Free account vs. paid account

[msagara]

Can those of you who made the decision to go for a paid account tell me what the practical differences are (I can read the FAQ, and have, but it seems from FAQ reading that there's very little practical difference).

In other news, I'm working on the revisions for my first Luna novel at the moment; I've just finished rereading everything of relevance in SUN SWORD in preparation for the next leg of HOUSE WAR. I've written thousands of words on the weekend -- none of it with any commercial value whatsoever. That would be the poetry. 1 of the 6 cycles is actually word perfect, imho; but the rest, not so much.

And the correct response, when told -- by me, let me hasten to add (for Larry's sake if no one else's) -- "I'm working on poetry" is "I'm sorry to hear that." Or, "poor you." "Who died?" is also acceptable.

Comments

[janni.livejournal.com]

I went with a paid account mostly because I wanted to be able to pull my journal seamlessly into my web page, where I'd already been keeping a weblog previously.

I also do like having the option of extra user pictures, though, and of being able to establish syndicated feeds. (Basically, being able to take non-livejournal web sites and, if they're set up properly, establish a link that lets me read them through my lj friends list.)

[bobafet.livejournal.com]

For your uses, there should be no practical difference..

[andpuff.livejournal.com]

I have a paid account for ethical reasons. I use the service, I pay for the service.

And you're also rewatching all your Firefly's for that Firefly essay... right?

Me? Um, no. Trying to finish a !@#$%^ book here.

On the other hand, I haven't been writing poetry either. Remember to wash afterwards. *g*

[larryhammer]

Noted.

BTW, that's a way cute icon you've been sporting.

---L.

[msagara.livejournal.com]

It's a number of years old, and an artifact of the creative silliness that came out of university and my university friends -- who are really like extended family in more ways than I can list. The original drawing was a black & white Moebius riff that poked fun at two of us -- and I'd forgotten about the picture entirely until a couple of friends put it up on Orkut. One had an archival copy of the publication, and scanned it, sending it to the other; he played with it in photoshop when he decided the line drawing didn't have the right "pop" effect in the smaller size.

But, I really -like- it; I think it was the only charicature done of me, ever, that people thought actually looked like me on some level.

[larryhammer]

It does make me wonder where Billy Shears and the boys are.

---L.

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

I got a paid account for much the same reason as Tanya - I felt I should throw some money into the account to pay for the bigger picture.

Other than that, all I really have to say is - I wrote poetry once, and you should be happy that I write novels now instead.

Michelle, did you enjoy the re-read? I can barely stand to look at mine, although frankly I should give a thorough, taking-notes reread to the entire first five volumes.

Hi!

[msagara.livejournal.com]

I started mostly so I could post to the few LJs I do read. I'm finding it sloooooooooooow during the day, though; the server lag is frustrating, given the speed of my connection otherwise. Which sounds like a complaint, and as I'm not (yet) paying anything, I shouldn't make one. I'll be good .

Did I enjoy the reread? Not as much as I'd hoped to (there are one or two inconsistencies which are a real pain, and which would not have been a problem if I'd stuck with the originally planned structural approach for HOUSE WAR. It's sort of like... reading page proofs, but without any ability or opportunity to correct any of the mistakes you find ...

Melanie Rawn said elsewhere on-line that she hated to reread her own books, and I confess that after a very long two weeks doing same, and making notes, I'm frazzled enough to have some sympathy for that position.

I would much, much, much rather reread your 5 than mine; next time I consider this, can we just swap and make copious notes of -each other's- work? Hmmm?

(How are the kids?)

[lagilman]

More icons, mainly. I am frustrated at only being able to juggle three at a time.

And hey, I actually got paid -- a surprising amount -- for my haiku! It was a fluke that will never happen again, which is just as well because otherwise I'd be spending more time there rather than working for my currently-contracted masters of Luna and Harper, and don't they sound like a fantasy duo?

(hah! found you!)

[larryhammer]

A paying haiku market? Do tell. (Even if it's N/A, I wanna hear the story.)

---L.

fantasy duo, yes

[msagara.livejournal.com]

I think we share a Luna editor (and have discovered that the HLQ policy is to maintain the original acquiring editor for the first book across their various lines/series (I don't remember the nomenclature HLQ uses at the moment; I think it's lack of caffeine); I know we don't share a Harper editor -- but the Harper project sounds like fun (minus the possible pressure of Now Now Now deadline).

As for paid poetry -- show off *g*. Was it a single poem, a cycle of poems?

Re: fantasy duo, yes

[lagilman]

I've tried to respond to this three times... got et each time. Very annoyed.

Anyway. Was a haiku cycle that I had written as a gift for a friend, one for each planet in the galaxy. Mentioned it in passing to Julie Czerneda, who edits a science/science ficiton anthology series, and she pounced. They mixed up the order and put them as a quiz for kids to identify from the descriptions.


And yes, we share a Luna editor. There are only two of them acquiring for that list right now, no?

Mostly I write haiku because the form relaxes me. I like using less to do more. Which is probably why my books fall at around 95-100,000 words, unlike Some People... *grin*

Re: fantasy duo, yes

[larryhammer]

Are you familiar with tiny words? Fun site.

---L.

Re: fantasy duo, yes

[msagara.livejournal.com]

Very cool, about the haiku cycle *g*. I know the series; it's the educational one for middle readers, YAs. Her first fantasy collection in what I think was to have been similar is coming out this fall.

re: Luna editors - no, there are more. In fact, from what I understand, -any- editor in -any- of the Harlequin lines can acquire for the Luna line, providing that the acquisition is approved in the weekly discussions about what's going to be bought. The editor in question is responsible for the book's editing, although I don't know if she's responsible for the art/packaging because I'm not quite sure how that works there yet. This probably only affects writers who have already been published by Harlequin in any of their incarnations, though. So, you and I share an editor (and I'm sure she's also editing Asaro, Lackey & Golden); Laura Resnick has a different editor, Sue Krinard has a different editor again.

[avt-tor.livejournal.com]

For me it's just a bunch of little things; I've customized the look to match my regular home page, I've set up domain forwarding (http://blog.worldhouse.com), I use the directory search once in a while. Nothing big, but it's cheap.

For reference, the FAQ (http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=131) on this.