There have lately been a spate of “writers sure are pathetic” article. A sampling:

+ From the Times: Bail Out the Writers!

+ Writers are advertising on craigslist for people to do the hard work for them. Next they will subcontract the actual writing of their novels.

+ Then there’s this lady who held a funeral for her writing career.

It strikes me that these stories are kind of in the same vain as this completely stupid Times article about rich teenagers who are getting jobs. Are we supposed to feel sorry for these people? As a languishing mostly-unpublished author, I know that writing is a lot of hard work, but these articles seem to be implying that we should feel sorry for the lazy.

Aren’t there instances of real poverty and hardship the news media could be reporting on? Lazy writers and teenagers with affluent parents? Seems to me that, given the current state of the job market and the publishing industry, if you wanted to get published, you’d work your ass off (improving your writing, sending out many queries, plugging away at that magnum opus), you wouldn’t hold fake funerals or contract out the hard stuff to someone on craigslist.

On the other hand, if this is my competition, I’m sure to get a publishing contract, right?

Seriously. “My parents cut my allowance form $100 to $60 per week, so now I have to get a job!” Please, kids. If only I had your problems. I think the real loser here are those of us who have to read these stupid articles.

+ Buy a book! (Help me keep my publishing job!)

+ Speaking of publishing, romance ebook publishers seem to be taking over (or at least wanting to take over) the dead tree market. I’m interested in ebooks both as a consumer and a… producer? Ebooks are less expensive to produce, and I think they will become more prevalent when the cost of ebook readers goes down, but in the short term, ebooks of popular titles are available, as are a lot of interesting alternative books that might not get picked up by traditional publishers. (This is particularly true of GLBT romances, and some ebook-only publishers are putting out some good, genre-bending romances.)

+ Also, Writer Beware has a good, brief summary of last week’s industry bloodshed.

+ Check out the Brooklyn Hall of Fame.

+ Interesting Times article about art and artists in Green-wood Cemetery. (See also my trip to Green-wood.)

+ Problematic Barbies.

The publishing industry is busy eating itself (major layoffs at Random House, Simon and Schuster, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt today) but I have links!

+ Women are earning combat awards but still no respect in the military.

+ Check out this knit motorcycle cozy.

+ The first LOLcat.

+ The Life Magazine photo archive is now online and there’s lots of good stuff here.

+ There’s an interesting profile of mystery writer Patricia Cornwell in USA Today in which she talks about the Kay Scarpetta series and her 2006 marriage to a woman.

+ Prop 8: The Musical! (Funny, but too little, too late, no? Where were these guys two months ago?)