The Write Agenda is WRONG

My first real introduction to publishing was a little over eight years ago. I was directed to a company by an on-line acquaintance and subsequently signed two contracts with that firm. I'm not even going to acknowledge the name of that company in this post, because that's giving them too much credit.
I readily acknowledge that I was naive and uninformed, but hey, I was a "published author" and for a while I was content. It took awhile, but some issues arose and my satisfaction with that company deteriorated drastically; to the point that I wanted to be released from my contracts. This post isn't about that situation.
It was at that time that I started to investigate and learn what real publishing was and what my expectations should and could be when working with a mainstream publisher. I 'googled' the name of the company and found all kinds of information, but by that time I knew that everything on the Internet was not necessarily accurate. Remember, I said earlier that I was naive!
That was the beginning of my ongoing education into mainstream publishing. I read LOTS of posts on various forums, but I didn't stop there. I verified information that I read by contacting the authors of as many of those posts and forums as I could. Among the sources that I found to be honest and reliable were those by A.C. Crispin and Victoria Strauss. Enter their names into your search engine and you can discover for yourself who they are.
By my estimation, they are very successful writers and also quite well-known. They could focus all their energies on writing, but they take the time through the Writer Beware website to educate fledgling writers and, at times, warn them about potential pitfalls. (If I had discovered their site sooner and investigated further, I would not have been so naive.)
Recently, a website has surfaced that attempts to portray them negatively. The individual or individuals who created this site (The Write Agenda) choose to remain anonymous. The only purpose of this website appears to be to damage the reputation of the individuals it criticizes. Ann and Victoria have been aware of the site for sometime, but only recently commented publicly about it on their Facebook pages. I can't cut and paste to this message box or I would provide you with links to their comments. I can provide you with the address for the comment made by John Scalzi on Oct. 3 regarding the matter. It is: http://whatever.scalzi.com/
Now, it's a fact that fledgling writers cannot normally expect to get a contract offering great royalty percentages (those are pretty standard) or advances. BUT, they do stand a much better chance of signing with a reputable company and having a shot at success if they listen to the advice of individuals like Ann, Victoria and John who are already there.
It's pretty obvious to me that it is NOT the intention of the creators of The Write Agenda to help writers succeed in their profession. They have an agenda alright, but it's hidden along with their identity.

Symantec/Norton

I'm a little upset today. No, I'm a lot upset.
I went online to check the balance in my bank account. I discovered a pending charge for Norton/Symantec anti-virus software.
In explanation, I purchased a one year subscription to that service last year. If I had wanted more than one year, I would have purchased it then.
A couple of weeks ago I received an email from them, from subscriptions at Symantec. There was nothing in the subject line. I knew my subscription was coming due, so I peeked at the email and saw a renewal date of Sept. 11 in bold print. I closed and saved the email.
Today, after noticing the pending charge on my account, I went back and looked at the email more closely. It stated, that my account would be debited today automatically, without any action by me. In smaller print, it adds "if you want to cancel your enrollment...."
The problem is, to the best of my knowledge I never enrolled. I made what I believed to be a one-time purchase.
I tried to call their customer service number. We all know what that's like. After about 10 minutes on the phone listening to loud taped music complete with static, I hung up and started a search for their corporate number.
I found one (in California) and asked to speak to someone in the CEO's office. Instead, I was connected with a representative in India. Ask me if I am surprised. I dare ya!
After explaining the problem, he cancelled the renewal I never authorized and suggested I have a nice day. I told him to let his supervisors know that I would be contacting the Attorney General's Office, and the FTC. I'm waiting for a call back from the AG's office now.
When I authorize a purchase for a product and that purchase is finalized, for my security I expect my account information to be deleted from the suppliers' database. I also expect that they have confirmation from me that I want any additional products or service before they process any fees.
If this type of underhanded billing isn't illegal, it should be.
Since my call to India, I have received several emails. Most of them informed me the subscription was cancelled, but one that came in between all of the others states, "Your subscription...was renewed on August 27, 2010" and also states, "Your credit card was automatically charged."
Update: I just got off the phone from the AG's office and my complaint is initiated.
And Norton? I was a customer of theirs for about 9 years, but they just lost my business.

Stop the Hate

Over the past few months, controversy has intensified over building a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in NYC. I understand the reason for the controversy. I'm not going to reiterate it here, because History books will discuss the tragic and horrific events that occurred on Sept. 11. Hopefully, they will do so in an honest and factual account.

The fact is; the events of Sept. 11 and the vehement opposition to the mosque have the same basis. That basis is hatred: hatred for people of different cultural and religious beliefs, hatred of a group of people for centuries' old wrongs, and hatred of enemies for what Americans see as an unprovoked attack upon our country.

The United States of America came into being as the result of a group of people seeking freedom from tyranny. Among the freedoms they sought, was the opportunity to practice the religion of their choice without persecution. The Constitution guarantees that right. It guarantees the right of each person to be treated equally.

Ask the African-Americans whose ancestors were brought here as slaves if we've succeeded in provided that equality through the years. Heck, ask the Native Americans whose ancestors we displaced as the country grew.

Or ask the Irish immigrants, and while you're asking them, investigate the 1863 draft riots in NYC. Laws at that time permitted individuals to pay $300 for exemption from service, something that only the rich could hope to pay. At the time, immigrants were eligible for the draft, but couldn't even vote. While the riots started to protest the draft, African-Americans soon became scapegoats and the target of hate and violence.

Just ask the Japanese-Americans who were placed in internment camps in the United States during WWII.

Just ask the Jews whose synagogues have been vandalized how successful we have been with that. Just ask the Mormons who were driven out of one community after another how tolerant Americans have been. And, just ask the members of Baptist churches that were bombed or burned, how effective our Constitution has been in safeguarding the rights of all of our citizens.

I would guess almost everyone in the United States knows someone who died as a result of the events of Sept 11 and the war that has followed. I know I do. I mourn them.

But, I won't hate for them.

I think all individuals responsible for the attack of Sept. 11 should be punished. I do not believe all Muslims should be held responsible for those actions, anymore than I believe I should personally be held accountable for individuals who owned and mistreated slaves or pushed Indians onto reservations.

I think the group that owns the property and wants to build the mosque has every right to do just that. At the same time, I feel it's ill-advised, because instead of improving relationships, based on the history of the United States, it will be the impetus for future violence.

The purpose for the project is healing, reconciliation and harmony, but that won't happen unless we allow it.

I don't think we will.

Marriage and divorce

My parents were married for over twenty-five years; until my Dad died. My mother married again, a few years later, and that lasted until his death.

No, my mother is not a serial killer (just in case someone is wondering.) My stepfather was in his nineties.

My point is that I had excellent examples in how to have a successful marriage. For some reason, I haven't been able to emulate them. I've been married twice, and divorced twice. As much as I wanted both marriages, I really, really wanted both divorces.

There are a lot of reasons that marriages fail and as much as I would like to cast all the blame on my exes (and probably have at times), it's usually a combination of things that cause them to end.

One of the biggest reasons, as I see it, is pretty simple. People change. Couples don't always change in the same way. The person you married becomes someone else, or you do. One or the other isn't happy and they want out.

Then it always seems to turn into a mess, no matter how amicably either party would prefer it not. Suddenly, there's a huge argument over who gets what, and any bickering and fighting that occurred before gets escalated into a battle that rivals a world war. People who just wanted out of an unsatisfying relationship wind up resenting or hating one another for years, and children are often stuck in the middle.

I have a solution.

Make marriage licenses renewable like drivers' licenses, with a provision for child custody attached. Every six or seven years, couples can decide whether or not the relationship satisfies them enough to continue. They have a 30 or 60 day period of time to renew or to structure their new lives. Everything they have accrued over the period of the marriage will be equally divided.

Divorce attorneys will hate my plan. I see that as a good thing. Less money for them, means more money for any kids.

The government might like my plan. It would mean more money in licensing fees, and of course, more jobs.

And those of us who changed, for whatever reason, could have a fresh start without all the drama.

Recently, I noticed a post on a friend's Facebook page that upset me. The discussion in progress was about the methods used by some lawn care companies in urban areas. My friend's comments were focused on the noise and fumes the equipment produced.

One response was from a man who operates a responsible landscape company. A woman responded to his post and thanked him for making urban areas more tolerable. Someone else offered a video that combined elements of urban and rural life. The woman's response was negative. You don't want to know how she responded to the idea of bugs and hopping things.

Someone else referred to those criticizing the noise and emissions as environmentalists; except to her, it was a negative label.

I wonder if these individuals who criticize environmentalists have any clue how dependent species are on one another. Bees pollinate flowers; helping ensure that perfectly manicured lawn one poster finds desirable. Snakes kill unwanted pests like rats and mice. The list goes on.

I've been aware of nature for as long as I can remember. I never particularly considered myself an environmentalist at any level.

But, I have become totally disgusted with people who don't seem to realize that, although comfortable for many, urban areas surrounded by pavement are disruptive and destructive to the environment.

We have one planet. We're destroying it.

Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac, The Itch That Keeps on Giving

I'm writing this blog in honor of my friend Smoky Trudeau Zeidel, who is battling poison oak at the present time, and I'm writing it because I had one of the aforementioned itches earlier this spring.

I've known people who get huge blisters from contact with poison ivy; as in the case of my daughter. When she was about five, she and a girlfriend were "cooking" with a whole pan full of green leaves. It's hard enough to identify when it's on the plant in my opinion, unless one is a botanist, but within a few days she had blisters 2-3 inches across on her wrist and leg.

I've known a couple of other people who require prednisone to combat the rash.

I had a dog once who exposed me to the annoying plant thanks to neighbors who thought anything green was worthy of cultivating. (The city did not agree, thank God.)

Me? I'm pretty fortunate compared to my daughter and friends. I get little patches of rash that seem to itch the most when I am in the midst of a sound sleep. Or, maybe it itches all the time, and I can just ignore it better when I am awake.

I don't know. I don't really care. IT ITCHES!

I know that I am supposed to avoid leaves of three (and five for that matter), but if you've ever spent much time outside in a wooded area (and I live in one) you begin to realize that it becomes impossible to move if you don't know exactly which plants to avoid. Since I move about, inevitably I get poison ivy or oak at least once a year, usually when I am hunting morels or doing yard work.

Topical lotions or ointments don't seem to help me much, and if they do while I'm awake they must rub off on my bedding. But, on a positive note, antihistamines do seem to help me. That may be purely psychological, but if it kills the itch I'll run with it!

And, I know part of it is pyschological, because just thinking about it is making me itch!

God Bless America

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

I think it is especially important today, on the Fourth of July, that we remember those words from the Declaration of Indepence. Our independence as a nation was the result of the struggles and sacrifices of men, women, and children. While war was the inevitable outcome of that declaration and those desires, it is not war that we celebrate.

I think it is especially important today, as I celebrate and give thanks for the freedoms I feel privileged to have, that I remember those individuals who fought for our freedoms. It is equally important that I remember those who are still fighting for those freedoms; the minorities who are struggling to attain what many of us take for granted.