Recently, writerly colleagues and I have been discussing the unique way in which our industry works…and the fact that writers need more than talent. We need to have patience, determination and a passion bordering on obsession for what we do.
When we were joking around, my good friend and crit buddy, Alison Reynolds came up with the line, “You may say I’m a realist” and this inspired the following poem. I hope you enjoy it and I apologise in advance to fans of John Lennon.
If there was one thing I didn’t like about the amazing SCBWI LA conference it was that there were too many fantastic sessions on at the same time and I could only attend one of them. So on the first afternoon I attended Katie Davis‘ session on Podcasting Your Path to Success.
Podcasting was something I hadn’t really considered much but one of the things that appeals to me about it is that it’s just audio so if you’re self conscious about staring into a video camera, this could be the medium for you.
Unfortunately, there was only an hour for this session so Katie had to cram a lot in, but she did provide a great handout.
I’m still trying to get my head around all this so I can’t report much about it as yet but I have come to some conclusions. Podcasts have many benefits:
Katie recommended another great resource for people interested in podcasting at http://podcastanswerman.com/
That night there was a PAL Member cocktail party and book sale where I sold about half the books I’d brought with me, my reassurance that coming close to the luggage limits was worth it.
This year’s SCBWI LA conference was a complete sellout for the first time ever. Over 1300 people were booked in to attend and 45 of these were international delegates (including me). Australia/New Zealand was sending the largest contingent ever (11 people).
On the first night, an international get together was held. It was great to meet fellow writers and illustrators from different parts of the world and hear about how they do things in their home country. I also got to meet online writing buddy from the Netherlands, Mina Witteman
Also on the Friday night there was a PAL booksale where published SCBWI authors and illustrators could sell their books.
I loved looking at all the different books and seeing how the styles vary so much from place to place.
DAY 2 – INSPIRATION FROM DONNA JO NAPOLI
Next day it was up at 6.30 and I went for a walk up and down Avenue of the Stars to try and clear my head. I ran into some minor trouble because the traffic lights all along the other side of the road had their buttons removed so I had to walk a fair way before I could cross back to my hotel.
Donna Jo Napoli on the big screen
First keynote speaker of the day was Donna Jo Napoli who talked about censorship in books and How Writing About Terrible Things Makes Your Reader A Better Person.
Seeing as I write issues-based contemporary YA her talk really resonated with me. She talked about how the number of requests to ban a book had increased 7 times since 1999.
It made me wonder whether more people were complaining or whether it was the fact that more books are now being published where authors tackle serious issues.
Donna Jo Napoli’s talk was very moving. She talked about how books can help children in hardship. She called them the ‘unprotected children’.
When a child reads about another unprotected child, it can be wonderful – you realise you’re not alone. Children can blame themselves and feel guilty, feel unworthy if you are alone.
Then you meet someone in a book and you become that person in a book. You are not alone; it’s not your fault. Children see a good character in a book that bad things can happen to.
Most children don’t have the power to change their world. Don’t have control over people who are hurting them.
They read about someone in that situation who still holds on to dignity and can be helpful. It helps you find a way to live decently inside your world, even if it’s just inside your head.
These books are of crucial important to unprotected child.
Donna also talked about how books that handle difficult subject matter can be useful in creating empathy in children who come from a privileged background.
Her Keynote speech was the first of so many inspirational pieces that day. David Small who spoke next also moved me to tears, but more about that tomorrow.
Happy Writing:)
Dee
I have ploughed my way through 171 pages of the Productivity Commission’s report on PRI’s, and it seems full of contradictions, research that has been slanted to support a particular point of view, and a disregard for more than 200 people and organisations who went to the trouble of compiling submissions in support of the publishing industry in Australia.
Although admittedly relevant research seems difficult to find, the Productivity Commission quotes statistics like the 2008 Starcom online survey, (ref: page 2.3 Productivity Commission Discussion Draft March 2009) which looked at the ‘buying and reading behaviour of 1200 readers aged between 16 and 65 years’. When you look at the size of this sample in relation to the number of Australian readers, it hardly seems representative.
WHAT THE PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION HAS DECIDED
Even the commission concedes on page 1.4 of its Discussion Draft that, ‘The large majority of submissions support retention of the restrictions’. However, they seem to disregard this in their recommendations which are as follows:
*Australia’s Parallel Import Restrictions (PIRs) for books should be modified as follows:
All other aspects of the current PIR arrangements should continue unchanged, including the 30 day rule.
The commission further recommends that the ‘new arrangements’ be reviewed in five years time
* taken from page xxvii of Productivity Commission Discussion Draft March 2009
DISTORTION OF THE SCOPE OF PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES IN AUSTRALIA
Productivity Commission states (page 2.1) that there are 4,000 Australian publishers yet it’s not until page 2.12 (about twenty pages into the document, Productivity Commission Discussion Draft March 2009) that it mentions that the majority of these are self –publishers and consequently, not affected by PIR’s because they won’t be publishing their books overseas, and many of them offer their publications online, and don’t sell them through bookshops. So this figure of 4,000 Australian publishers provides a completely false impression of actual opportunities for Australian writers.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO AUTHORS
The Productivity Commission Discussion Draft March 2009 implies that authors don’t need financial assistance because 30% earn $1,000 a week or more. If you look at the Poverty Lines for the September Quarter 2008 figures provided by The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research http://www.melbourneinstitute.com/labour/inequality/poverty/default.html
(which provides figures after tax) you will see that $1,000 per week is not a great deal over the poverty line; and in fact most authors earn a great deal less.
The Productivity Commission claims that authors are already supported through grants, prizes etc, yet what % of the estimated 7300 ‘professional writers’ in Australia (ref: page 2.10 The Productivity Commission Discussion Draft March 2009 ) receive them? Possibly around 1%!
EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING
The report seems to consider that educational publishing only covers text books; it fails to even mention the reading schemes produced by Australian Educational Publishers that are keeping our kids literate, and aware of their own history and culture.
The whole position of the Productivity Commission on educational publishing seems contradictory. Page 2.6 of the report says that, ‘The factors influencing purchasing decisions for educational books are very different, (from trade books) with publishers typically seeking to market these books to educational providers rather than the ultimate consumer.
Then on Page 2.14 it says, ‘There are 8 local arms of multinational publishers and more than 20 Australian publishers supplying educational books to booksellers and educational institutions.’
THE TWELVE MONTH RULE
This means that, 12 months from the date of publication, Parallel Import Restrictions will come into force.
As the commission states on page 2.14 of The Productivity Commission Discussion Draft March 2009, ‘Libraries themselves are also large purchasers of new books’;
So, if an author is short listed for a CBC award for example; which means that their book is then in demand from libraries; these books will be subject to the twelve month rule. Libraries will be able to purchase cheaper copies overseas – and the author’s and publisher’s reward for having a book recognised as an important piece of work, will be to receive heavily reduced earnings.
GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
The media everywhere screams Global Financial Crisis, yet our government is going to change a law so that Australian authors, publishers, printers and agents will suffer reduced income and loss of employment.
On page 4.1 of its report, the Productivity Commission states, ‘Were PIR’s removed, books – particularly educational texts – could potentially be imported from Asia at substantially lower prices, and Asia could also serve as a greater source of books more generally in the future.’
How will the importation of books from Asia; putting local creators and printers out of business, help Australia to weather the Global Financial Crisis?
DISREGARD FOR DECLINING LITERACY IN AUSTRALIA
The Productivity Commission feels that money is being put into our industry that could be being put into others. Of course other industries are deserving of help, but surely an industry that shapes our children’s present and future education, is worthy of priority.
PSYCHIC INCOME
As an Australian author, I think one of the things I found most ‘dubious’ about the report was the section on Psychic Income; which is supposed to compensate for loss of ‘real’ income.
Page 2.11 of the Productivity Commission Discussion Draft March 2009 states, ‘In addition to the royalties (and related income) that author’s receive from book sales, the non-pecuniary rewards that many derive from writing – such as the “joy of self-expression” (Abbing 2002) – are widely acknowledged to be significant. In turn, such rewards may be a strong motivator for the generation of manuscript.’
I defy any of the Commissioners to serve up ‘psychic income’, at meal times and see how long it takes before their families succumb to malnutrition.
WHERE TO FROM HERE
This week I will be working on a new submission to the Productivity Commission and you’ll be able to view it at my blogs: http://writersissues.wordpress.com or https://deescribewriting.wordpress.com
Post:
Parallel Importation of Books
Productivity Commission
GPO Box 1428
Canberra City ACT 2601
Fax: Jill Irvine – 02 6240 3311
Email: books@pc.gov.au
All submissions must be accompanied by a submission cover sheet which can be downloaded from the Productivity Commission’s website http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/study/books/make-submission
If you want to make a submission, but need help, feel free to email me at deescriber@optusnet.com.au
DeeScribewriting Blog 