Scrivener's Error: The Great American Novel

03 June 2007

The Great American Novel

at 20:38 [UTC–8]

There's a great myth that every writer has a novel in him or her. (Just because it's a fictional work at book length does not make it a "novel".) The truth is much more complicated... especially at publication time.

This last week, the occasionally amusing comic strip Non Sequitur has included a sequence on getting that great American novel published. Well, sort of.

Ambition
Experience
Exploitation
Originality
Identity
Droit d'auteur

This sequence has a lot to say about the realities of publishing. Admittedly, it's sarcastic and cynical. And, admittedly, it would be clearer if I'd just frame the strips inside this blawg entry... but I don't have the permissions to do that.

The Fine Print

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Internet link sausages, as frequently appear here, are gathered from uninspected meaty internet products and byproducts via processes you really, really don't want to observe; spiced with my own secret, snarky, sarcastic blend; quite possibly extended with sawdust or other indigestibles; and stuffed into your monitor (instead of either real or artificial casings). They're sort of like "link salad" or "pot pourri" or "miscellaneous musings" (or, for that matter, "making law"), but far more disturbing.

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Warped Weft

Now live at the new site. I have arranged some of the more infamous threads that have appeared here by unravelling them from the blawg tapestry (and hopefully eliminating some of the sillier typos). Sometimes, the threads have been slightly reordered for clarity.

Other Blawgs, Blogs, and Journals

These may be of interest; I do not necessarily agree with opinions expressed in them, although the reasoning and writing are almost always first-rate (and represent a standard seldom, if ever, achieved in "mainstream" journalism). I'm picky, and have eclectic tastes, so don't expect a comprehensive listing.

How Appealing is aimed at appellate lawyers and legal news in general. If you care about the state of the law, start here — Howard's commentary is far better balanced, better informed, and better considered than any of the media outlets. To concentrate on the US Supreme Court, don't forget SCOTUSBlog.
Some academics' blawgs with a variety of political (and doctrinal) viewpoints:
- Professor Stephen Bainbridge (UCLA Law) (aka "The Perfesser")
- Professor Jack Balkin (Yale Law)
- Professor Dennis Crouch (Missouri Law) (better known as Patently-O)
- Dorf on Law is a limited-group academic blawg among Professors Michael Dorf (Cornell Law), Neil Buchanan (Florida Law, transitioning to Toronto Law), and Eric Segall (Georgia State Law)
- Professor Michael Froomkin (University of Miami Law)
- Professor Eric Goldman (Santa Clara University Law)
- Professor James Grimmelmann (Cornell Law)
- Professor Rick Hasen (UCLA)
- Professor Brian Leiter (U of Chicago Law/Philosophy)
- Professor Rebecca Tushnet (Harvard Law)
The main European IP blawg of interest remains the UK-based IPKat