Hello, readers,

I need your help.

On January 11, 2018, I shared a post from Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware about possible copyright infringement by the Internet Archive, which scans books and posts them for free in a “lending library” without notifying authors or receiving permission.

On the Internet Archive site, I found a pdf of the 1989 mass-market paperback of my novel, King of the Roses (originally published by St. Martin’s in 1983). I sent two email notices requesting that the book be taken down, using the free form included in Victoria’s original post.

I have received a response. The response raises several questions for me and I would appreciate feedback from readers. In particular,

1) Have I understood the response correctly?

2) What is the correct and ethical response to the fact that the Internet Archive plans to retain a copy of my book for “blind and print-disabled”…

Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware follows up with her account of how she got Internet Archive to take down her copyrighted books. In her case, as in mine, it took a stern comment on their web site to get action, since the standard notices received no response. Her post includes a discussion of how the Archive’s actions in scanning books without permission and in some cases reformatting them differs from the actions of a regular library, which buys its books. She raises the issue of why copyright is worth protecting—and is not just a matter of greed on the part of authors.

I received a series of comments on this issue that introduced me to the Marrakesh Treaty, which allows authorized sites to provide books for print-disabled readers without author permission. You may find this news enlightening, as I did.

Check out the latest in this ongoing situation…

To celebrate National Grammar Day, we have an infographic on what some folks feel are advanced grammar mistakes. These grammar tips go beyond the basics because even the most seasoned writer can make a mistake. Highlights include the misuse of number and numeral and split infinitives. The English language has many obscure grammar rules that…

via 6 Tips for National Grammar Day — Indies Unlimited

Platforms like Musical.ly, Instagram, YouTube, YouNow, Periscope, and more allow anyone with a phone and internet access to build an audience, and today’s teens are spending more time on their phones than ever. Ninety-four percent of teens access the internet using their phone daily and 71 percent use more than one social-media platform, according to a 2016 Pew study. The vlogger-to-riches story has become so prevalent in teen culture that, according to a 2014 survey by Variety, YouTube stars are more popular and influential than mainstream celebrities in the eyes of U.S. teens.

Parenting these young internet stars, however, is not easy. As social platforms rise and fall, moms and dads across the country with zero experience in the entertainment industry are seeing their families’ lives transformed.

Parents can go years thinking their son or daughter is just an average teen on YouTube or Instagram until one day a marketing…

Dearest boy,
I am counting down the days
and knitting. I am amazed
at the butterflies of anticipation,
imagining your eyes, mouth and nose,
your tiny fingers and toes,
the fresh-baked smell from the top
of your head. I can’t wait to sing
the songs I once sang to your mother,
and the ones mine once sang to me.
I have so many stories to tell
and poems to read to you until
your eyelashes flutter and I will keep
watch as you drift off to sleep.

Kim M. Russell, 2018

Visiting Grandma by Felix Schlesinger

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Meeting the Bar with a Letter

Björn is our barkeeper today and he tells us that one of the poems he read at school was written by Anna-Maria Lenngren (1754-1817) and entitled: Some words of advice to my dear daughter, if I had one. From the title he…

When you write, you want to use the active voice. It’s clean, concise, and simple. The active voice is easy to read and understand.

Subject + Verb

• Susie sang.
• Michael ate.
• Jeffery kicked.

Subject + Verb + Direct Object

• Susie sang songs.
• Michael ate soup.
• Jeffery kicked cans.

These examples are basic, and can be embellished with adjectives, adverbs, modifiers, etc. to dress them up, but the Subject/Verb order should remain the same.

95% of your sentences should be written in the active voice. You want the doer/subject at the beginning of the sentence.

When you use the passive voice in writing, you have to introduce new parts of speech just to make the sentence mean the same as it would in active voice. The result is a wordy sentence that makes you wait to find out who the subject is.

Direct Object + Dead Verb + Participle form of…