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REPORTING ON A WIN-WIN -- Pg 2/2 - Enhanced text
Date posted: Mar 13/2103
© 2013 Fred Brown
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❱❱❱❱ NOTA BENE: This copy is in a clearer, better-readable font, and can only be read
on CYAN screens. The Standard text copy that's readable on dark screens is here:
REPORTING ON A WIN-WIN RE. RECENT EVENTS (Standard text)
............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
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| Page Links: ·1· ·2·
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==========================================================================
Is this for real? I mean Genuinely Real? I write almost a million words of
furry fiction, and now there's a stick of bloody *dynamite* jammed into Monitor
Studios balance sheet?
Assets that aren't assets. Assets that have to be adjusted and revalued. Six
years worth of transactions that have to be rolled back and sorted out. Then
reentered properly. Oh jeeze...
I'm not an accountant and I don't play one on TV. But as I said, I saw
instantly that yes, this is unequivocally real. It's also arcane as utter bat-shit, and
I'm not willing to bet that everyone's onside here. It's a tough sell.
Looked at from a cold business point of view, however, this has to get
cleared out by any tigers, I mean, means necessary. No choice.
At the least, if this situation had not been discovered I might have just kept
writing for Monitor Studios. And the problem would have piled up higher and
higher, likely to the point where Monitor Studios might take real damage.
The numbers involved now are good for digging a moderate-sized crater.
Another few years, and the risk would be all the bigger.
Arguably, this whole situation is not so much win-win as it is
horseshoe-up-the-rump lucky [that we now know about it]. In the future, what if
Monitor Studios had decided to *do* something with these digital-rights-that-
ain't-really? To make some money, that is.
That's when all this could have come unglued. There likely would be third
parties involved, who would be putting their money down thinking that these
digital rights are legit. When they're not.
The fur would fly. As would the tigers. Guaranteed. And from everything I
know about law, I'd almost certainly get sucked in too.
You knew, Mr. Brown, that these digital rights were not as they appeared?
Since you state that that's not what you sold? And you didn't do anything about
this?
Hmmm. We should sue you too.
Not only am I potentially out $25,000, this situation could expose me to
liability. I'm not making this up, folks.
I'm not *that* good.
(You know what I'm going say: But now it's not going to happen.)
PART #3:
All the legal and the accounting bushwa isn't really that intimidating. I'm
well up to speed on both, and was set to do the bulk of the legal work myself.
Cheap in $$$, expensive in time. So what?
What did spook me was looking at all this from the angle of marketing. This
is another skill-set, and a strong one. It may show. A lot of that's been poured
into my FA main page and into the FA Writers Directory.
But this situation? Um.
Ummm...
Tricky.
Marketing is a True Black Art, with enough magic and wizardry involved to
make Macbeth's three witches whistle, aye caramba. The task is generally to
understand, predict, and influence the behaviour and emotions and thinking of
very large numbers of people. There's a whiff of Machiavelli in the mix too (no
shit).
Then maybe those people buy stuff. Or some of them do. Or not at all. Or
maybe everybody does something completely different (in the Python sense of
the term, as in, completely weird). Dammit, we sacrificed the goat on the
boardroom table properly, I tell you.
How I picked up a taste for marketing, and some ability, is another story.
But there was no doubt in my mind that this situation would generate impacts on
a potentially very large number of people, furry and not.
More to the point, what will be the response to these impacts? What will
people, furry and not, *do* when the fecal matter intersects the rotating
multi-speed ventilation device? Note that marketing is ultimately concerned with
what actions people take, and not so much with what they think or feel.
Dear holy Jesus perched on the can. Could this even attract the attention of
<slither-hiss!> the media? :- )
I recall sitting down to try and map some of this out, using what I know, and
speculating in a somewhat informed way. Only to be reduced to helpless giggles
within the hour.
Ridiculous! Silly! You Fool You! A Merlin of marketing couldn't come up with
anything coherent here. Or at least nothing any better than some rough ballpark
guesses, with zero predictive power. Field too large takes on new meaning.
Informed speculation is not a substitute for data or robust models. There's
some data available regarding Monitor Studios. Study of FA, and other places,
can cast a clouded lens on matters furry. Knowledge of the dynamics of the
Internet is also helpful, albeit even cloudier. And ya gotta read the Furry Survey,
ya just gotta; brilliant.
(Aside: Furry is significantly an Internet thing. One guessestimate suggested
there are around 9-13 million furs in the world. As in, people who will self-identify
as furs in either a mild or a passionate way. Folks who just like anthro stuff, even
more of them out there. And I wish I could remember where I read that 'cause I
can't. Any help?)
Bottom line: I've got other things I can waste my time on. I'll give up if you
will. To try and figure out how people will react can't be done with any useful
certainty, given the tools and information available.
Monitor Studios is better at marketing than me, it's likely they've studied
this too, and are giggling as hard as me. Comedy is where you find it, y'know?
All that is certain is this: There will be a number of phases of impacts, and
the spread will follow certain roughly known patterns. They will hit both Monitor
Studios and me. They will probably take about two to three years for the ripples
to die down. And there are no upsides or positive benefits, for anybody involved,
regardless of what falls out of the fersherlugginer lawsuit.
Oh, and the ears and tails on a helluva lot of furs, all around the world, will
just <Poing!> *straight* through the ceiling at all this. Of the apartment above
them. No question.
Or, to deploy a metaphor, it is one thing to call down the lightning. Shamans
and mages have been doing it for donkey's years.
It is another thing entirely to be there when the lightning *hits.*
This may explain the present dire shortage of shamans and mages in the
world today. Not a theory that's easy to test, I'll grant, but feel free to try.
Not only is life too short, I feel no pressing need to be shortened. The hard
way.
(All together now, and with some harmony: But now it's not going to
happen.)
In Conclusion:
I keep saying, 'But now it's not going to happen.' This may be taken as a
clue regarding the question that was asked waaaay back at the start.
Which was, in what way do the words win-win apply to any of this?
Very accurately, IMHO.
Since at the end of the day, none of us are staring down the gun barrel of a
*loss-loss*.
Beyond doubt, there could've been any number of outcomes to this
situation. Go ahead and speculate if you want to scare your fur white. What Ifs
are always so much fun. They make such a pleasing <Splat!> sound when you
throw them at the wall.
But before you hurl, ask yourself: Were there any possible outcomes to this
that would *not* generate a loss? Any at all?
Nope. Think it through.
There's no way to make a profit here, no way that one or all parties involved
can come out ahead. That too I had figured out in a picosecond. I'd be willing to
bet Monitor Studios came to the same conclusion.
Military folks run across this kind of problem a lot. All of your possible
options are bad ones. They stink to high heaven. They will all result in damage or
even disaster. But the option of doing nothing is just as bad.
The only way out? Choose the action that has the best chance of success,
but does the least damage. The fact that this philosophy applies to business
almost as well as it does to war could be considered a tell.
That's precisely what happened: Simplest action, least damage, best
solution. With a click of the mouse, Monitor Studios has relinquished rights to my
work. They now need to vacuum their balance sheet a little, but not as much as
could have been needed. My work is off of SexyFur, and no more will be going on
it, so poof goes that income stream. We've both taken a loss here.
But look at what's been resolved. I'm now the sole rightsholder to my work.
Ergo those six novels can now be printed without giving a publisher cardiac
arrythmia. That's a win.
Monitor Studios now has a correct set of books, or will after it makes
adjustments. But that can be done a lot easier now, and at their leisure. As
opposed to having a judgement burning a hole in their desktop that would force
it. That's a win.
Monitor Studios has also cleared the possible chaos that could/would
inevitably bring the roof down if those erroneous rights were ever used. Does
making your business a little less risky qualify as a win? Big-time ayuh.
Notice also that we no longer need to go through an expensive, tangled,
multi-year lawsuit, with all the huge risks involved in that. Even worse, I'm in
Canada. Monitor Studios is in North Carolina. Oh joy, legal action that crosses
international boundaries. And more joy, the look on the judge's face. This is all
about... 'furries,' did I hear you correctly? :- )
The whole point of any lawsuit is to settle something that absolutely,
positively, *must* get settled, and hang the risks. Which are substantial even if
you're suing your neighbour for their dog piddling in the roses. There are no
'sure-thing' lawsuits; this one would've been a bitch. Any lawyer who says you
have a sure-thing of a suit, permish granted to hit him or her on the bonce until
they smarten up. Or stop moving. At your pleasure.
Huuuge win on this count. Anybody who thinks otherwise, please, consult
your doctor. Somebody going after your kidneys may have missed and gotten
your brain.
Most crucially (to me, anyway), both Monitor Studios and I avoid the
potentially catastrophic impacts that would come as the entire world of furry
turns our way to watch the fight.
I mean, c'mon. Law is a bloodsport. The Coliseum can't hold a dinky candle
to even the smallest courtroom. All bailiffs know how to get the stains out of the
carpet, the walls, ceiling, light fixtures, etc.
The losses that could have occurred, if things had gone ahead, cannot be
known. But they'd be high, for everybody. And let's keep in mind that there are a
lot of other people involved here. It's not just my income stream at stake.
Now, instead of a mushroom cloud's worth of bad PR, we only have to deal
with a small firecracker's worth. Mega-win.
And if anybody hasn't noticed, this whole essay is specifically designed and
written to snuff that firecracker out. The potential negative fallout [from this
situation not-happening] is much easier to map. I see no reason to just let it sit
around and irradiate people.
That's part of why this essay tops out over 6K words. It has to go into depth
(and it had better be readable and entertaining too). Without this, all a large
number of people know is there's been a split between me and Monitor Studios.
The circumstances are unclear. No further data is available. Nicht so gut, as the
drama mill gnaws this over.
Merlin can take a coffee break. I know how to figure how this will run; easy
money. And I know what to say about it all to initiate the right kind of spin. That
is, to leave people looking at all this in terms of the positives, not the negatives.
So smooooth, the persuasion. Marketing, ta da. No goats were harmed in the
construction of this spell. :- )
Of course, not everybody's buying it, and why should you? There's no reason
why my attitude towards all this should be yours. Those who want to see this
situation in a negative light will not be persuaded by any amount of
small-kitten-doing-backflips. Careful with the <Slash-Aieegh!!>... knife.
Except it's critically important that my attitude be made plain. And public. Or
at least as public as posting a story on FA can be (which isn't much). Ideally a
proper response of this type should be multi-dimensional and multi-channel, and
operating over an extended timeframe. Skywriting and billboards optional. But
shouldn't be ruled out.
Nope: One post to FA is all I get. It'll have to do. And mostly, it will.
A damned serious [business] situation blew up more or less out of nowhere
(as they tend to do). It can't be pinned down to anybody's fault, or to anybody's
decisions, right or wrong or otherwise. It's not a terribly unique situation as these
things go. It still would've taken conniptions of legal trouble to sort out.
Then it did get sorted out, at a stroke, and with a remarkable lack of
conniptions of any kind. Or any serious losses.
How much of a win-win is *'dat?*
But wait, there's more. Back at the start, I made it sound like a mundane
thing. Got asked, did I wanna write for SexyFur? Hokay, sure. Then started
scribbling.
Sonofabitch, is that ever a bogus way to put it. Way past time to correct
that.
If I live to be a thousand, I sincerely doubt that a greater opportunity will
ever fall into my lap. The gods are only so generous.
Out of the blue, a *totally* unknown writer drops a msg into the inbox. And
asks if he can write about Champagne, SexyFur's flagship character. And asks for
info about her.
The fellow freely admits it, he's not furry in any way. Hasn't written even a
single fur story. Not even published. But is highly up to speed on science fiction.
Would *you* offer this dude a shot at writing for SexyFur?
Knowing full well that crappy stories drive away subscribers? Knowing also
that really good fur stories are not that easy to find (or are cheap)? And knowing
most important that the stories on SF must be as excellent as the art?
Well, good thing you're not running SexyFur, is all I'll say. But then I
wouldn't have made the offer either. As for why SexyFur did, and thought the risk
was worth taking, this may or may not come out in somebody's memoirs. I shan't
speculate.
Nor will I gloss over the facts here. The history of literature records damn
few examples of writers getting a fraction as lucky as this. The offer was made,
the risk taken. Did it pay off, do y'think?
Oh yah, you could say that. Ferdamnsure I'm a fur writer now. Six years and
almost a million words later, I'm also a helluva lot better at writing. Christ, has it
ever been satisfying labour.
And as Monitor Studios checks their balance sheet, for absolute sure they
have reason for satisfaction too. Insofar as a helluva lot of subscribers have read,
and enjoyed, these stories. Can I put something in here that'll make a
<Ka-ching!> sound FX?
No? Imagine that both Monitor Studios and I just murmured it in stereo and
leave it at that.
A more remarkable six years, I don't think I've had in my life. Considering
what's been accomplished. And considering how it might not have happened at
all.
So a business glitch has put an end to it? Well, and so it has. Doesn't
diminish what's been done, in the slightest. You will note that there are many
kinds of business glitches where nobody gets out with their tails intact. Almost
didn't, but we did, and that's all that matters.
In business, you are allowed to shrug, sort it out, then walk away from what
might have been a perfectly profitable relationship. Then go looking for better.
Sometimes everybody even shakes paws. Advisable, actually; you might be doing
business again sometime.
For that reason alone, metaphors that compare business to war should be
thoroughly clubbed into the ground until just the tail's sticking up. This whole
situation, an excellent case in point.
FB.
Mar 12/2013
=============================
PS: One loose thread to snip.
In case I forget, a bucket o' steaming tasty gratitude must also be poured
over Furplanet. And an explanation given for their removing Don't Go Near The
Sorceress from their inventory.
Sounds funny to put it that way. But good God, they printed my first
*book!* And under circumstances that could be considered nearly as lucky as
SexyFur's offer. But they did print it (plus a big tip 'o the hat to Scappo),
somewhat to the astonishment of a small well-armed cat.
Then the contract came through on April 11, 2011, and it was real. I'm a
published author now. Sonofabitch. That ISBN number doesn't lie.
(I promptly signed and gave away my writer's copy to my mother as
birthday present, who promptly flipped. Considering how furrily porny Sorceress
is, this says something about my mother, I think.)
Fast forward to now, and a few words about contracts, and contract law.
What Furplanet offered, as contract, was both well-drafted and complete.
Good job on some tiger's part. And as a contract alone the thing worked just fine
and made us all some money.
Not a lot--this is furlit we're talking about--but then again, first book. Can't
be expected to set the world of furry on fire. So to speak.
So here's the thing. Contracts that work just fine can and usually do
continue to work just fine. If it's done right the contract may specify some
reasons why and how it can or should be terminated. Not a concern with the
Furplanet contract.
But no contract exists in a vacuum, or ever can. Whether or not a contract
can continue to operate does not always depend just on the internals of the
thing.
Outside factors can and will have an influence. Sometimes up to the point
where the contract *must* be terminated. Something big has changed, and the
terms of the contract don't take it into account.
Well, something big has changed, all right. Sorceress was one of the stories
on SexyFur. As in, Monitor Studios felt it held digital rights to the thing (but doesn't
now). But Furplanet is also a rightsholder, in the sense that that contract granted
*distribution* rights.
When the contract for Sorceress was cut in April 2011, it appeared that all
the rights were settled. Arguably they were (just not quite correctly).
Now the rights situation has changed. And for a while it looked like there
was the potential for some very serious legal action.
From Furplanet's point of view, all of this requires that the contract be
terminated. Has to be. Continuing with it could bring up liability that didn't exist
before. At the very least, the change in the rights status of Sorceress renders the
original contract problematic.
And contract law backs Furplanet up here, without any question from me. Of
all the reasons for one party to cancel, the emergence of unexpected liability--no
matter how fuzzy--is one of the more legitimate causes.
Ergo Sorceress is now out of print, and now FurPlanet's business has gotten
a little less risky. Bueno, IMHO. A certain cat and two wolves can now breathe
easier.
The bonus? This frees me up to add two new chapters to Sorceress, maybe
generate new art, and publish a second edition either as e-book or on paper.
First edition was the rev posted to SexyFur; got edited down. Second
edition, no limits. Do you wanna call this a win or shall I?
=============================================================================
<<< PAGE 1 OF 2
Date posted: Mar 13/2103
© 2013 Fred Brown
............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
❱❱❱❱ NOTA BENE: This copy is in a clearer, better-readable font, and can only be read
on CYAN screens. The Standard text copy that's readable on dark screens is here:
REPORTING ON A WIN-WIN RE. RECENT EVENTS (Standard text)
............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
|
| Page Links: ·1· ·2·
|
==========================================================================
Is this for real? I mean Genuinely Real? I write almost a million words of
furry fiction, and now there's a stick of bloody *dynamite* jammed into Monitor
Studios balance sheet?
Assets that aren't assets. Assets that have to be adjusted and revalued. Six
years worth of transactions that have to be rolled back and sorted out. Then
reentered properly. Oh jeeze...
I'm not an accountant and I don't play one on TV. But as I said, I saw
instantly that yes, this is unequivocally real. It's also arcane as utter bat-shit, and
I'm not willing to bet that everyone's onside here. It's a tough sell.
Looked at from a cold business point of view, however, this has to get
cleared out by any tigers, I mean, means necessary. No choice.
At the least, if this situation had not been discovered I might have just kept
writing for Monitor Studios. And the problem would have piled up higher and
higher, likely to the point where Monitor Studios might take real damage.
The numbers involved now are good for digging a moderate-sized crater.
Another few years, and the risk would be all the bigger.
Arguably, this whole situation is not so much win-win as it is
horseshoe-up-the-rump lucky [that we now know about it]. In the future, what if
Monitor Studios had decided to *do* something with these digital-rights-that-
ain't-really? To make some money, that is.
That's when all this could have come unglued. There likely would be third
parties involved, who would be putting their money down thinking that these
digital rights are legit. When they're not.
The fur would fly. As would the tigers. Guaranteed. And from everything I
know about law, I'd almost certainly get sucked in too.
You knew, Mr. Brown, that these digital rights were not as they appeared?
Since you state that that's not what you sold? And you didn't do anything about
this?
Hmmm. We should sue you too.
Not only am I potentially out $25,000, this situation could expose me to
liability. I'm not making this up, folks.
I'm not *that* good.
(You know what I'm going say: But now it's not going to happen.)
PART #3:
All the legal and the accounting bushwa isn't really that intimidating. I'm
well up to speed on both, and was set to do the bulk of the legal work myself.
Cheap in $$$, expensive in time. So what?
What did spook me was looking at all this from the angle of marketing. This
is another skill-set, and a strong one. It may show. A lot of that's been poured
into my FA main page and into the FA Writers Directory.
But this situation? Um.
Ummm...
Tricky.
Marketing is a True Black Art, with enough magic and wizardry involved to
make Macbeth's three witches whistle, aye caramba. The task is generally to
understand, predict, and influence the behaviour and emotions and thinking of
very large numbers of people. There's a whiff of Machiavelli in the mix too (no
shit).
Then maybe those people buy stuff. Or some of them do. Or not at all. Or
maybe everybody does something completely different (in the Python sense of
the term, as in, completely weird). Dammit, we sacrificed the goat on the
boardroom table properly, I tell you.
How I picked up a taste for marketing, and some ability, is another story.
But there was no doubt in my mind that this situation would generate impacts on
a potentially very large number of people, furry and not.
More to the point, what will be the response to these impacts? What will
people, furry and not, *do* when the fecal matter intersects the rotating
multi-speed ventilation device? Note that marketing is ultimately concerned with
what actions people take, and not so much with what they think or feel.
Dear holy Jesus perched on the can. Could this even attract the attention of
<slither-hiss!> the media? :- )
I recall sitting down to try and map some of this out, using what I know, and
speculating in a somewhat informed way. Only to be reduced to helpless giggles
within the hour.
Ridiculous! Silly! You Fool You! A Merlin of marketing couldn't come up with
anything coherent here. Or at least nothing any better than some rough ballpark
guesses, with zero predictive power. Field too large takes on new meaning.
Informed speculation is not a substitute for data or robust models. There's
some data available regarding Monitor Studios. Study of FA, and other places,
can cast a clouded lens on matters furry. Knowledge of the dynamics of the
Internet is also helpful, albeit even cloudier. And ya gotta read the Furry Survey,
ya just gotta; brilliant.
(Aside: Furry is significantly an Internet thing. One guessestimate suggested
there are around 9-13 million furs in the world. As in, people who will self-identify
as furs in either a mild or a passionate way. Folks who just like anthro stuff, even
more of them out there. And I wish I could remember where I read that 'cause I
can't. Any help?)
Bottom line: I've got other things I can waste my time on. I'll give up if you
will. To try and figure out how people will react can't be done with any useful
certainty, given the tools and information available.
Monitor Studios is better at marketing than me, it's likely they've studied
this too, and are giggling as hard as me. Comedy is where you find it, y'know?
All that is certain is this: There will be a number of phases of impacts, and
the spread will follow certain roughly known patterns. They will hit both Monitor
Studios and me. They will probably take about two to three years for the ripples
to die down. And there are no upsides or positive benefits, for anybody involved,
regardless of what falls out of the fersherlugginer lawsuit.
Oh, and the ears and tails on a helluva lot of furs, all around the world, will
just <Poing!> *straight* through the ceiling at all this. Of the apartment above
them. No question.
Or, to deploy a metaphor, it is one thing to call down the lightning. Shamans
and mages have been doing it for donkey's years.
It is another thing entirely to be there when the lightning *hits.*
This may explain the present dire shortage of shamans and mages in the
world today. Not a theory that's easy to test, I'll grant, but feel free to try.
Not only is life too short, I feel no pressing need to be shortened. The hard
way.
(All together now, and with some harmony: But now it's not going to
happen.)
In Conclusion:
I keep saying, 'But now it's not going to happen.' This may be taken as a
clue regarding the question that was asked waaaay back at the start.
Which was, in what way do the words win-win apply to any of this?
Very accurately, IMHO.
Since at the end of the day, none of us are staring down the gun barrel of a
*loss-loss*.
Beyond doubt, there could've been any number of outcomes to this
situation. Go ahead and speculate if you want to scare your fur white. What Ifs
are always so much fun. They make such a pleasing <Splat!> sound when you
throw them at the wall.
But before you hurl, ask yourself: Were there any possible outcomes to this
that would *not* generate a loss? Any at all?
Nope. Think it through.
There's no way to make a profit here, no way that one or all parties involved
can come out ahead. That too I had figured out in a picosecond. I'd be willing to
bet Monitor Studios came to the same conclusion.
Military folks run across this kind of problem a lot. All of your possible
options are bad ones. They stink to high heaven. They will all result in damage or
even disaster. But the option of doing nothing is just as bad.
The only way out? Choose the action that has the best chance of success,
but does the least damage. The fact that this philosophy applies to business
almost as well as it does to war could be considered a tell.
That's precisely what happened: Simplest action, least damage, best
solution. With a click of the mouse, Monitor Studios has relinquished rights to my
work. They now need to vacuum their balance sheet a little, but not as much as
could have been needed. My work is off of SexyFur, and no more will be going on
it, so poof goes that income stream. We've both taken a loss here.
But look at what's been resolved. I'm now the sole rightsholder to my work.
Ergo those six novels can now be printed without giving a publisher cardiac
arrythmia. That's a win.
Monitor Studios now has a correct set of books, or will after it makes
adjustments. But that can be done a lot easier now, and at their leisure. As
opposed to having a judgement burning a hole in their desktop that would force
it. That's a win.
Monitor Studios has also cleared the possible chaos that could/would
inevitably bring the roof down if those erroneous rights were ever used. Does
making your business a little less risky qualify as a win? Big-time ayuh.
Notice also that we no longer need to go through an expensive, tangled,
multi-year lawsuit, with all the huge risks involved in that. Even worse, I'm in
Canada. Monitor Studios is in North Carolina. Oh joy, legal action that crosses
international boundaries. And more joy, the look on the judge's face. This is all
about... 'furries,' did I hear you correctly? :- )
The whole point of any lawsuit is to settle something that absolutely,
positively, *must* get settled, and hang the risks. Which are substantial even if
you're suing your neighbour for their dog piddling in the roses. There are no
'sure-thing' lawsuits; this one would've been a bitch. Any lawyer who says you
have a sure-thing of a suit, permish granted to hit him or her on the bonce until
they smarten up. Or stop moving. At your pleasure.
Huuuge win on this count. Anybody who thinks otherwise, please, consult
your doctor. Somebody going after your kidneys may have missed and gotten
your brain.
Most crucially (to me, anyway), both Monitor Studios and I avoid the
potentially catastrophic impacts that would come as the entire world of furry
turns our way to watch the fight.
I mean, c'mon. Law is a bloodsport. The Coliseum can't hold a dinky candle
to even the smallest courtroom. All bailiffs know how to get the stains out of the
carpet, the walls, ceiling, light fixtures, etc.
The losses that could have occurred, if things had gone ahead, cannot be
known. But they'd be high, for everybody. And let's keep in mind that there are a
lot of other people involved here. It's not just my income stream at stake.
Now, instead of a mushroom cloud's worth of bad PR, we only have to deal
with a small firecracker's worth. Mega-win.
And if anybody hasn't noticed, this whole essay is specifically designed and
written to snuff that firecracker out. The potential negative fallout [from this
situation not-happening] is much easier to map. I see no reason to just let it sit
around and irradiate people.
That's part of why this essay tops out over 6K words. It has to go into depth
(and it had better be readable and entertaining too). Without this, all a large
number of people know is there's been a split between me and Monitor Studios.
The circumstances are unclear. No further data is available. Nicht so gut, as the
drama mill gnaws this over.
Merlin can take a coffee break. I know how to figure how this will run; easy
money. And I know what to say about it all to initiate the right kind of spin. That
is, to leave people looking at all this in terms of the positives, not the negatives.
So smooooth, the persuasion. Marketing, ta da. No goats were harmed in the
construction of this spell. :- )
Of course, not everybody's buying it, and why should you? There's no reason
why my attitude towards all this should be yours. Those who want to see this
situation in a negative light will not be persuaded by any amount of
small-kitten-doing-backflips. Careful with the <Slash-Aieegh!!>... knife.
Except it's critically important that my attitude be made plain. And public. Or
at least as public as posting a story on FA can be (which isn't much). Ideally a
proper response of this type should be multi-dimensional and multi-channel, and
operating over an extended timeframe. Skywriting and billboards optional. But
shouldn't be ruled out.
Nope: One post to FA is all I get. It'll have to do. And mostly, it will.
A damned serious [business] situation blew up more or less out of nowhere
(as they tend to do). It can't be pinned down to anybody's fault, or to anybody's
decisions, right or wrong or otherwise. It's not a terribly unique situation as these
things go. It still would've taken conniptions of legal trouble to sort out.
Then it did get sorted out, at a stroke, and with a remarkable lack of
conniptions of any kind. Or any serious losses.
How much of a win-win is *'dat?*
But wait, there's more. Back at the start, I made it sound like a mundane
thing. Got asked, did I wanna write for SexyFur? Hokay, sure. Then started
scribbling.
Sonofabitch, is that ever a bogus way to put it. Way past time to correct
that.
If I live to be a thousand, I sincerely doubt that a greater opportunity will
ever fall into my lap. The gods are only so generous.
Out of the blue, a *totally* unknown writer drops a msg into the inbox. And
asks if he can write about Champagne, SexyFur's flagship character. And asks for
info about her.
The fellow freely admits it, he's not furry in any way. Hasn't written even a
single fur story. Not even published. But is highly up to speed on science fiction.
Would *you* offer this dude a shot at writing for SexyFur?
Knowing full well that crappy stories drive away subscribers? Knowing also
that really good fur stories are not that easy to find (or are cheap)? And knowing
most important that the stories on SF must be as excellent as the art?
Well, good thing you're not running SexyFur, is all I'll say. But then I
wouldn't have made the offer either. As for why SexyFur did, and thought the risk
was worth taking, this may or may not come out in somebody's memoirs. I shan't
speculate.
Nor will I gloss over the facts here. The history of literature records damn
few examples of writers getting a fraction as lucky as this. The offer was made,
the risk taken. Did it pay off, do y'think?
Oh yah, you could say that. Ferdamnsure I'm a fur writer now. Six years and
almost a million words later, I'm also a helluva lot better at writing. Christ, has it
ever been satisfying labour.
And as Monitor Studios checks their balance sheet, for absolute sure they
have reason for satisfaction too. Insofar as a helluva lot of subscribers have read,
and enjoyed, these stories. Can I put something in here that'll make a
<Ka-ching!> sound FX?
No? Imagine that both Monitor Studios and I just murmured it in stereo and
leave it at that.
A more remarkable six years, I don't think I've had in my life. Considering
what's been accomplished. And considering how it might not have happened at
all.
So a business glitch has put an end to it? Well, and so it has. Doesn't
diminish what's been done, in the slightest. You will note that there are many
kinds of business glitches where nobody gets out with their tails intact. Almost
didn't, but we did, and that's all that matters.
In business, you are allowed to shrug, sort it out, then walk away from what
might have been a perfectly profitable relationship. Then go looking for better.
Sometimes everybody even shakes paws. Advisable, actually; you might be doing
business again sometime.
For that reason alone, metaphors that compare business to war should be
thoroughly clubbed into the ground until just the tail's sticking up. This whole
situation, an excellent case in point.
FB.
Mar 12/2013
=============================
PS: One loose thread to snip.
In case I forget, a bucket o' steaming tasty gratitude must also be poured
over Furplanet. And an explanation given for their removing Don't Go Near The
Sorceress from their inventory.
Sounds funny to put it that way. But good God, they printed my first
*book!* And under circumstances that could be considered nearly as lucky as
SexyFur's offer. But they did print it (plus a big tip 'o the hat to Scappo),
somewhat to the astonishment of a small well-armed cat.
Then the contract came through on April 11, 2011, and it was real. I'm a
published author now. Sonofabitch. That ISBN number doesn't lie.
(I promptly signed and gave away my writer's copy to my mother as
birthday present, who promptly flipped. Considering how furrily porny Sorceress
is, this says something about my mother, I think.)
Fast forward to now, and a few words about contracts, and contract law.
What Furplanet offered, as contract, was both well-drafted and complete.
Good job on some tiger's part. And as a contract alone the thing worked just fine
and made us all some money.
Not a lot--this is furlit we're talking about--but then again, first book. Can't
be expected to set the world of furry on fire. So to speak.
So here's the thing. Contracts that work just fine can and usually do
continue to work just fine. If it's done right the contract may specify some
reasons why and how it can or should be terminated. Not a concern with the
Furplanet contract.
But no contract exists in a vacuum, or ever can. Whether or not a contract
can continue to operate does not always depend just on the internals of the
thing.
Outside factors can and will have an influence. Sometimes up to the point
where the contract *must* be terminated. Something big has changed, and the
terms of the contract don't take it into account.
Well, something big has changed, all right. Sorceress was one of the stories
on SexyFur. As in, Monitor Studios felt it held digital rights to the thing (but doesn't
now). But Furplanet is also a rightsholder, in the sense that that contract granted
*distribution* rights.
When the contract for Sorceress was cut in April 2011, it appeared that all
the rights were settled. Arguably they were (just not quite correctly).
Now the rights situation has changed. And for a while it looked like there
was the potential for some very serious legal action.
From Furplanet's point of view, all of this requires that the contract be
terminated. Has to be. Continuing with it could bring up liability that didn't exist
before. At the very least, the change in the rights status of Sorceress renders the
original contract problematic.
And contract law backs Furplanet up here, without any question from me. Of
all the reasons for one party to cancel, the emergence of unexpected liability--no
matter how fuzzy--is one of the more legitimate causes.
Ergo Sorceress is now out of print, and now FurPlanet's business has gotten
a little less risky. Bueno, IMHO. A certain cat and two wolves can now breathe
easier.
The bonus? This frees me up to add two new chapters to Sorceress, maybe
generate new art, and publish a second edition either as e-book or on paper.
First edition was the rev posted to SexyFur; got edited down. Second
edition, no limits. Do you wanna call this a win or shall I?
=============================================================================
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Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 216.1 kB
Doozy: V. apropos word. The story deserved to be written up with the thrills-n-chills
key jammed down; I delivered. And better, it ends without the obligatory gunfight showdown.
(Wherein a small cat does fierce combat with a vixen and a female bunny--you know
who I mean--and half the town ends up slaughtered. I love Tarentino, don't you? :- ) )
Nope: Not gonna happen. Phew. Is something that's complicated to explain, but doing
so was good for some recuperation right there. So long as it's more or less public,
and clear enough to everybody what went down. And what almost did.
FB.
(PS: Although given the vixen and bunny we're talking about, that'd be the first Tarentino
battle scene to spontaneously turn into a furry porn shoot. :- ) )
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key jammed down; I delivered. And better, it ends without the obligatory gunfight showdown.
(Wherein a small cat does fierce combat with a vixen and a female bunny--you know
who I mean--and half the town ends up slaughtered. I love Tarentino, don't you? :- ) )
Nope: Not gonna happen. Phew. Is something that's complicated to explain, but doing
so was good for some recuperation right there. So long as it's more or less public,
and clear enough to everybody what went down. And what almost did.
FB.
(PS: Although given the vixen and bunny we're talking about, that'd be the first Tarentino
battle scene to spontaneously turn into a furry porn shoot. :- ) )
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Agreed, no one is spared in Tarantino's world. Pulp Fiction, pure total masterpiece.
Now just how would he shoot the scene...?
(Set is littered with bodies, burning cars, buildings, smoke, etc. Lighting falls on
messed-up heavily-armed kitten facing down sexily-messed-up vixen and
bunny. Morricone-ish music in background. Kitten's AK is bigger than he is))
Kitten (breathing hard): Finally! Now I have you two! Prepare to die oh jeeze they
took their tops off...
Bunny: Whatever weapons work, eh? (as Vixen giggles and puts down rocket launcher)
(The scene is shot in cheesy red filter from that point on. :- ) )
Noooo, sense of humour is *definitely* still in good working order.
FB.
(PS: Champagne with a rocket launcher, oh my. Somehow I gotta use that. )
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Now just how would he shoot the scene...?
(Set is littered with bodies, burning cars, buildings, smoke, etc. Lighting falls on
messed-up heavily-armed kitten facing down sexily-messed-up vixen and
bunny. Morricone-ish music in background. Kitten's AK is bigger than he is))
Kitten (breathing hard): Finally! Now I have you two! Prepare to die oh jeeze they
took their tops off...
Bunny: Whatever weapons work, eh? (as Vixen giggles and puts down rocket launcher)
(The scene is shot in cheesy red filter from that point on. :- ) )
Noooo, sense of humour is *definitely* still in good working order.
FB.
(PS: Champagne with a rocket launcher, oh my. Somehow I gotta use that. )
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Still good for severe shivers, that scene. Which made the Simpson's send-up all the
more hilarious.
I'll favour something more yiffily mundane, ending with all parties nearly passed
out in a heap of fur and tails, the bedroom a total post-coital wreck.
As the Vixen murmurs tiredly (but smiling) to the Bunny: Yah, you really do have
to watch out for the short guys, don't you? :- )
That's a little more in character all round. I mean, we're pitching this property to
Disney, remember. We'll let Mickey and Minnie have fun with the leather undies and the
ball gags.
FB.
(PS: If they don't already. All mouse furs, a subby kinky streak, I think. :- ) )
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more hilarious.
I'll favour something more yiffily mundane, ending with all parties nearly passed
out in a heap of fur and tails, the bedroom a total post-coital wreck.
As the Vixen murmurs tiredly (but smiling) to the Bunny: Yah, you really do have
to watch out for the short guys, don't you? :- )
That's a little more in character all round. I mean, we're pitching this property to
Disney, remember. We'll let Mickey and Minnie have fun with the leather undies and the
ball gags.
FB.
(PS: If they don't already. All mouse furs, a subby kinky streak, I think. :- ) )
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See the episode 22 Short Films About Springfield, season seven, episode 21, aired
Apr 14, 1996 (thanx Google).
Whole thing's a delicious riff on the Tarantino film-making style, and an explicit
take-off on Pulp Fiction. Search, and ye shall find.
Then you'll pass out laughing. As T must've. :- )
FB
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Apr 14, 1996 (thanx Google).
Whole thing's a delicious riff on the Tarantino film-making style, and an explicit
take-off on Pulp Fiction. Search, and ye shall find.
Then you'll pass out laughing. As T must've. :- )
FB
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Not that they borrowed the plot. Except for the one famous sequence that directly
parodied the basement scene. You'll know it when you see it.
Imagine Pulp Fiction as a comedy, without the gunfire, and set in Springfield, and
you've got one brilliant homage.
If I can get a thousandth as good as those writers, whoo...:- )
FB.
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parodied the basement scene. You'll know it when you see it.
Imagine Pulp Fiction as a comedy, without the gunfire, and set in Springfield, and
you've got one brilliant homage.
If I can get a thousandth as good as those writers, whoo...:- )
FB.
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We-ll, a tad scorched in spots, but hey, striped cat, who can tell a spot or two? Hug
accepted, save that now you've got some black spots on you too. :- )
'S just one of those things [that'll happen from time to time], and in theory we all
came out okay. Or okay enough. Considering the alternatives.
(Still have to wonder what the judge would've made of my avatar, though. :- ) )
FB.
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accepted, save that now you've got some black spots on you too. :- )
'S just one of those things [that'll happen from time to time], and in theory we all
came out okay. Or okay enough. Considering the alternatives.
(Still have to wonder what the judge would've made of my avatar, though. :- ) )
FB.
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Fred. I'm very fond of you, really I am. But without being the least bit sarcastic, you could have provided all of that information in about one fifth the words, and the gravity of the situation thus explained would have been just as gripping and by an awe-inspiring measure less frustrating. You opened with the claim that journalism skills would come into play, but journalists are trained to cram as much information as possible into a generally small word limit whilst making it readable. Even opinion columnists have hard numbers for their word count.
Perhaps it's my fault, having spent the VAST majority of the last year of my life reading technical manuals that present information in a dense format, but reading this was rather like slipping out of the jungle and into a field with of graffiti-covered trees oh... every so often, and the grass was rainbow colored but strangely lacking in substance. I would read a paragraph then go back through it making sure I didn't miss anything but no... I didn't. It was just empty. Colorful, but empty.
This was a very serious matter that you handled with due diligence and that resolved itself in a manner that did the least damage to you but man... people who care about you and got it early that you were potentially in a LOT OF TROUBLE did not want to wait as long as we had to in order to figure out what the hell was actually going on, rather than what could have gone on.
I could have done with something at the very beginning that read approximately this way:
"The deal between SexyFur and I blew up, there was the potential for legal trouble but it's passed and all is well, now have a seat and listen to THIS, because the details and how wrong this could have gone will blow your mind."
That one sentence, in it's beautiful simplicity, COMPLETELY SUMS UP what I just read, leaving out not one critical detail.
I know you're prone to hyperbole but ffs man, some consideration please. And no, periodically saying it's not going to happen or that it was a win-win (no explanation) was no substitute. I wanted MEAT, and you gave me... a glass of water with the promise that salad would be here soon (and as we know salad isn't food, it's just a promise that food will soon arrive) and meat would get to the table... someday.
I'm happy that things worked out. I'm a bit pissed at how much time I had to spend to figure out HOW things worked out. A short story loses it's charm at around 20 pages. An article at two.
Perhaps it's my fault, having spent the VAST majority of the last year of my life reading technical manuals that present information in a dense format, but reading this was rather like slipping out of the jungle and into a field with of graffiti-covered trees oh... every so often, and the grass was rainbow colored but strangely lacking in substance. I would read a paragraph then go back through it making sure I didn't miss anything but no... I didn't. It was just empty. Colorful, but empty.
This was a very serious matter that you handled with due diligence and that resolved itself in a manner that did the least damage to you but man... people who care about you and got it early that you were potentially in a LOT OF TROUBLE did not want to wait as long as we had to in order to figure out what the hell was actually going on, rather than what could have gone on.
I could have done with something at the very beginning that read approximately this way:
"The deal between SexyFur and I blew up, there was the potential for legal trouble but it's passed and all is well, now have a seat and listen to THIS, because the details and how wrong this could have gone will blow your mind."
That one sentence, in it's beautiful simplicity, COMPLETELY SUMS UP what I just read, leaving out not one critical detail.
I know you're prone to hyperbole but ffs man, some consideration please. And no, periodically saying it's not going to happen or that it was a win-win (no explanation) was no substitute. I wanted MEAT, and you gave me... a glass of water with the promise that salad would be here soon (and as we know salad isn't food, it's just a promise that food will soon arrive) and meat would get to the table... someday.
I'm happy that things worked out. I'm a bit pissed at how much time I had to spend to figure out HOW things worked out. A short story loses it's charm at around 20 pages. An article at two.
Yah, a worthwhile critique--if this had in fact been a proper piece of journalism. Which
it was and wasn't.
Perceptive: More of a color piece than anything else? Arguably. Since a short, pithy,
to-the-point and concise recitation of the dryly bald details would've been a dead fail
(considering what had to be accomplished).
Heavy, heavy ton of intensive calculation and technique went into that thing--and
not just writing technique. Took two weeks of muzzle-in-keyboard work (and God
save me from *ever* having to do another one :- ) ).
But won't be forgotten, hmmm?
FB.
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it was and wasn't.
Perceptive: More of a color piece than anything else? Arguably. Since a short, pithy,
to-the-point and concise recitation of the dryly bald details would've been a dead fail
(considering what had to be accomplished).
Heavy, heavy ton of intensive calculation and technique went into that thing--and
not just writing technique. Took two weeks of muzzle-in-keyboard work (and God
save me from *ever* having to do another one :- ) ).
But won't be forgotten, hmmm?
FB.
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It won't be forgotten Fred, but consider both the topic AND the audience next time and put a thesis at the beginning. I am surprised you didn't comment on the fact that the so-called beautifully simple sentence I used was itself a run-on... which I suppose was subtlety gone too deep undercover. Take care and as always I look forward to seeing what you'll do next.
Heh. The analysis and stack 'o notes that got this written was longer than the
piece itself. A little useless, too; no way to make it numerical. Not in the slightest,
a 'normal' story. It shows.
And hootingly far from normal journalism, too. Here's your assignment, kid: Something
bad didn't happen. Hustle it, we're holding the front page for you. :- )
As for if this story *prevents* a few bad things from happening, who da fug knows?
The absence of lightning bolts proves nothing. That said, the marketing 'weather
report' predicted about seven different types were likely (even with it all resolved.)
Christ, did I ever want some numbers. :- (
Right, and my avatar is holding up a sharply pointed metal object. Drat, can't change
it now. But can write something that is, agreed, waaaay unusual for FA. Foreclaws
crossed that it does what it's supposed to.
FB.
(PS: As said, no goats were harmed. But she sure hated doing the proofreading. :- ) )
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piece itself. A little useless, too; no way to make it numerical. Not in the slightest,
a 'normal' story. It shows.
And hootingly far from normal journalism, too. Here's your assignment, kid: Something
bad didn't happen. Hustle it, we're holding the front page for you. :- )
As for if this story *prevents* a few bad things from happening, who da fug knows?
The absence of lightning bolts proves nothing. That said, the marketing 'weather
report' predicted about seven different types were likely (even with it all resolved.)
Christ, did I ever want some numbers. :- (
Right, and my avatar is holding up a sharply pointed metal object. Drat, can't change
it now. But can write something that is, agreed, waaaay unusual for FA. Foreclaws
crossed that it does what it's supposed to.
FB.
(PS: As said, no goats were harmed. But she sure hated doing the proofreading. :- ) )
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Well, it would certainly seem that you dodged a bullet here...or a claymore, to be more apt,
considering how it seems all of this started with an inadvertantly-laid legal tripwire. Amicable
solutions, including mutual dissolution of contracts, are always preferable to litigation (and I've
heard tell that one Bernal can be quite litigious, or at least threaten to be, when copyright is
involved).
I suppose it is a good thing that there is only the very slightest chance that I would ever find
myself in a position to be discussing display rights, publishing rights, distribution rights, or any
of that (and even if I did, I'd want them delivered to me in their own Hot Cell). As for the
vixen that started it all, I know what you mean, although for me it was a lovely lapine, one
that has been bouncing around in my head for some time with a particular story idea.
I suppose that I could submit the idea for approval, the produce it, submit for further review
and then Release for Production...couldn't hurt anything, right?
After all, I could quite possibly attempt to add my own contribution to that site, although I
have a feeling that, in light of the void resulting from all this, it would be about as meaningful
as pouring a shot glass into an empty bathtub (if not a swimming pool).
Design a control system for an elevator from scratch, including all circuit diagrams and PLC
programming (was that Allen-Bradley or GE you wanted)? Simple.
Turn and carve steel or iron to a dimensional accuracy one sixth the thickness of a sheet of
paper? Show me your print, and hand me the keys to your shop, I'll get right back to you.
Navigate complexities of property rights, artistic rights, and accounting issues? Dammit Jim,
I'm an engineer, not a lawyer!
To say nothing of the possibility of it going wrong. You mention giving a signed copy of your
book to your mother...yeah, that would never happen. My furriness will be taken to the grave,
where all secrets belong. Should there ever be any situation where that might come out in
public, there would be all sorts of alarms going off: Proximity, Security, Position/Time Error,
possibly Audio and/or Video Input Overload (and attendant Input Discriminator Overloads),
and the dreaded General Caution and Warning.
So many errors, so many alarms, all going off at once...I'm not quite sure what would happen.
Well, it did happen, as recounted here, with additional background information found here.
Perhaps if you have the time, you might gain some insight, yes? If you don't mind the
imposition, of course.
considering how it seems all of this started with an inadvertantly-laid legal tripwire. Amicable
solutions, including mutual dissolution of contracts, are always preferable to litigation (and I've
heard tell that one Bernal can be quite litigious, or at least threaten to be, when copyright is
involved).
I suppose it is a good thing that there is only the very slightest chance that I would ever find
myself in a position to be discussing display rights, publishing rights, distribution rights, or any
of that (and even if I did, I'd want them delivered to me in their own Hot Cell). As for the
vixen that started it all, I know what you mean, although for me it was a lovely lapine, one
that has been bouncing around in my head for some time with a particular story idea.
I suppose that I could submit the idea for approval, the produce it, submit for further review
and then Release for Production...couldn't hurt anything, right?
After all, I could quite possibly attempt to add my own contribution to that site, although I
have a feeling that, in light of the void resulting from all this, it would be about as meaningful
as pouring a shot glass into an empty bathtub (if not a swimming pool).
Design a control system for an elevator from scratch, including all circuit diagrams and PLC
programming (was that Allen-Bradley or GE you wanted)? Simple.
Turn and carve steel or iron to a dimensional accuracy one sixth the thickness of a sheet of
paper? Show me your print, and hand me the keys to your shop, I'll get right back to you.
Navigate complexities of property rights, artistic rights, and accounting issues? Dammit Jim,
I'm an engineer, not a lawyer!
To say nothing of the possibility of it going wrong. You mention giving a signed copy of your
book to your mother...yeah, that would never happen. My furriness will be taken to the grave,
where all secrets belong. Should there ever be any situation where that might come out in
public, there would be all sorts of alarms going off: Proximity, Security, Position/Time Error,
possibly Audio and/or Video Input Overload (and attendant Input Discriminator Overloads),
and the dreaded General Caution and Warning.
So many errors, so many alarms, all going off at once...I'm not quite sure what would happen.
Well, it did happen, as recounted here, with additional background information found here.
Perhaps if you have the time, you might gain some insight, yes? If you don't mind the
imposition, of course.
A positive note here: Everybody involved did have so much legal experience. Ergo
the way out was clearer than it might have been. On opposite sides of the fence, perhaps,
but still on the same page?
Works for me. And so it worked out. Case closed (mainly because there wasn't one).
Re. art about hot lapines, I empathize (and had work in progress). IMHO, a notable
thing about furlit: Just how much of it takes inspiration from fur art. I call this a good
thing. And ya gotta notice how good Bernal's art is at getting said inspiration going.
Mop the drool off the keyboard and get writing, I say. It may or may not take SesyFur
some reconfiguring to deal with writing properly (a very secondary/casual thing over
the past years) but when/if they do there'll be no shortage of supply.
Since as fur art goes, there ain't much better, is there?
As for RL experiences with furry fandom, that echoes some of my long-distant
experiences with science fiction fandom. Which doesn't diminish the ton of fun
I had, mostly. There are cons I'd prefer to forget. And hope that everyone
else has forgotten too.
(Dead-drunk, I think I made a pass at Larry Niven's wife at WorldCon '80 in
Boston. Please, nobody go digging to confirm that. :- ) )
No matter. The fandom's a big tent (furry or SF). Like any circus. This one's heavy on
the animal acts? Yah. But man. don't we have good seats, hmmm?
FB.
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the way out was clearer than it might have been. On opposite sides of the fence, perhaps,
but still on the same page?
Works for me. And so it worked out. Case closed (mainly because there wasn't one).
Re. art about hot lapines, I empathize (and had work in progress). IMHO, a notable
thing about furlit: Just how much of it takes inspiration from fur art. I call this a good
thing. And ya gotta notice how good Bernal's art is at getting said inspiration going.
Mop the drool off the keyboard and get writing, I say. It may or may not take SesyFur
some reconfiguring to deal with writing properly (a very secondary/casual thing over
the past years) but when/if they do there'll be no shortage of supply.
Since as fur art goes, there ain't much better, is there?
As for RL experiences with furry fandom, that echoes some of my long-distant
experiences with science fiction fandom. Which doesn't diminish the ton of fun
I had, mostly. There are cons I'd prefer to forget. And hope that everyone
else has forgotten too.
(Dead-drunk, I think I made a pass at Larry Niven's wife at WorldCon '80 in
Boston. Please, nobody go digging to confirm that. :- ) )
No matter. The fandom's a big tent (furry or SF). Like any circus. This one's heavy on
the animal acts? Yah. But man. don't we have good seats, hmmm?
FB.
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The FA Writers Directory v 1.0
I'm just glad that it was all able to be settled without the hassle and expense of litigation.
And of course I'm glad that all of the literature is safe, for the time being, although I
suppose that where and how it will be released is still to be worked out. I shall have
to be patient, yes.
As for the lapine...that shall have to wait, got a few things I'm working on right now,
at least in my head, one involving the origins of the naval snowmew, another involving
what could be called a werewolf, or something else...get my skills up to some level
of respectability through practice first. I'd certainly enjoy it if you could read the
results, if you have the time.
And yes, there is, I'm sure, no shortage of supply of anthropomorphic erotic fiction
(or furry smut, but I think AEF sounds a bit more respectable), but what I'm worried
about is the demand. Current doesn't flow without a draw on it, you know.
And as for the big tent...I've always felt that I was outside it anyways, involved
mainly tangentially. I went to one con, it was the most awkward and unpleasant
fifteen minutes of my life, and I shall never make that mistake again. There is a
whole underlying psychological mess that goes along with that (being a good
student of engineering, I've done a thorough Root Cause Analysis on the whole
thing, including a few exposure tests).
The thing is, it's not just some silly costume to be put on (and note that I would
sooner shave my head, die my whiskers blue, and walk through Union Station
with no pants on during the morning rush than wear any of those where I might
be seen) and more the fact that...well, I am something of a feline. Like any
snow leopard, I am very shy and secretive, non-aggressive, keep to myself. My
fursona doesn't have the requisite non-standard coloring, no fluorescence here,
no wings or hybridization or unusual markings or extra bits, just a regular snowmew
(albeit one with steel-grey undercoat and blue eyes, rather than cream and
gold/hazel, respectively, but I think I am entitled to a bit of color, yes?)
I stretch like a cat, I yawn and then give little head-twitches like a cat, I can
purr and mew and chuff and snort and snarl and hiss (and quite often without even
thinking about it). I can nap like one, certainly. And like any self-respecting snow
leopard, I live in a cave on the side of a mountain (or an apartment on the ninth
floor of a precast-conctrete building, as it were). The furriness, for me, is a
very internalized thing, and just like the Felidae Panthera Uncia I shall
keep myself hidden from all but those I deem trustworthy enough to see.
Doth the leopard change his spots? Not this one, I need them to help me
hide.
As a side note, I do find it amusing and appropriate how other domesticated
felines seem to sense that I am a kindred spirit of sorts. On more than one
occasion, I've picked up and snuggled other people's cats, much to their
surprise, often mewing right back to them. I'm sure that they can detect a
[url-http://www.furaffinity.net/full/10146071/]kindred spirit.[/url]
And of course I'm glad that all of the literature is safe, for the time being, although I
suppose that where and how it will be released is still to be worked out. I shall have
to be patient, yes.
As for the lapine...that shall have to wait, got a few things I'm working on right now,
at least in my head, one involving the origins of the naval snowmew, another involving
what could be called a werewolf, or something else...get my skills up to some level
of respectability through practice first. I'd certainly enjoy it if you could read the
results, if you have the time.
And yes, there is, I'm sure, no shortage of supply of anthropomorphic erotic fiction
(or furry smut, but I think AEF sounds a bit more respectable), but what I'm worried
about is the demand. Current doesn't flow without a draw on it, you know.
And as for the big tent...I've always felt that I was outside it anyways, involved
mainly tangentially. I went to one con, it was the most awkward and unpleasant
fifteen minutes of my life, and I shall never make that mistake again. There is a
whole underlying psychological mess that goes along with that (being a good
student of engineering, I've done a thorough Root Cause Analysis on the whole
thing, including a few exposure tests).
The thing is, it's not just some silly costume to be put on (and note that I would
sooner shave my head, die my whiskers blue, and walk through Union Station
with no pants on during the morning rush than wear any of those where I might
be seen) and more the fact that...well, I am something of a feline. Like any
snow leopard, I am very shy and secretive, non-aggressive, keep to myself. My
fursona doesn't have the requisite non-standard coloring, no fluorescence here,
no wings or hybridization or unusual markings or extra bits, just a regular snowmew
(albeit one with steel-grey undercoat and blue eyes, rather than cream and
gold/hazel, respectively, but I think I am entitled to a bit of color, yes?)
I stretch like a cat, I yawn and then give little head-twitches like a cat, I can
purr and mew and chuff and snort and snarl and hiss (and quite often without even
thinking about it). I can nap like one, certainly. And like any self-respecting snow
leopard, I live in a cave on the side of a mountain (or an apartment on the ninth
floor of a precast-conctrete building, as it were). The furriness, for me, is a
very internalized thing, and just like the Felidae Panthera Uncia I shall
keep myself hidden from all but those I deem trustworthy enough to see.
Doth the leopard change his spots? Not this one, I need them to help me
hide.
As a side note, I do find it amusing and appropriate how other domesticated
felines seem to sense that I am a kindred spirit of sorts. On more than one
occasion, I've picked up and snuggled other people's cats, much to their
surprise, often mewing right back to them. I'm sure that they can detect a
[url-http://www.furaffinity.net/full/10146071/]kindred spirit.[/url]
For my sake I'm going to try and trim this down into an analogy that more people might be able to relate to.
So you got a thorn stuck in your finger way back in '07 while writing. From then on it gave you no real pain or discomfort. Then one day you noticed it just under the skin. Knowing it was there left you with two options as to how to deal with it. The first and least reasonable was to let it stay and risk infection that would make any later action all the more painful. The second would have been to go to the doctors to get it taken out.
Somehow you ended up with the a intelligent splinter that understood the options you had and rather then dealing with the hassle of being removed simple popped out of your finger.
Not perfect but much short.
PS:
My girlfriend would love to know what your plans are for publishing the rest of your on going story Back Stage Pass. She's super hooked on it and almost fainted when I told her about this situation. I'm sure that all of your fans myself included would also like to know.
PPS:
I am one of the SF subscribers that staid on with them for the writing and in fact started righting my own stuff because of your work On Rout 69.
So you got a thorn stuck in your finger way back in '07 while writing. From then on it gave you no real pain or discomfort. Then one day you noticed it just under the skin. Knowing it was there left you with two options as to how to deal with it. The first and least reasonable was to let it stay and risk infection that would make any later action all the more painful. The second would have been to go to the doctors to get it taken out.
Somehow you ended up with the a intelligent splinter that understood the options you had and rather then dealing with the hassle of being removed simple popped out of your finger.
Not perfect but much short.
PS:
My girlfriend would love to know what your plans are for publishing the rest of your on going story Back Stage Pass. She's super hooked on it and almost fainted when I told her about this situation. I'm sure that all of your fans myself included would also like to know.
PPS:
I am one of the SF subscribers that staid on with them for the writing and in fact started righting my own stuff because of your work On Rout 69.
Hmmm... Yah, a thorn analogy works just fine. Say also a totally invisible thorn, no pain
to it, and stuck simultaneously *through* both our paws. Which were together in a
handshake.
(I still go phew at the luck of all this, BTW. Nearly said, should I wait until mid-2014 to
submit On Route 69? Nah, let's do it now before Xmas hits.)
Then you could say we yanked our palms apart, and the thorn fell harmlessly to
the floor. When it could have given us a damn toxic dose of [legal] blood
poisoning.
Sometimes a good metaphor can be more ominous than the real thing to which
it's referring. This one's worth a small shiver. Insofar a hurt footpaw is, in fact,
what gets more than a few animals snuffed.
Not this time. And I'll admit to the temptation to say something as simple as that.
All writers on FA must pay attention to the dreaded TL;DR effect.
But nah. Short sucks and blows at the same time. Has to be more than that, insofar as
there are larger circumstances here. I think I'll know in two weeks whether this
pile o' verbiage has been effective.
I track my stats like a hawk; spreadsheet is in use. There's a fuzzy target to hit.
As for Backstage Pass, job #1 is finish the puppy. Two difficult chapters to go. That
may put me into late May. You'll note the delays over recent months (should've been
done by Xmas).
Decision from there? Either e-book or post the whole thing here. Then publish
maybe in late 2014? We shall see. Since maybe On Route 69 can hit ink or
electrons by mid-summer.
(*Finally*worked out how to post novels to FA. I can handle a 275K word text
without killing myself.)
Appreciate your interest in the SexyFur writing. I know these stories have had an impact
on people. Nor will I neglect compliments to the art that inspired 'em. How could I
miss? :- )
There's more where that came from. No plans to set up a website or such as that, BTW.
FA will be the main repository.
FB.
●●●●●●●●●●
The FA Writers Directory v 1.0
to it, and stuck simultaneously *through* both our paws. Which were together in a
handshake.
(I still go phew at the luck of all this, BTW. Nearly said, should I wait until mid-2014 to
submit On Route 69? Nah, let's do it now before Xmas hits.)
Then you could say we yanked our palms apart, and the thorn fell harmlessly to
the floor. When it could have given us a damn toxic dose of [legal] blood
poisoning.
Sometimes a good metaphor can be more ominous than the real thing to which
it's referring. This one's worth a small shiver. Insofar a hurt footpaw is, in fact,
what gets more than a few animals snuffed.
Not this time. And I'll admit to the temptation to say something as simple as that.
All writers on FA must pay attention to the dreaded TL;DR effect.
But nah. Short sucks and blows at the same time. Has to be more than that, insofar as
there are larger circumstances here. I think I'll know in two weeks whether this
pile o' verbiage has been effective.
I track my stats like a hawk; spreadsheet is in use. There's a fuzzy target to hit.
As for Backstage Pass, job #1 is finish the puppy. Two difficult chapters to go. That
may put me into late May. You'll note the delays over recent months (should've been
done by Xmas).
Decision from there? Either e-book or post the whole thing here. Then publish
maybe in late 2014? We shall see. Since maybe On Route 69 can hit ink or
electrons by mid-summer.
(*Finally*worked out how to post novels to FA. I can handle a 275K word text
without killing myself.)
Appreciate your interest in the SexyFur writing. I know these stories have had an impact
on people. Nor will I neglect compliments to the art that inspired 'em. How could I
miss? :- )
There's more where that came from. No plans to set up a website or such as that, BTW.
FA will be the main repository.
FB.
●●●●●●●●●●
The FA Writers Directory v 1.0
I too am waiting anxiously for more Backstage Pass.
I had even gone so far with the SF editions to reset them for rendering on my kindle...
I honestly loved all your stories that I had read, but Sorceress was actually not one I got to. I think I read almost every other one.
Thanks for your works
I had even gone so far with the SF editions to reset them for rendering on my kindle...
I honestly loved all your stories that I had read, but Sorceress was actually not one I got to. I think I read almost every other one.
Thanks for your works
Time blown on a ton o' other stuff over past months has not been time wasted.
It's sort of allowed the Muses to pound some inspiration into the back-of-head re. how
to finish this behemoth. Not that Kylah and Jamati don't have a say in that.
Fun work, though. I expect a lot of progress over coming weeks. Think May-ish.
Am thinking about posting Sorceress ver 1.0 to here (among others). Ver 2.0, for later
in the summer. So stay tuned on that too.
Appreciate the interest in the work. One thing for certain:
I'm not stopping. :- )
FB.
●●●●●●●●●●
The FA Writers Directory v 1.0
It's sort of allowed the Muses to pound some inspiration into the back-of-head re. how
to finish this behemoth. Not that Kylah and Jamati don't have a say in that.
Fun work, though. I expect a lot of progress over coming weeks. Think May-ish.
Am thinking about posting Sorceress ver 1.0 to here (among others). Ver 2.0, for later
in the summer. So stay tuned on that too.
Appreciate the interest in the work. One thing for certain:
I'm not stopping. :- )
FB.
●●●●●●●●●●
The FA Writers Directory v 1.0
Being the son of an accountant, all I'll say is *woof*, dodged a bullet the size of the moon there.
Kinda makes me glad I've got no artistic ability seeing the minefield you can fall into
Kiss whatever rabbit's foot got you through this, cause it definitely worked, and we'll see you when you figure out where you're posting your next piece.
Kinda makes me glad I've got no artistic ability seeing the minefield you can fall into
Kiss whatever rabbit's foot got you through this, cause it definitely worked, and we'll see you when you figure out where you're posting your next piece.
Not obvious, the accounting angle (unless you've done a ton of it). The s**t filling
in an Oreo cookie of trouble? Gotta remember that metaphor.
Spat out before it got swallowed, is the take-home here. And we don't all look
like total Charlies for getting caught in it (as we might otherwise well deserve. :- / )
Plans are running that could see work going to press by mid-summer-ish. FA'll be
getting a lot of stuff too. Job 1: Make it out of winter.
(I'm in Canada. Seriously, expected polar bears to show up in the yard this year.
Given my dog, better not be female or oh dear. the yapping. :- ) )
FB.
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The FA Writers Directory v 1.0
in an Oreo cookie of trouble? Gotta remember that metaphor.
Spat out before it got swallowed, is the take-home here. And we don't all look
like total Charlies for getting caught in it (as we might otherwise well deserve. :- / )
Plans are running that could see work going to press by mid-summer-ish. FA'll be
getting a lot of stuff too. Job 1: Make it out of winter.
(I'm in Canada. Seriously, expected polar bears to show up in the yard this year.
Given my dog, better not be female or oh dear. the yapping. :- ) )
FB.
●●●●●●●●●●
The FA Writers Directory v 1.0
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