Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Writing Questions for Josh
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My signature? No.
Well, hell, I don't even have a tag line. I doubt "The Biggest Flake in M/M Romance" would do me any favors. Then there's the chance new readers might think my pen name is K. Z. Dandruff.I'm racing against a deadline right now, so I'll have to boost something snappy in March.
No, I wouldn't really expect a letter to go out about this. You all are rather vulnerable though- i.e. the stories from Aleks and Noble publishing, outlets selling blatantly plagiarized pieces, weak enforcement of pirating, then this kind of idiocy. You all need some protection of some sort. However, I can see how getting too combative can tube the creative juices and just take more energy than it's worth. I think the fabulous and exciting part of this is,the overwhelming number of ethical and supportive people out there. It is so encouraging. This business couldn't exist without their support. They are the money that empowers this platform. It's great to see. Concentrating on the positives and having a sense of humor, sounds like the way to live.
Reggie wrote: "You all are rather vulnerable though..."There's not much any of us can do, no. Even when somebody flagrantly plagiarizes our work -- the work we've sweat blood to produce -- you know what generally happens? The offending work is taken off the market. That's it. They usually keep whatever monies they've made off your sweat equity. If you're The Nora, yeah, you can sue & win a fat settlement, but m/m is just too small of a pond. When you're paying $250/hour, legal fees eat up our recoverable damages pretty damn fast. Our only genuine recourse is the court of public opinion among readers which, to be fair, can be pretty damn brutal to offending jackasses. Not always, but most of the time. But that's it. That's all we've got.
And that's for the stuff that the law is solidly on our side for.
Somebody can look at my bio and decide cracking smartassery about coffee & zombies sounds cool. Not a damn thing I can do about it. My tagline, A World More Extraordinary? If they like it, not a damn thing I can do. Hell, if somebody likes a world I've built, there's nothing I can do about that, either. Ideas aren't copyrightable. So if somebody thinks, say, Collared was an effin cool idea, they too can write a story wherein mutations in genetically modified crops produces a D/s society in which an IT director who is an anomaly is fought over by his boss and a security director...as long as they change it up a bit. For example, changing the occupation of one of the primaries or writing the ending so that (view spoiler). There is literally nothing I could do about it. The months I invested building that world? Pffft! Doesn't matter.
Someone could create a website so similar it may as well be identical to mine. Or maybe they like my name and bam! Kari Gregg becomes Kari L. Gregg. I've literally had another author take every single one of my tags from one of my books on Amazon, use those same tags for his own book (none of which applied or was relevant to his story -- including MY name) and have friends click on those tags, so many that this guy was tagged as Kari Gregg more often than I was. Kid you not. While I personally found that to be pretty frigging funny...I might as well laugh about it because there is literally nothing I or anyone else could do about it.
That's not to say I haven't been so green I glowed or a dumbass myself, because God knows I've made noob mistakes, but I can honestly say, any mistake I've made hasn't been deliberate. Stupid? Yes. Embarrassing? You bet. But not intentional.
When those mistakes aren't sheer airheaded stupidity, when they are deliberate choices by a newbie who's decided to make free with your brand, your work, and the shiny you've worked so hard to build...Sometimes, newbies profit quite well with our sweat equity and other than adding that writer to our shit list, we're stuck with it.
My lone comfort is this -- I'd rather be an innovator than an imitator. Somebody might believe they can out-Kari Gregg me, but until that person grows a GD idea that didn't first spring from my head, they are dead wrong.
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I'm raci..."
Well, if you want to get technical, it's not so much as much tagline as the first line of my bio which I've used for so long and so consistently that it operates as a tagline.
Most taglines are a lot more clever and cute and punchy. Mine has been effective because it's lowkey, a simple statement of fact, and I've used it consistently as long as I've been working in m/m.
Which is exactly what you want. Something that does sum your work and (if possible) your online persona up -- and that you use everywhere all the time so that it becomes associated with you.
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Well said.
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Well sure. The fact of the matter is, yes, we're all inspired by each other. Everything we do influences others in our genre and the genre itself. Not only is there nothing you can do, there's nothing you *should* do about that. That is the way of creativity.
I certainly looked around at other websites before telling my weblord how to revamp mine. I used one author in particular as my template, but no one would ever look at our two sites and be able to make the connection because I just used her as a basic template and then made it my own. (And she's not in the same genre either.)
Same thing when I look at book covers. I'll see something and ask for a variation -- and the variation makes all the difference. The variation is where the thing becomes unique and that second cover artist's own.
And taglines and bios and blurbs. Of course we all look around and see what others are doing and how they say these awkward things (we all feel stupid writing how great we are!) And then we try to come up with our own version.
If that were me looking to rework someone else's tagline, I'd have come up with:
Praised as a unique voice in ....
Critics say XXX is a memorable voice in...
An unforgettable voice in...
It ain't hard and it only requires the modicum of commonsense, courtesy and creative effort.
I mean, if you can't even come up with an original thought for you bio, it doesn't give me high hopes for your work.
Writing is hard. No kidding. Having to come up with original ways to say the same stuff everyone else is saying? Hard.
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Nora Roberts.
THE Nora Roberts.
Na wrote: "What do you mean by "The Nora" ?"Nora Roberts is a romance author who has been writing for over 30 years and has a few 100 books to her name. She is very prolific and very well known.
Pretty much no one else comes close to her output and popularity in the mainstream romance genre.
She also has a very nice science fiction series under a pseudonym of JD Robb.
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Nora Roberts is a romance author who has been writing for over 30 years and has a few 100 books to her name. She is very prolific and very well known.
..."
She's the gold standard in romance writing. She's prolific, her quality is consistent, she's built a recognizable brand...she's the role model for How To Do It.
Josh wrote: "She's the gold standard in romance writing. She's prolific, her quality is consistent, she's built a recognizable brand...she's the role model for How To Do It. ..."Yep. I have enjoyed many of her books over the years, and I am addicted to the Eve Dallas series under JD Robb. I have all of those in audio. Funnily enough I am not a Roarke fangirl. I have a bit of a girl-crush on Eve Dallas. I love that character, and the series is so huge yet so consistent.
Josh wrote: "Well, if you want to get technical, it's not so much as much tagline as the first line of my bio which I've used for so long and so consistently that it operates as a tagline."Ah, I see. It's definitely appropriate, though.
If I went the same route, mine would be I Was Born. :-D
(Oh, wait. That's a little too close to the first-chapter heading of a rather famous novel. :))
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I wonder how this other writer had the nerve to start following you on Twitter after what he'd done?
Anyway, your tag line is so well known that I'd suspect that anyone who happens to read this other writer's copycat line recognizes it for what it is.
I'm sorry that this happened to you, Josh. I totally understand that you don't feel comfortable contacting this person, but the more I think about it... Couldn't you just drop him a note to let him politely know that you have noticed the whole thing and that you aren't happy about it? Surely he wouldn't dare to leave his tag line as it is after that...?
Na wrote: "Anyway is it possible to sue him for few words in a bio ?"No. You can't get copyright protection for a few words. It's tacky, not infringing.
Kari wrote: "My vote is the dude's a so-green-he-glows newbie, a complete dumbass, or both. "This is my opinion. Someone would be doing this newbie a favor if they took him aside and explained a few things. Not you, Josh!
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..."
I think, as someone pointed out, I'm sure he doesn't recall where he lifted that line. He doesn't know me from JL Merrow or JL Langley or Jordan Lombard or any other combination of JL. :-)
Which suits me fine. It threw me for a loop yesterday, but now I find it funny. I mean of all the lines to crib, how funny is it that he chose the very one that totally negates his claim?
I joined your group just recently and got today's post as email update. You got me really curious as to who the perpetrator was and I googled your tag line. The SAD thing was, HE came up way before you! How can that be? I've never even heard of him before and put him straight on the DO NOT Buy-List. BTW, Really really happy to know TBWTPT will be out soon. LOVE Kit!!!
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I'm going to have to reclaim it. Oh! How funny will it be when I start using it everywhere and he thinks I stole it from HIM! :-D
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Thank you!
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I think, as someone pointed out, I'm sure he doesn't recall where he lifte..."
I'm glad that you are able to look at it that way. :)
And I certainly agree with you and L.B. about the fact that it actually is pretty funny and ironic that this guy specifically chose to plagiarize the distinct voice line... LOL.
Josh wrote: "Stormymonday wrote: "I joined your group just recently and got today's post as email update. You got me really curious as to who the perpetrator was and I googled your tag line. The SAD thing was, ..."That's the way to go :-D
I was sorely tempted to leave a review saying "You know you stole that tag line, right?" on his amazon page. For once it pays off that with amazon you don't have to buy to review! Might still do that...
On the bright side, he's not on ARe!
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Oh jeez. No, no. This is such a young genre and we have so many really new, really raw authors. You kind of have to be patient.
I mean, I think of things I did early on and I blush. You just don't know and you fumble along and then one day the light goes on.
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No suntan yet — we'll be leaving next week. You guys have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy the WARMTH and the SUN (and the becoming suntan *grin*). I really should have been born somewhere near the equator... ;)
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No suntan yet — we'll be leaving next week. You guys have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy the WARMTH and the SUN (and th..."
I am CRAVING spring.
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No suntan yet — we'll be leaving next week. You guys have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy the WARMTH and..."
I know the feeling. :) This is the time of the year when I'll start dreaming of garden stuff although my garden is still underneath four feet of snow. ;)
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..."
Yes. This is the dreaming season for gardeners.
Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: 'You guys have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy the WARMTH and the SUN'I am CRAVING spring."
Oh boy, I SO agree with this. I'm so tired of looking outside and everything's bleak and bare. I want LEAVES, people. And flowers. And blossoms. And allergies. (Alright, maybe not those, but can't have one without the other, right?) And the smells. Oooooh... I miss the smells!
...
Yeah... sorry about that. I'll... uh... go eat some chocolate now. Everything's better after some chocolate.
Josh wrote: "I'm going to have to reclaim it. Oh! How funny will it be when I start using it everywhere and he thinks I stole it from HIM! :-D "Not as funny as the post you'll make saying you've been asked to refrain from using his tagline :D
Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "I know the feeling. :) This is the time of the year when I'll start dreaming of garden stuff although my garden is still underneath four feet of snow. ;) ..."
Yes. This is the dre..."
We have to dig up and re-do our front yard. Sprinkler system needs an overhaul. So we have been enjoying the winter reprieve. It's all in your perspective. But it is 70 F here so our reprieve is over and digging starts as soon. Ugh. I hate digging trenches. But it will be good exercise and look so much better when it's done. 8)
K.Z. wrote: "If I went the same route, mine would be I Was Born. :-D ..."In my work addled state, when I saw the phrase "I was born" my mind went straight to Caddyshack and the song Chevy Chase sings on his date.
Yep, my associations can be low-brow sometimes...
I was boorrnnnn..... to love you...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e08TO...
How about "I was born under a wan'drin' star", as performed by Lee Marvin?
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Not as funny as the post you'll make saying you've ..."
LOL
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And we're full circle back to Shakespeare. :-D
Josh wrote: "Hj wrote: "How about "I was born under a wan'drin' star", as performed by Lee Marvin?"And we're full circle back to Shakespeare. :-D"
And his most obscure play, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. (Or is it The Man Who Stabbed Christopher Marlowe?) :-D
Josh wrote: "I am CRAVING spring."Ugh. You can have some of ours.
There were IGUANAS sunning themselves out in front of the dumpster this morning. I mean, seriously? I haven't seen those buggers around for a few years. I think we had a freeze a couple of years ago that killed a lot of them.
Christine wrote: "There were IGUANAS sunning themselves out in front of the dumpster this morning. I mean, seriously? I haven't seen those buggers around for a few years. I think we had a freeze a couple of years ago that killed a lot of them. ..."Really? That's so COOL! Where do you live that you have iguanas?
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Ugh. You can have some of ours.
There were IGUANAS sunning themselves out in front of the dumpster this morning. I mean, seriously? I haven't seen those bugger..."
Wow. That sounds so... exotic... to me. Very cool, like Susinok said. :)
My only encounter with a cool animal while taking out the garbage happened in Montana. There was a BEAR digging the garbage can! I'm not sure which one of us was most startled. Probably me. ;)
Oh, and there was an incident with a skunk, but (thank God) it was the dog who got sprayed — not me. The poor dog had to be washed with tomato soup. That's something I'll never forget.
Susinok wrote: "Where do you live that you have iguanas?"South Florida. They're not native, though. People release their pets into the "wild" and they thrive here. For the same reason, we have an established population of monk parakeets. Makes things...a little more tropical. Goes with the palm trees, I guess. :P
Johanna wrote: "My only encounter with a cool animal while taking out the garbage happened in Montana..."Oh, wow!
And--poor dog!
I have a friend in Oregon who regularly posts pictures of the deer that visit her backyard. That to me is exotic! :D
Christine wrote: "Johanna wrote: "My only encounter with a cool animal while taking out the garbage happened in Montana..."Oh, wow!
And--poor dog!
I have a friend in Oregon who regularly posts pictures of the de..."
I want squirrels. I've held baby tigers but I don't think I've ever seen a live squirrels. Poor me. *sniff*
Cleon wrote: "I want squirrels. I've held baby tigers but I don't think I've ever seen a live squirrels."Where are your priorities, Cleon!
I'd take a baby tiger over a live squirrel any day. :)
"Johanna wrote: 'You guys have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy the WARMTH and the SUN'"Josh wrote: I am CRAVING spring."
Katharina wrote:Oh boy, I SO agree with this. I'm so tired of looking outside and everything's bleak and bare. ..."
At least we now have snowdrops in flower and the willow has that soft look it gets when it's about to burst into bud.
No iguanas though. The most exotic thing we've had in the garden was badgers.
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Oh, wow!
And--poor dog!
I have a friend in Oregon who regularly posts ..."
Oh, Cleon! You've got to come and visit me and my back yard squirrels some day! :)
Cleon wrote: "I want squirrels. I've held baby tigers but I don't think I've ever seen a live squirrels. Poor me. *sniff*"It's so funny, because sometimes I look at squirrels and think, "You know, there is someone somewhere who thinks that these little nuisances are the most exotic things and would be excited to see them." Just a reminder to myself that what I think is normal and bland...is exciting to someone somewhere else who doesn't see it every day! :)
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"Josh wrote: I am CRAVING spring."
Katharina wrote:Oh boy, I SO agree with this. I'm so tired of lookin..."
Wow, Caroline. It's definitely spring already there, isn't it!
@Josh: When does the spring time start in L.A.?
Caroline wrote: "At least we now have snowdrops in flower and the willow has that soft look it gets when it's about to burst into bud.No iguanas though. The most exotic thing we've had in the garden was badgers."
Snowdrops! Badgers! Squee! :D
Christine wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Where do you live that you have iguanas?"South Florida. They're not native, though. People release their pets into the "wild" and they thrive here. For the same reason, we have an..."
Ahh ok. Yes you have a large exotic pet problem down there. Such a mess.
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Hah! Well said! :)
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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LOL. I'm in a workshop with another Gregg right now. I think she writes het, but...world domination, one step at a time. ;-)