Monday News: Wikipedia v. feminism, Cara McKenna on author earnings, funny FSOG video, and romance flowchart
Publishing Newsauthors / earnings / feminism / Fifty Shades / Gamergate / genre / Misogyny / publishing / Romance / Wikipedia11 Comments
Wikipedia Purged a Group of Feminist Editors Because of Gamergate – This story was originally published in a media outlet I refuse to link to in the DA news anymore, but Gawker and several other sites have the basic facts (which, of course, are disputed in comments, especially at Pando Daily and The Mary Sue). Still, if you can decode this Wikipedia page on the decision, Mark Bernstein’s allegation that the male-dominated Wikipedia is, indeed, co-signing the pro-Gamergate editors, or, at the very least, the male editors who, for whatever reason, don’t yet understand how frighteningly misogynistic and dangerous that movement is.
If the phrase “Wikipedia’s highest court” surprises you, you’re probably not alone. Theoretically, the free encyclopedia is a purely democratic operation—anyone can edit Wikipedia, after all—but there is a byzantine and largely unseen hierarchy that governs disputes among editors, culminating in a Supreme Court-style panel called the Arbitration Committee. The committee’s latest decision: to punish a group of five editors who fought to maintain a Gamergate page that presented the “controversy” largely as an assault on women—that is, who fought to present Gamergate as it actually is. –Gawker
The Last Taboo: What One Writer Earns – Another post in which an author actually talks honestly about what kind of money she’s making. I don’t know how much authors talk about money with each other, and how honest they are about what they actually make, but I think this trend of talking about what people can legitimately expect to earn in traditional and self-publishing — beyond the outliers who are making superstar money — can only help authors as they try to navigate the different types of publishing with a realistic understanding of what each type of publishing entails in terms of labor and responsibility, and will likely yield in terms of income.
I’m comfortable writing about this because in all honesty, I don’t care what anyone thinks of what I make. Money to me is strictly about security and freedom, not prestige or worthiness or even success. I want enough money, but not much more than that. Having much more money doesn’t seem to bring people much more peace of mind. Some might think the amount I now make is great, while some others will probably try to draw me aside in the lobby at RT this spring and murmur conspiratorially, “You know, you could be making so much more by self-pubbing. Let me share with you my secrets.” My intention here isn’t to brag, as in a post-E.L. James world, I’m certainly not blowing the tits off this industry.
“Woman Writes for Several Years, Eventually Makes a Living Wage” is not a headline that’s going to inspire thousands to quit their day jobs. –Wonkomance
50 Shades Won’t Include The Infamous Tampon Scene, So Here, Have This Fan Re-Creation – I’m not going to endorse most of the commentary The Mary Sue has here on Fifty Shades (other than the fact that it does a horrible, unrealistic, and warped job of representing BDSM), but I do think the video is kind of hilarious. And I’m so tired of the ridiculous societal taboos we still have around women and their periods. –The Mary Sue
The “Is my book a romance?” flowchart – A short, straight to the point flowchart that answers the question posed above. I’m not sure what the fact that people need a flowchart for this says about who’s trying to write Romance and why, or about the genre itself. –Cora Buhlert
I occasionally edit Wikipedia pages. Colour me totally unsurprised on their way of handling the Gamergate page.
Thanks for the link to the Cara McKenna post.
Thanks so much for alerting us to the Cara McKenna post, which was an eye-opener for me. And please read the comments on that post as various authors I have read, including Jill Sorenson and Ann Aguirre, also frankly talk about how much they actually earn from writing. I think it is really informative for people who want to write for a living – i.e. you may not necessarily be able to live on writing alone, at least in the beginning when one doesn’t have so many back titles.
There was fascinating article about writers and money posted at Salon.com this weekend: “Sponsored” by my husband: Why it’s a problem that writers never talk about where their money comes from . A fair percentage of authors who write the books we all enjoy don’t come close to making a living from writing. Bills are paid by a day job/another career, a spouse, family money. And I agree with the article’s author, Ann Bauer: pretending otherwise doesn’t help anyone.
Brava to Cara McKenna and the other authors who broke “the last taboo.” Having a realistic sense of potential earnings is an important data point for any serious career planning effort, and in this industry, such information can be very challenging to come by.
I remember back in the early seventies when I was at boarding school, mixed, the headmaster banned anyone returning to their dorm during the day. I cornered the man and asked for exemption for the girls, as I did not feel having to carry tampons around in my pencil case a good idea. Bearing in mind the man was married with daughters, the need should not have been a surprise to him. He agreed.
Whoa. I’ve donated to Wikipedia in the past and now I feel very ambivalent about doing so again.
I’m feeling the same way, Janine.
Is Eastgate the site you’re no longer linking to? As far as I can tell, Mark Bernstein was the one who broke the story. Is there a reason his site is not being linked anymore?
(Or was that comment referring to Deadspin which, yeah, never mind…)
If this is in reference to a topic y’all would rather not discuss publicly, feel free to send me a private email or even just delete this comment.
@Janine: That was one of my first thoughts, as well.
@hapax: Based on the versions of the story I saw, The Guardian seemed to be the originating news source. Of course, it’s quite possible I’m incorrect about who first posted the story outside of Bernstein (he’s not a journalist, so I didn’t think about his post as breaking the story). And yeah, no longer providing links to TG after the Hale debacle.
Wikipedia won’t receive any donations from me.
In fact, I think I’ll stop linking to it. And maybe stop using it as well.
I would like my money back from Wikipedia.