Posts by Islander
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(last 3 sentences of your post)True Sacha- but you were rating saddle makers - and tying in a whole group of horse-related specialities - with horseless carriages-
o, and there hasnt, so far, been a move away from horse-shoes anywhere I know of-
I think you are throwing up really silly analogies that have nothing to do with writing. Cheers
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Nah Sacha -* people *go on telling stories whatever (I rather think it is intrinsic to our nature, and it is certainly is what is happening with the Japanese cellphone stuff) - bottom drops out of the world, human animals still tell stories.
Your last couple of sentences are blindingly obvious: in oral cultures, we had kaipurakau/bards/praise-singers (all of whom earned their speech & their keep.) Their efforts didnt stop Nanas telling stories to the infants, or a gigglesome group round a fire enhancing sexual epics
(at least one such became a foundation epic.)
BUT-
we are rather out of the era of reingning blacksmiths & harness-makers and the analogy is inept. The printing press really quickly became the preference of scribes (if you mean professional letterers - who were also skilled in a lot more.) Horse-shoes have never gone out of fashion
(nor have harness-makers,farriers, & blacksmiths for that matter.)I'm a makyr, a kaipurakau: I earn my living (lowpaid as it is) by telling stories, giving poems. And writing forewords, reviews,columns & anything else that pays.In this time, they are *published* with all the print protections that are available. And I do & will defend my income streams fiercely.
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arrgh! Continued response to Mark H-
-and I dont think any e-format yet devised is helpful to me or my publishers.
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O I love this Mark H! (I've downloaded all.)
Total sales for ebooks * are* increasing - off a tiny base. And as the Smashwords commentator said- "ebooks will account for only a small percentage" of overall sales. For quite some time to come.
And, I'd love to know where that@ $10 figure comes from - what's paid to the ISP? The author?
Which'd be really sweet if it went to the 'teenage/20 something' writers...
I dont have a problem for any of this -I just dont want my books ripped off. And I dont -
Because, now! in both instances where there is doubt about copyright, rightsholders/*authors & publishers get paid*-
Because everyone likes to read stuff they *dont* have to pay for - I download articles maybe 100x a week?- because it's already been paid for- and read a rather large number of sites where I dont download.Your argument does not apply to the copyright theme.
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ooo, more goodies to gather!
(Actually, while new word inventions/wordplay get gathered, they generally are just recorded, not stashed in the wordhoards.)Thanks Mark H! (gathering attribution duly noted.)
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Right here, as in "there's a chiel amang y' taking notes"-
just about to onsend to Webster - no, but seriously has been garnered with due attribution, and will fwd it- cheers!
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BenWilson, I personally hate novels about old people written by old people *unless* the characters are engaging, the story interests me, and the whole is well-written-likewise, novels about young people written by young people- y'know, the usual criteria for enjoying a novel?
In her very polite way, I think my Japanese friend was conveying this...
And
"Personally I'd be fully stoked if millions of people read my ramblings."
Yep, that's the driver (as it is for much lesser readership on Twitter etc.)
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And my point, Mark H, was that the downloads were free - which is why there were/are so many readers. There almost certainly wouldnt have been if professional writers holding copyright & charging for use had been involved.
A Japanese friend, who travels many times a year to Tokyo, says the novels were written by young people & about young people. She is in her late 40s and didnt find them at all engaging. -
Isobel - I have been coming back to your very insightful query all this evening and I'll keep on working on it. Because- it is a matter of language isnt it?