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Jami’s rants

You’ll Look Like a Spammer If…

Screen shot of spam subject lines

If you’ve had email for a while, you’re familiar with email spam.  Spammers often try to make their emails seem relevant, with fake warnings about our PayPal or eBay account, etc., but their messages have nothing to do with us (um, yeah, Viagra doesn’t apply to me).  We’re just an email address to […]

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May 22, 2012

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Is Taking the Hard Road a “Waste”?

Pair of dice

My post about the ethics of fan fiction went viral this week, spreading beyond even the Twilight fandom.  From a post on mediabistro/GalleyCat to mentions at Dear Author, Jezebel, The Paris Review, and AbsoluteWrite, people have been discussing ethics in regards to writing and the publishing industry. I don’t bring that […]

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March 15, 2012

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Who Cares about Quality Writing Anymore?

Bored girl holding her head in her hand

No, that’s not a rhetorical or trick question.  Recent events in the publishing industry have left me asking that as a serious point of confusion and discouragement. I know this is an ongoing complaint about the state of literature.  Over a century ago, people complained about penny dreadfuls and dime novels, and […]

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March 13, 2012

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When Does Fan Fiction Cross an Ethical Line?

Swedish sports fan with painted face

Fan fiction, also known as fanfic, refers to stories written by fans about the characters, situations, or world of existing works created by others.  This definition sounds broad because the world of fanfic is broad. On some level, everything from Wicked, inspired by The Wizard of Oz, to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies […]

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March 6, 2012

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What Is the Goal of Ranting?

xkcd's Comic: Duty Calls: "Someone is WRONG on the internet."

*sigh*  It’s happened again.  An author has insulted other authors and a huge percentage of readers.  Why do people do this? Between social media, the interrelationships of the publishing industry, and the permanent nature of the internet, news of negativity travels far and wide.  Sure, we can’t spout unicorns and […]

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January 26, 2012

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The Insanity Behind the Pressure to Have “Numbers”

Screen filled with ones and zeroes

Confession:  I broke one of the unwritten rules of the Writer Code. I ranted.  In public.  On an agent’s blog. And yet I’m still here to tell to the tale.  In fact, the agent responded to my comment and then—in a show of fantastic grace—emailed me to make sure I […]

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October 20, 2011

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How To Avoid the Publishing Kool-Aid

Glass of pink liquid (kool-aid)

This isn’t going to be one of those “let’s bash traditional publishing/self-publishing” posts.  There are still too many of those opinions on both sides, and I don’t want any part of that. Two people I respect blogged recently about publishing and kool-aid.  Agent Janet Reid posted about the ten things authors […]

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October 4, 2011

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Should Books Have a Rating System?

Movie trailer PG-13 rating card

This must be the week for me stepping into controversial topics.  It’s a good thing I’m still wearing my flameproof jacket from my last post on plot vs. character.  *smile* It’s been a while since Meghan Cox Gurdon’s article at the Wall Street Journal and her contention that young adult (YA) […]

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July 28, 2011

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How Do You Choose Blog Topics?

Multiple choice questionnaire

In case you missed it, Kristen Lamb started a debate with her post yesterday—Sacred Cow-Tipping–Why Writers Blogging About Writing is Bad.  A collective whine went up from the writing community.  “No blogging about writing?  Then what are we supposed to blog about?” *raises hand*  I was right there with the crowd, […]

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June 9, 2011

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When Shouldn’t You Self Publish?

Painted stop on road

Many articles have been written about traditional vs. self publishing (this blog is no exception, as my articles here and here prove), and agent Rachelle Gardner’s recent post added an intriguing twist to the conversation.  She asked her readers who are sticking with traditional publishing to explain their reasons why. […]

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April 12, 2011

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