Oh goody, I am apparently a Scab

[theblackmare]

I just followed the links on malnpudl's post to the rant from the current VP of the Science Fiction Writers of America about those who give professional level work away for free on the internet. You can read the rant here. The comments, too, are excellent and worthy. He used -- incorrectly -- the word "scabs" to describe those who distribute their work for

Comments

[hobgoblinn]

Oh my. I just read the top level comments, not all the replies to them, but what a lively discussion. I especially liked the one that suggested people read the reviews of his work on Amazon. I read a few. I wondered if the "professional" reviewers had read the same work as the average buyers warning people off his work. Perhaps the brave new world is working against him.

[wide_rider]

This person’s rant is interesting. It seems to be not only counter-productive, but also counter-intuitive. Does it make sense for a SF/F writer to argue so vociferously against technology, change, and the future? I have met, or ‘learned of’ might be a better term, several professional level writers online over the past couple years who have been giving away their talent for free. The mere fact that I can read stories online for free, and very high quality writing at that, does not mean that I have stopped buying published books. On the contrary, exposure to these writers has increased my desire to buy more - by these authors, if and when they are published in a conventional manner. I do not buy books simply by genre, I prefer authors I know from previous works, or in the sub-genre of Media-Tie-In because I already know and love the characters. Because of my personal affinity for a character or show, I discovered Fan-Fiction, which has in turn lead me to many talented writers, further fueling my desire for more. Is that not

[antennapedia]

Hendrix is out of his mind. SFWA gets more and more laughable every time I see its politics bubble into public notice. Though the new crop of smart writers might yet take control and shake it up.

His reaction is similar to the record companies' reaction to digital music formats and ubiquitous networking. The first instinct of the insecure, uninformed, uncertain, and unadventurous is to clamp down control, to maintain existing business methods as long as possible. This reaction is shortsighted and stupid, but it's typical of a certain kind of mediocre plodder who prefers a risk-averse established industry, like say what the recording industry was in the 80s.

The future belongs to the Charles Strosses, who are busily exploring new ways of distributing their work and making money from it.

What a risk-averse technophobe is doing writing SF, I dunno.