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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 5h

Yeah, I've heard similar stories from other writers, and I've had that response from a few in publishing as well.

It baffles me how they assume that all writers want to, or are even capable of, spending their entire careers writing the same material over and over again endlessly.

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 6h

Have publishers been insisting that you only write the same thing, not show interest in writing something different, etc?

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 1d

Bizarrely, yes. Every author I know has encountered it, myself included.

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 1d

There absolutely is a crossover in readership between SFF genres. No one will *ever* be able to convince me otherwise.

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 1d

"There is no crossover between genre readerships, fantasy and SF don't mix."

Fanfic readers will familiarise themselves with 20+ volume manga series, because the author also wrote a fanfic of an obscure indie video game a few years back.

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 1d

Writers should be able to write and publish in any genre, or change genre, at will.

The idea, often held by publishing sales teams, that an author must stay in one genre lane for the duration of their career, is the height of lunacy.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 1d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Reposted by Jeremy Szal

Wole Talabi @wtalabi.bsky.social · 1d

Genres aren't real. They are mental projections we impose on stories to simplify the way talk about and sell them but stories come unshaped from deep within us and writers shouldn't feel constrained by or even respect genres at all. The story comes first.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 1d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 1d

Me and a friend visited a Star Wars bar in Sapporo, Japan last month. And when the eccentric owner discovered I was an SF writer, he insisted on getting photos and signatures from me.

And a woman who happened to be there at the time got me to sign her arm.

Her arm. 🤣

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 2d

Sean Penn's character making those subtle kissing gestures, as he's welcomed into the faux Nazi club with their little slogans and salutes and euphemisms and skintight clothes, while still having the hots for something "spicier" is hilariously on-point.

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 2d

One Battle After Another is a masterpiece. Achingly human in the way that all of PTA's films are, but this one takes it up a notch.

It also perfectly demonstrates how white supremacy and nationalism is fundamentally pathetic and juvenile. Manchildren with guns in their Big Boy Club.

a man wearing sunglasses and a beanie talking on a phone with the caption " you know i don t remember that part

ALT: a man wearing sunglasses and a beanie talking on a phone with the caption " you know i don t remember that part

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Jeremy Szal

Nathan W. Toronto @bulletpoints.bsky.social · 5d

Read "Dead Men Walking," from Jeremy Szal / @jeremyszal.bsky.social: Armoured soldiers on a far-flung planet discover a dark secret about their commander, and themselves. Link: zurl.co/RLxoc

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Reposted by Jeremy Szal

Supervising Animation Wizard @brendering.bsky.social · 7d

Miyazaki survived the bombing of Utsunomiya as a child. His family escaped in a car, but left a neighbor and her daughter behind to save themselves. Miyazaki regrets this, and said this has stayed with him and shaped his film making. He hopes his audience will learn the courage he lacked in 1945.

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Reposted by Jeremy Szal

Anthony Ryan @anthonyryan.bsky.social · 6d

And what’s the bad news?

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Jeremy Szal

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 7d

‘Stay true to yourself – and fly closer to the sun’: what I’ve learned from 50 years of rejection

As a writer, I have been rejected thousands of times, and it initially led to shock, denial and anger. Then I accepted it. Here’s what you can gain from doing so too

www.theguardian.com

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

Oh. That makes sense, as much as I wished it didn't. That sucks for all the author who were impacted that way.

This settlement may be the first, but it sure as hell won't be the last.

Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

Ah, so it wasn't included in LibGen at all?

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

Goddamn. Sorry to hear that. Was it because they were published after the settlement or something? If it wasn't on the list originally when it should have been, isn't it still their oversight, regardless of timing?

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

Have a good one mate, and have plenty of gin for me.

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

Were you told how long it'd take for you to get paid, or what the process will be like? (Happy to take the conversation somewhere less public if it suits.)

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

🔥

Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

Already did with the email provided.

Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention, BTW. It may literally be life-changing!

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

I have seven stories (possibly more), published by Macmillan through @nature.com, which were included in the LibGen database but were not registered, so are not apart of the Anthropic class action lawsuit.

I'm very, very much hoping that Macmillan also "makes me whole" in this way.

Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · Sep 8

Update: we just received a statement from Macmillan/Tor taking full responsibility for failing to register copyright, promising to make us whole and pay us any settlement money we lost out on due to that error, and promising to find & correct the lapses that caused this.

Every pub should do this.

Ghostly Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · Sep 7

this part right here is gonna create massive resentment in the industry. the copyright registration system and the fact that you apparently have to pay a bonus fee for protection from big companies pirating your work (and that tons of publishers never paid the bonus fee...)

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 7d

Every story can become a horror story when told from the perspective of the right characters

Breaking Bad is a horror story from the perspective of literally everyone except Walter White.

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 8d

It's the only way to be sure.

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Jeremy Szal @jeremyszal.bsky.social · 10d

Ah. The sales team in publishing. The gift that keeps on giving.

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