tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post1898937666956128695..comments2023-10-06T04:46:41.176-04:00Comments on KATHRYN MAGENDIE: Is the Novelist Work Not Valued, or Under Valued?Kathryn Magendiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12863595228298349863noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-88580758131491999112011-01-26T12:17:01.366-05:002011-01-26T12:17:01.366-05:00Great words for thought! I don't give books aw...Great words for thought! I don't give books away! I may buy a copy and gift it, but nobody gets my copy!<br /><br />FYI...I followed your link from a comment on Sheila Deeth's blog.Ruth Cox aka abitosunshinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12670570644577223420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-30313132987496421092011-01-25T13:27:08.725-05:002011-01-25T13:27:08.725-05:00People still have the notion that artists are supp...People still have the notion that artists are supposed to suffer. I know this is true for visual artists and I believe it to be so for writers also. <br /><br />Plus: If I had 20 bucks for every time somebody asked me to do a poster or t-shirt for free, I would be doing ok. I dislike it that people sooo undervalue art, like it's easy to produce and should be free for the having! And then I am the one who sounds like such a snot-head when I suggest that I don't want to do something for nothing.Kerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15281288495129054688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-7767453372567725102011-01-25T11:51:00.068-05:002011-01-25T11:51:00.068-05:00Wow! A very thought-provoking post. I think you&...Wow! A very thought-provoking post. I think you've nailed the whys.Susan R. Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09578747592345750650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-91369862352376625912011-01-25T02:45:05.475-05:002011-01-25T02:45:05.475-05:00I am happy to see someone say what I feel. I'v...I am happy to see someone say what I feel. I've heard other writers say we shouldn't charge to teach writers. We should be generous and give away the knowledge that we worked so hard to gain. <br />Finding the monetary value of our intellectual knowledge is difficult and many times we just have to charge what the market will bear. But it still surprises me when beginning writers will keep me on the phone or send me their work and expect me to take my valuable time to edit and critique several of their pieces.<br />I am not a novelist, but I teach and I use my fees to add to my income. I don't apologize for that, but I have friends who seem to resent me for charging for my services. I still do as much for free as I can to help other writers. I always will, but I don't understand why some think I should give away the knowledge I gained over the years. <br />I buy books. I urge people to buy books and support authors. My house is running over with books. I know that writing is work and takes up many hours of our lives. Therefore people should be happy to pay for that blood sweat and tears.Glenda Beallhttp://www.glendacouncilbeall.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-38029977223390769572011-01-24T20:50:58.971-05:002011-01-24T20:50:58.971-05:00Hi Kat,
I think the books are great have in ourliv...Hi Kat,<br />I think the books are great have in ourlives that myself I don't read much but I do buy a book for all my friends birthday and my family.<br />AND compare to eating out the restaurant the last a long time:-) Although it is much appreciate for everybody.<br /><br />You are doing very good work:-)<br />Are you still singing at bath room? ha ha haMichiko Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09159172013948402225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-4011269249628110412011-01-24T19:38:24.100-05:002011-01-24T19:38:24.100-05:00I think that you have a more informed perspective ...I think that you have a more informed perspective on this than I, but from the x-dollars-per-hour warehouse working, aspiring author's point of view, I see that it's a product of our changing times.<br />The advancements in technology are amazing, but a little scary to me. Where in previous centuries writers were more public, influential and affluent figures, today people only care about what they see and hear with immediacy. The philosophers and authors of yesterday are now tv personalities, and the only question about a book is, can it be made into a movie.<br />Writing is a tough job, not for everyone, and not always lucrative, but gosh would I give everything up in a second to be able to write for a living.Hannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936315047570120258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-78658590044180346672011-01-24T18:36:26.204-05:002011-01-24T18:36:26.204-05:00I totally agree with you, especially as I oculdn&#...I totally agree with you, especially as I oculdn't write a book.<br />How we value different careers (I suppose some people wouldn't actually call writing a career?) as a society (e.g. compared to stockbroking/banking/plastic surgery?)says a lot about our value system, and how skewed it is.Mimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08100985140335023467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-20967299604022536242011-01-24T14:35:15.596-05:002011-01-24T14:35:15.596-05:00Kathryn, whoa-all those questions! I just think th...Kathryn, whoa-all those questions! I just think the worker is due his wage. Beginning writing is such a "maybe" thing for us all, I think we (me included) we write well enought to get money for our thoughts.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17012982939454873340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-55791501378380102652011-01-24T14:15:31.427-05:002011-01-24T14:15:31.427-05:00There! You said it all, each line and each paragra...There! You said it all, each line and each paragraph of this blog is about intellectual property, which is valued only if it is scarce, like gold.<br /><br />Yes, intellectual property, music, art, theater, books, all need to be compensated. <br /><br />Now, how about forming a better union/organization, as the actors and the directors have, and establish rights and legal remedies.Rosaria Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03133147851332084180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-48550177458811419382011-01-24T13:04:15.975-05:002011-01-24T13:04:15.975-05:00I'm reading your comments and very interested ...I'm reading your comments and very interested in them!<br /><br />If you walked into my house, you'd see a house FULL of books - hundreds and hundreds of books- and I don't give them away cause their MINE MINE MINE! *laugh* - I don't like to have people borrow them because they don't always bring them back! MINE MINE MINE! :-D <br /><br />Eryl - we do make more, but so does everyone else except the bookstore and the printers are left out - so it's not that writers are "given" more, but that since some of the other 'equations' are left out, there's a bit more left over to divide between author publisher the ereader whomevers and et cetera - if that makes sense!<br /><br />I'm very interested to see what authors post as comments compared to what readers post as comments!<br /><br />*smiling* . . .Kathryn Magendiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12863595228298349863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-82443515301683056752011-01-24T12:42:08.051-05:002011-01-24T12:42:08.051-05:00Crikey, this is a tough one for a Monday morning K...Crikey, this is a tough one for a Monday morning Kat! I don't think the problem is one of value, per se, I think it's more that the arts as a whole don't easily fit into the value system of money. And writing is the art that fits in least well, for all sorts of reasons. One of those reasons is possibly that books can be consumed and passed on as if new. You can't pass on a haircut or a cup of coffee, you have to pay each time you want one. But we do look for discounts on those things as we do most everything, because there are so many products and services vying for our money, and they're all so damn good at convincing us that we <i>need</i> them. <br /><br />I'm glad to hear that writers make more money on e-books. I had wondered why they were almost the same price as paperbacks when production costs must be so much less, and worried that the extra went to the salesmen.Erylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06008344023000459577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-42727489960714526342011-01-24T11:32:13.108-05:002011-01-24T11:32:13.108-05:00Very good. As an artist I am perplexed at what to...Very good. As an artist I am perplexed at what to charge for my pieces and when I ask other artists that have been playing the game far longer than I, they hedge and hem-haw around the subject. Thanks for the help I say. Anyway, yes.Jill of All Tradeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00075357751662738806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-57022441572350962242011-01-24T10:28:50.898-05:002011-01-24T10:28:50.898-05:00I agree. I hate when people ask me about my "...I agree. I hate when people ask me about my "hobby" and I have to tell them it's actually work. ;pCarolyn V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15456210036213016603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-69326614286636417122011-01-24T09:58:08.189-05:002011-01-24T09:58:08.189-05:00One of the facets of a market driven value percept...One of the facets of a market driven value perception, product, labor or service.<br /><br />A portion of society has placed a high value on sports by spending dollars by the basket, hence there are gobs of money in the sports market. Yet would one spend the same amount of money on a loaf of bread that they spend on a sports item.<br /><br />Values of society tip the scales in favor of what people want and the wordsmith is not high on the value list and like you say to many give their work away. As long as people undervalue their work it will be underpaid.<br /><br />Interesting thought process you traveled through.john bordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01202096303366476728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-86524702980909733992011-01-24T09:53:18.245-05:002011-01-24T09:53:18.245-05:00I love this!! This is one reason I get annoyed by ...I love this!! This is one reason I get annoyed by writers who will write for Demand Studios or some other sites that want to pay $5--or less--for an entire article. Of course it's their own business, but it is the devaluation of hard work and lowers the bar. It's not a living wage and of course in a capitalist economy Demand can pay whatever they want as long as people will do the work, but like the outlawing of piecework in factories ages ago, it doesn't make it right to set a wage so low.<br /><br />As for novelists . . . you are right. All the love and work and energy that goes into it . . .Erica Orloffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16415925758466527671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-21108441941578474512011-01-24T09:51:42.035-05:002011-01-24T09:51:42.035-05:00I know a lot of people who don't buy books who...I know a lot of people who don't buy books who are voracious readers. They borrow from friends and from the library. I love libraries, but also want folks who can afford it to buy books. I don't understand how they can hold an author up to scrutiny, criticize and want high quality contemporary work, but being unwilling to pay for it. Baffles me. No, infuriates me. Luckily with eReaders I see people purchasing more because it's instant and sometimes more affordable - especially than a hardcover. That works for me. <br /><br />I buy books. Perhaps that should be my mantra.Amy Sue Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13854920309673361956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-79098965331716659512011-01-24T09:37:01.214-05:002011-01-24T09:37:01.214-05:00We love you, Kat! And I wholeheartedly agree with...We love you, Kat! And I wholeheartedly agree with you. Think of the hours of joy, escape, laughter, thought-provoking poetry you provide to people... at such a small cost to us. Thank you for sharing yourself with the world so graciously :)demeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11750466778454023591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173191469938389438.post-86937159292445866862011-01-24T09:17:54.185-05:002011-01-24T09:17:54.185-05:00I think you said it all, and very well. ;-)I think you said it all, and very well. ;-)M. R. Sellarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15323752017190564886noreply@blogger.com