number of capsule e-mails for listservs I'm on. DorothyL. eMWA. Midwest MWA (that's Mystery Writers of America, both the national and midwest chapters). MurderMustAdvertise. MWA Breakout (for professional writers). Association of Health Care Journalists. And then there's this blogging thing.
It's a community.
And sometimes I DELETE, DELETE, DELETE, DELETE without reading.
That's been the case for a while with DorothyL, the chattiest of the bunch. DL is made up of about 2500 mystery fans and writers and if you're in the right frame of mind it's wonderful. If you're NOT, well, you really want these people to SHUT UP!
At the moment my favorite of the bunch is the MWA Breakout. It's heavily moderated so it only deals with professional issues like royalty statements, touring, problems with editors, etc. Nothing basic. No: what font do I use? No basic research questions like: my character gets shot in the head from close range with a .357. Could he survive?
AHCJ is kind of interesting because you get medical writers that are freelance like myself, but also medical writers on staff at News & World Report and Newsweek, as well as everything inbetween. I've used them from time to time when I needed information about collaboration agreements and other things of that type.
Like I said, my appreciation for these things goes up and down. Places like MurderMustAdvertise tend toward repetition. From time to time I get something revelatory and think--yeah, I should try that--but most of the time I just wish the newbies would go buy Jeff Marks' book (he's the moderator) on Marketing the Mystery Novel before they touch the keyboard. It would save the rest of us a lot of DELETING.
Sometimes it reminds me of a bit from a West Wing episode, where Josh asks Leo if he thinks scientists let us down and Leo says yes, what have they really done? Josh says, "Well, the Internet." Leo says, "More efficient delivery of gossip and pornography. Big deal. Where's my Jet Pack?"
Don't get me wrong. I'm not sure how freelancers worked without the 'net. One of the wonderful things I receive regularly, not even considering how easy it is to do research, are job bulletins. I'm on several lists that provide me with freelance writing jobs sent right to my e-mail account. But it's a 2-edged sword. It makes you simultaneously more efficient yet creates an entire universe of distractions at your fingertips. And with that thought, I'm going to sign off.
Best,
Mark Terry
Read/Post Comments (3)
Previous Entry :: Next Entry
Back to Top
