Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers, June 17, 2011 Edition

►Like to muck around with metaphor? Head over to The Economist magazine's language blog for some news, and further links. (Who knew The Economist had a Language blog, huh?)

►What are you writing? Do you know what it's going to be, when you first start on a new piece? Short story? Poem? Novel? Personal narrative? Erika Dreifus considers.

►A few times a year, for six weeks or so, I send out daily writing prompts, and while that program is on hiatus for now, I found this great resource where creative writers can get a prompt fix.

►If you haven't already read Dani Shapiro's brilliant essay in n+1 about the intersection of her writing life and internet distraction, then you haven't….well gee, maybe you've been writing and not been sufficiently distracted on the internet.

►I should no longer be shocked by tales told by former web content slaves. But I'm still disturbed, mostly by statements like this, which I think are mostly, and sadly, true: "The Internet has created more readers than ever before in the history of the world. And yet, perversely, the actual writer is more undervalued than ever before. .. In the age of Internet news, Google 'keywords' matter…Regular old words, not so much."

►Let's see if I can write the following sentence without smirking. James Franco is busy doing The Thing. Not that thing. This thing – The Thing – is a sort-of "quarterly publication". Take a look and decide for yourself.

►The Writer Magazine is now available on Nook and via an iPad app.

►Not every author can go this far, but when the last independent bookstore in her area closed, novelist Anne Patchett had enough, and announced plans to open one herself.

►Poetry. Songwriting. One late summer week. The Cotwsolds region of England. Paul Muldoon. The home and gardens of T.S. Elliot. Enticing, no?

►Finally, do some folks take The Onion seriously? Apparently they do, and then post their hilariously inappropriate responses. (hat tip RexBlog)

Have a great weekend!

Take that, lousy contract. There, I feel better now. Sort of.

I don't spend a lot of time here complaining about the writing life. Hey, I chose it. I'm here, most of the time, to connect with others who have also chosen to write. So I try to confine my complaining. Then, there's this…..

The other day, I get an emailed contract from a new website, and in between reading it on the screen, I'm also scanning email, and oh look -- an announcement that the site is now live! Funny I thought that was happening in two weeks.

I click over, check things out, look around the site and see…my essay. The very same essay to which the contract pertains. I wonder, am I old or just old fashioned in expecting contracts to arrive BEFORE publication?

A few hours later, I get another email. So sorry, it ways, but the dollar amount in the contract is, ahem, wrong. It's actually, you know, less money. About half as much. Not a problem, is it? And, oh yes, by the way, there is a new payment schedule – 60 to 90 days after publication, not 30.

Did I mention the contract's lousy terms, how the publisher wants to own – well, everything? Publisher, you know what, I have an idea, let's save us both some time: How about if you also take…oh I don't know, how about rights to my entire inventory of past, current and future pieces, all my current and future ideas, and all my notes too – hey, you never know, you might want to one day publish, resell, reassign, republish in any media, now existing or ever invented, without further compensation.

For the first time in my professional life, I pick up the phone and tell a publication where to stick their contract. I say take down the essay and they do. I don't feel much better. But I think I will.

Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Links for Writers, February 18th 2011 Edition

►Worried that maybe you use one favorite word or one particular phrase too frequently? Check your prose over at WriteWords to find out.

► Over at Daily Finance, Karen Dionne tells all about foreign rights.

► In case you haven't followed the discussion about the distribution of work by women vs. men in literary magazines, here's the Vida post which started it all.

►If you like writer-centered link round-ups like this, try the 20-links lists over at Writer's Rainbow.

►And Erika Dreifus lists links to some post-AWP conference reactions.

►To what commuting lengths will some folks go to complete their education. Check out this writer's (gorgeous but trying) commute.

►If, like me, you enjoy the work of writer Hope Edelman, check out her relaunched blog.

►On Twitter, people with strong opinions about possible editorial fallout from the Huffington Post/AOL merger are posting under the hashtag #huffpuff. One positive outcome are the tweets directing writers to less well-known (paying) online venues to pitch/submit online news and features.

Have a great weekend.