Pens, Papers, and Stories

Blog about being a writer and a student.

[penspapersandstories]

Dear Grad School,

Cc: school at all levels

Are we overworked in a way to train us to be exploited in the workforce?

EDIT: Apparently the answer is yes and it’s discussed in social reproduction theory.

[t1redstudies]

[whitepeopletwitter]

[lcnarr-deactivated20211231]

say it with me kids, creating anything at all boosts ur mood and ur mental health! even a few minutes helps!

nobody asked but i spent 30 minutes drawing and an hour writing today, and i’m feeling the best i have all month!!

[penspapersandstories]

Stay creative folks. Take care of yourself.

[penspapersandstories]

Dear Grad school...

I love living in the English building where I can walk down the hallway and hear things like,

“If the devil pushes you off a cliff and you survive then the gods must not want you dead.”

And it’s totally normal literary discussion.

This is also probably why most of us are in therapy. Oh well.

Signed,

An amused and tired English student

[teashoesandhair]

Stop stealing my dang book

HEY, UH

The people who are putting my tiny self published book (Here, the World Entire, aka the book I poured my whole dang soul into!) up on piracy sites / requesting a pdf of my book on piracy sites:

CAN YOU LITERALLY THE FUCK NOT

I'm very glad that people want to read my book! It brings me joy that I very truly cannot even begin to explain! It's basically my dream come true! But please don't steal my work!

I don't have the backing of a big publishing house. I self published, so there's no advance for me. The only money I make off that book is through sales, and although it's not a lot at all per sale, it's the only source of income that book produces. I very strongly believe that writers deserve to get paid for their work. That includes me.

If you want to read my book but really can't justify using the funds you have to do so (because hey, we're all in different financial situations, I get it), I know it's in a couple of library systems so it's worth trying that. I'm reluctant to send out free ebooks now because the last time I did that someone put it on a pirating site, but you're welcome to ask and I may decide to do so on a case by case basis.

Please, please don't pirate books. Authors really don't generally make a lot as it is. We're not all JK Rowling. Minimising our already low revenue stream, especially self published authors, is shitty. It actually upsets me to think that someone who follows this blog might be one of the people pirating or asking for pirated copies. If it is you and you see this, I'm asking you to stop. I will be telling you next time.

[tetraterezi]

Ehhh im pretty pro.pirate if you cant afford it you cant afford it. Pirate sites get you more audience which means more people can share it.

If you wanna stiffle that be my guest.

But your only gonna damage yourself.

[teashoesandhair]

Literally no. Stop. Desist. This is a super Bad Take, and also incredibly inappropriate to add to my post here. Let me explain.

I don't need exposure. I don't need 'audience'. That doesn't pay my bills. That doesn't compensate me for my months of hard work. I don't need people to 'share' my work for me free of charge by stealing it and distributing it for free without my consent.

You fundamentally misunderstand how the publishing industry works. It doesn't work by people stealing books. That sure benefits the reader, but it royally fucks over the author. Work being shared on pirating sites does absolutely sweet bugger all for me as an author. Audiences who know they can get my shit for free aren't going to suddenly start paying for it just because they've now heard of me, so your comments about building an audience are asinine; it's not building a paying audience for me, but an audience of people who steal my shit. Some audience.

I've sold hundreds of copies of my book based on the quailty of it (presumably; either that or my mum has been bribing people). It's selling itself pretty well, thanks. It's been performed as a play! It has pretty good reviews! I don't need to eschew being financially compensated in exchange for more audience, especially not if that audience isn't going to fucking pay. An audience gained from a pirate site is useless to me. It does nothing for me. I have one book out currently. Every person who steals it is someone who doesn't buy it. It's another sale lost. It's nothing gained. I don't have a back catalogue for people to buy once they've heard of me. It's theft and then fuck all benefit to me.

Writing isn't all about making money and it's a privilege to have your work out there and read, but it's also work, and in a capitalist society, that merits being compensated for the acknowledgement of that work. I'm not just a money hungry piece of shit (or I'd have priced my book at an actually decent profit margin) but I need money to, y'know, eat. Writing is one way I do that. I can't do that if people steal my work.

I don't give half a sodden shit if you're pro pirate. I'm not, and it's my livelihood on the line here, so maybe consider people's feelings before adding your two cents to a post. You've basically just ignored my feelings completely in order to add your spicy hot take to a post because apparently your misinformed opinion is more important than my livelihood. It's not. There's a time and a place to espouse your viewpoint. This was categorically not it.

[gwendolynflight]

Bought a copy, it looks dope.

[adventures-in-a-world-of-fiction]

Piracy, like a lot of things in life, is a subject with nuance. If you are curious to see a big blockbuster made by a major movie company that’s raked in millions in a single weekend but you don’t want to add your money to those millions because you think the series has taken a sharp dive in quality - you could make an argument for that.

If a billion dollar company is charging extortionate amounts for software you need for your livelihood, pirating that is between you and your conscience.

If you bought a thing but due to DRM or whatever you can no longer access the thing you bought, you can decide whether to pay again or pirate.

But pirating something from a billion dollar company is not the same as pirating a self-published book, or an indie-game, or even a book from a small press. The margins in publishing are tiny. Most authors have a second job because they earn so little from their writing. If you pirate their stuff, you’re hurting their chances to support themselves with their writing.

Libraries exist. Basically every writer I’ve met is pro-library. If you can’t afford to buy a book, get it from the library instead. In the UK, I get a few pence when people borrow books from the library (the actual system is convoluted, but it means I can earn a little bit of money from library borrows). Don’t pirate books. Whether you pirate other stuff, I’ll leave to your judgement, but seriously, pirating books directly hurts the authors.

[atomatowriter-deactivated202211]

#i would argue even pirating books from rlly popular authors from big publishing houses is super bad #like #maggie stiefvater talks about how people pirating the raven cycle books meant the series almost got cancelled half way through #cos people were pirating them rather than buying #so to the publisher it looked like no one was interested or reading them #even authors with good publishing deals arent usually rich #hearing about authors with 6 figure book deals is the exception #thats like extraordinary #i will say this time and time again #you camt pay lip service to the idea that artists should be payed for their work and then turn round and pirate books #everyones cool with paying artists until it comes to actually paying artists

[tbehartoo]

#all of this#our anthology is already up on a pirate site#a book that was being sold for 99 cents#and like y'all#please don't#even folks being picked up by trad publishing houses aren't making enough to make ends meet#indie authors are making even less#please do not steal from authors#we're not Marvel#we can't survive this shit

[teashoesandhair]

Agreed; book wankery (because piracy is still too cool a word) doesn't only harm self published authors. Owing to the current publishing revenue model, it also has the potential to destroy the income and career growth of traditionally published authors. Don't be book wankers. Buy the thing, or borrow the thing, but don't steal the thing.

[penspapersandstories]

Do you ever get overwhelmed by what you could, can, or should do?

[the-sleepy-poet]

do you still have anxiety? 

yes. 

about what? 

there doesn’t need to be an “about.” 

well you were definitely relaxed the other night. 

i always look relaxed. doesn’t mean i am. 

do you take any medication? 

not anymore. 

…

…

…

…

do you work out regularly? 

[promptsforthestrugglingauthor]

Writing Prompt #1000

“Has it truly been so long since we last met?” The witch—no longer an apprentice—smiled to her companions over a cup of tea.

“Life goes by in a blink in the capital. I did try to warn you!” The former prostitute lay her head on the bastard child’s shoulder, now her ever-loving spouse.

“And I’m afraid we haven’t just come for well wishes. I’m in need of your service, old friend.”

[penspapersandstories]

I read through one of my old stories yesterday that had been abandoned to the depths of my mind. And after reading it I thought, “Hey, this isn’t the worst thing ive ever written”

[made-of-honey]

is grad school just,,,feeling like you’re about to cry at all times????

[penspapersandstories]

And crippling anxiety, yes. Just schedule it in and you’ll be okay :) Remember, everyone in grad school feels the same way. You’re never sitting in the feels alone. You’ve made it this far, you’ve got this!

[nightskywriter]

How to Win NaNoWriMo

AN: I have no direct association with the makers of NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo belongs to owners. I speak only as a writer and winner of NaNoWriMo.

·         Write a little everyday

Things come up and you may not be able to get that 1667 everyday but even 20 words added toward your goal is better than 0. Write at least a little bit everyday and you’ll thank yourself later.

·         Don’t Give Up If you miss a day (or more than one) don’t worry about it. You’re doing great and by the end of the month your word count will be higher than where you began. And that’s what NaNoWriMo is all about – Improvement (no matter how small)

·         Outline Best parts about an outline are A.) You choose how in-depth B.) Gives you direction when you run out of ideas C.) It can get you hyped for your WIP! An outline is completely customizable. I usually do a skeleton of an outline then add from there. Now, this tip isn’t for everyone. Some people prefer to write a WIP without knowing the ending and if that works for you then go for it!

·         DON’T DELETE ANYTHING I mean it. Every word gets you closer to that 50,000. Even the imperfect ones. So, many times during Nano, I had no idea where to go next with my WIP. And that was with an outline! And pushed through it by putting whatever came to mind down on the doc. I threw the plot* out the window! By doing that I created my 2nd favorite character!

·         Word. Sprints. Can. Save. You. Word sprints saved my NaNo last year. (They helped me finish early!) You can do sprints by yourself it works wonders, but including some NaNo friends makes it so much fun!

****

*Plot doesn’t really exist in the first draft. It is a mystical thing. It will change.

 If you have any questions, hit up my inbox! 

[writeouswriter]

Me: Which of my 7000 WIPS do I work on during Nanowrimo?

My brain: Hmm, I know! WIP 7001!

[penspapersandstories]

Dear grad school,

When I say “I have a meeting” I can mean any of the following, in no particular order:

• doctors appointment

• therapy

• homework

• my second job

• grocery shopping

• grading

• dinner or lunch date

• dinner or lunch

• or breakfast

• food in general

• a nap

• a scheduled breakdown

• I just want some time to myself and don’t want to deal with you

• bathroom break

• an actual meeting

Feel free to add yours.

[penspapersandstories]

Grad school culture is...

Weird.

Today I was listening to two 2nd years in my program talk about how they thought they were swamped last semester. They then compared how much they’ve cried:

“I’ve already cried twice this last weekend. How about you? Did you cry? I cried Saturday.”

“Me too! Saturday.”

“High five!” *gives air five from across the room”

So you know, grad school. Looking forward to my future.

[penspapersandstories]

Has anyone else noticed (and this may apply only to the humanities) that the higher level classes you’re in the fewer notes you take?

[penspapersandstories]

I’m really glad I’m not alone in this. I was beginning to think I was a terrible student.

[penspapersandstories]

9.7.19 Finished a chapter and am already halfway through the next. I’m super jazzed! And I made some dinner to go with my writing mood.