Dishonesty is sometimes the best policy

There is an interesting discussion going on at the moment over on the Writers Group at BlogCatalogue regarding honesty in writing. The author of the post was alerted to this subject via a blog post that she came across contemplating both sides of this issue, as both a reader and a writer. As a reader, she felt misled, and somewhat betrayed, when she discovered that a writer she admired appeared not to have been telling the whole truth, yet when she examined her own writing she had to admit that she hadn't either. It can be a very fine line, as I discovered myself not that long ago.

When I first began this blog three or more years ago, the aim was to write about my experiences with print on demand publishing, in the hope that this might help others considering the same path. As time went on, more of my personal life began to creep in, which was difficult to avoid, since I had a lot going on with regard to my paid nine to five job at that time. I also saw it as a major obstacle standing in the way of my writing success, which I was very resentful of. In retrospect I was maybe a little too honest, as I made the mistake of writing about my work in too much detail. So much detail that when my then employer discovered what I had written, I was suspended from work, and eventually forced to leave. It was a difficult time and a harsh lesson that I had to learn.

The reason my employer was so upset was not because of veiled references to the company name or the products that they sold (which were admittedly there), but because I wrote in great detail about how I felt with regard to certain actions or rather inaction's that the company took and about how it made me feel. If I had written a blog saying what a wonderful company they were to work for and how happy I was in my job then they would have had no reason to get upset, but because I told the truth they became worried that if the wrong people read this, their reputation would suffer. Honesty then in my case was not the best policy.

On the other hand, I had been putting off leaving for a long time before they discovered what I had done (which came about ironically because of someone else's dishonesty), humming and harring over what I wanted to do next, so maybe this was the universe's way of forcing me out. This seems to have been a pattern in my life, whereby I stay in a job becoming more and more miserable and knowing that I should leave until I am made redundant or something else happens to force me to leave. This is a pattern, which I am pleased to say is now well and truly broken.

I admit that when I look at those posts now (they have since been moved to another blog and heavily edited), they make very compulsive reading, as you can feel the pain and the depth of the emotions leaping off the page. No employer wants to be told in such stark terms how their behaviour affects their employees health, so this must have been painful for them to read. Still, it is all water under the bridge now. I have learnt my lesson and moved on.

It does though go to show that sometimes dishonesty or at best a touch of white wash, is the best policy, as total honesty doesn't pay the bills. Fortunately, my new job does.

As Borders announce further closures, Google show their true colours

There are several stories of interest worth blogging about today, the first of which concerns Borders, who have announced their intention to sell the remaining Books Etc and Borders Express Stores, thus removing these brands entirely from the High Street. The move, which I am sure has gone down with the staff like a lead balloon, is not totally unexpected, as in the words of Independent journalist James Thompson, "Books Etc has been a financial millstone around the neck of Borders UK for a number of years".

The company, which has 36 remaining Borders stores, came close to collapse earlier in the summer, when it was rescued at the 11th hour by a management buyout headed by Philip Downer, Chief Executive. He is a braver man that I would be!

The company is also said to be negotiating with landlords to restructure or reduce the leases on some of the remaining Borders stores, one of which is believed to be Briggate in Leeds. There are however no plans for further closures.

In the meantime, the Google debacle continues on, with French publishing group La Martinière the first publisher worldwide to sue Google in court. The publisher, which is backed by the French publishers association Syndicat National de l’Edition (SNE) and the French Writers Union, Syndicat des Gens de Lettres, (SGDL), is seeking damages of 15 million Euros (£13.8 million) for books digitised by Google without permission. In addition to this, they are seeking a further penalty of 100,000 Euros per day with 3 million Euros for "prejudice to their image". The trial, which opened in Paris on 24th September is expected to last until 18th December at the latest.

What really takes the biscuit for me are comments made by Google lawyer Alexandra Neri, who argued that the French court was not competent to rule on this case, since the books were digitised in the United States. "What Google does" she said "is absolutely legal." "We have never denied that Seuil holds the copyright on printed works, but it has never proved that it holds the right on digital versions of the works."

For a qualified lawyer to show such ignorance of copyright law is to me breathtaking, quite apart from her other comments regarding where the digitisation took place. Surely copyright is copyright, no matter what form the words are printed in - they could be tattooed on her backside for all I care, the fact is that if Google did not write or pay for the rights to publish these works, then they have no right to digitise any of them. It may be true that the author did not assign digital rights to La Martinière since e-books are a relatively new development, but one thing's for sure - they were not assigned to Google, and I personally would suggest that until such rights are assigned to the publisher or to anyone else for that matter, they have to be regarded as resting fairly and squarely with the author. These comments to my mind show once again how breathtaking arrogant this company has become with its dealings with authors outside the US, they are fighting now for dear life to hold on to what little remains of a settlement that is effectively dead, and a reputation which is not much better.

Still e-books are not all bad, if placed in the right hands, they can open a whole new market for the self published and independent authors, and help to level the playing field by potentially cutting out most of the middle men who demand an ever larger slice of our hard earned cash.

Smashwords which was founded in 2008, announced a partnership with Sony, whereby its books will be available to buy direct from the Sony e-book store to be downloaded on to Sony reading devices. They are not the only company to do this, since Author Solutions have also signed an agreement. Smashwords have also announced a distribution agreement with Lexcyle, to allow their books to be read by users of Stanza, an iPhone eBook-reading device with 2 million users.

Banal ramblings

I took the plunge last week and decided to set up a Twitter account, as it seems to be the latest thing and from what I have seen and heard, an excellent way of generating more traffic to your blog. Despite the banality of my ramblings, I am surprised to see that I already have 3 followers. I guess to them, my ramblings aren't as banal as they seem.

It has been a strange day so far - in fact it has been a strange week, a strange year, and an even stranger lifetime ...

I always used to go a salon to get my hair cut, not these expensive glossy ones where they charge you an arm and a leg to walk through the door, but a plain and simple one, with no fuss and no spraying of gallons of chemicals. Lately though on the recommendation of a friend, I have been having my hair cut at home. It is well worth the extra money, as you don't have the stress and hassle of going into town and finding somewhere to park, even if you do have to hoover afterwards. Anyway, today was the day, and my appointment was at 10.45am.

Knowing that the hairdresser likes her clients to wash or at least dampen their hair on arrival, this meant that there was no point in showering. So, for the last couple of hours I have been slobbing around the house in my dressing gown, drinking tea, playing Farmville (a farming game on Facebook) and watching this weeks Ugly Betty.

Now I am showered and not quite dressed (I am still in the dressing gown) I am not sure what to do with the day. It is too close to lunch time to go out, and the crops that I planted will not be ready for another hour. I know what I should do - enter that competition from the National Trust and register for a group meeting with an agent that a friend from a writers forum has set up for forum members. I have half an hour until those crops are ready, so I should be able to get at least half of my entry complete - they only need a few hundred words .... On the other hand, I should really hoover up all that hair ...

Google hearing delayed

As expected, lawyers representing US based authors and publishers have requested the courts to postpone the hearing set to take place on October 7th, regarding the proposed Google settlement. More time is needed to examine the various objections and for further negotiations to take place. The issues are complex and cannot be settled overnight.

On Friday, the Department of Justice proposed several important changes to the proposed settlement, including new protection for unknown rights holders and allowing Google's competitors to gain access to and sell books within the registry, thereby preventing a monopoly.

The Open Content Alliance - which includes Amazon, Microsoft, and the Internet Archive naturally view this as an important victory, which will open up competition. It goes without saying, that the opposite is true for Google. We can safely say that the settlement as we knew it, is officially dead.

The October issue is ready to print

The village newsletter is finally ready for the month of October, having completed it late last night. I shall proof read it today and ring the printer for it to be picked up tomorrow morning, bang on schedule (we usually try and print around the 24th of the month).

I didn't think I would get it done on time as almost everyone was late with their contributions, the last one not arriving until yesterday afternoon - most unlike the person who sent it. He is our Chairman and really ought to have known better, but it still got done.

Every month I panic that I don't have enough material, but somehow the pages get filled up. This month because there is a shortage of news, I have been able to include a few spiritually themed page fillers, such as traditions for living by his Holiness the Dalai Lama, and a piece on the benefits of meditation. I was asked to include this by the lovely people who run the meditation group that I attend every other Monday night, one of whom is the Rector (yes, you did read that right). Not all religious people have closed minds - apologies if you are reading this and consider yourself to be religious - like I say, not all religious people have closed minds, and if you are offended by my words, then I suggest you find the nearest mirror !

The news stories this month are suitably scintillating for a small village such as ours - the winners for the recent mastermind type quiz, fund raising efforts made for a children's village in southern Africa, and the shoe box scheme which is run by the local Christian Fellowship (a very worthy cause). The centre spread has been provided by the National Trust, who play a vital role in our village and in fact, throughout the whole area.

I can't believe it is only 2 months to go until Christmas - I shall have to start planning the Christmas edition soon then !

Google settlement likely to be delayed

It seems that the Google book settlement currently being debated in the US courts may have been dealt a death blow, as in a statement released late on Friday night, the US Justice Department declared in no uncertain terms that the settlement should be rejected.

In their own words:

"As presently drafted the proposed settlement does not meet the legal standards this court must apply. This court should reject the proposed settlement and encourage the parties to continue negotiations to comply with Rule 23 and the copyright and antitrust laws."

Google say that they aim to address the findings of the Department of Justice at the hearing in October. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, frantic negotiations are taking place with their objectors, of which there are many. No matter what settlements are reached, the word is that Judge Denny Chin will not veer too far away from the wishes of the Justice Department, and it may take some months of re-negotitions before the final outcome is announced.

Try this if you dare !

One of my Facebook friends (which I have been spending far too much time on this week, perfecting the art of farming) alterted me to a fun 'game' which she found on dovegreyreaders, whereby using only books that you have read this year, you answer the following questions. You are supposed to use the book titles only once, and the game is a lot harder than it actually looks - especially for someone who has read as little as I have (hardly enough books to answer the questions at all!). I have then been forced to cheat and include books that I have bought this year but am yet to read (terrible I know). Thank goodness for Waterstones and those 3 for 2 offers (never thought I would say that either).

Here then goes:

Describe yourself: The Elegance of the Hedgehog: Muriel Barbery

How do you feel: A Fraction of the Whole: Steve Toltz
Describe where you currently live: Heaven's Gate: Karen Bishop
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Small Island: Andrea Levy
Your favorite form of transportation: Night Train to Lisbon: Pascal Marcier
Your best friend is: The Library of Shadows: Mikkel Birkegaard
You and your friends are: Past Imperfect: Julian Fellowes
What's the weather like: Baking Cakes in Kigali: Gaile Parkin
You fear: Dark Places: Kate Grenville
What is the best advice you have to give: Watching the Door: Kevin Myers
Thought for the day: Late Nights on Air: Elizabeth Hay
How I would like to die: Born Under a Million Shadows: Andrea Busfield
My soul's present condition: The Vagrants: Yi Yun Li

Enough said !