Harlan Ellison ranted in fiery fashion with a full verbal body slam about payment for writers as part of the upcoming feature documentary on Harlan Ellison, “DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH. Check it out: *note: CUSSING! And yelling! Be warned!*
And! Thanks to a savvy reader, I have a link to Chekov’s Mistress Laura Kinsale’s response to Ellison’s rant:
Personally, I will not write novels anymore if they have to be supported by advertising. It just breaks the bond between me and the reader. There is a bond, with a print book, with something that is bought and paid for. There’s more than exchange of filthy lucre. There’s an exchange of effort, even if it’s just the effort of lugging a book home from the library. Come to think of it, maybe this is why readers become so irrationally infuriated when a book doesn’t live up to their expectations. It’s an insult to more than their pocketbooks. It’s an insult to =them=, to their self-worth. I the author have asked for their time and their mind, and I failed them.
Conversely, if the reader takes what I wrote for free, they take my time and my mind for free. They get the fun, or fulfillment, or just something to wonder about, and I get zip. This is a deeper violation than just a monetary one. I think it’s the real source of Ellison’s outrage.
And here’s your quote of the week from Ellison: “It’s the amateurs who make it tough for the professionals. If people acted professional....”
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I’m coming late to this party on account of my intermittent net access over the last week, but I wanted to say that, based on the trailer and article, I’m a little nervous about the documentary. Hopeful, but nervous.
Well I’m a screaming extrovert, so if you see me, stop me and I’ll likely drag you to the bar, LOL! On any day but Wed. Wed I’m crazy busy with the Historical Writers conference.