Quantum Storytelling

That is the question. How do you see yourself as a writer? Are you merely a laborer for someone else? Are you just a hobbyist? Or do you see your writing as a business?

I ask because it seems that every writer will have a viewpoint on industry and events, much like the writer strike in Hollywood. It appears that outlook depends on how you view your own role as a writer.

Do you see yourself as crafting intellectual property for someone else to profit from? Do you create it just for fun, for yourself? Or do you see your writing ability as a business opportunity?

To biz or not to biz?

Some ideas:

• Some of the top showrunners in television form a new broadcasting corporation that offers a strong royalty rate for creators. Oh, but we can’t have that because that’d be starting a corporation, and all corporations are only ever always evil.
• One of the existing TV networks decides to stick it to the competition, by offering a nice royalty and therefore grabs the better industry talent. Oh, but we can’t have that because competition is bad. Not to mention, most corporations suck at it - so it’s better to not have to do something you suck at anyway. On top of that, the union wouldn’t allow a network to negotiate a good royalty without involving them, so forget about that one.
• Writers everywhere form a non-union, independent coalition that does nothing other than defend the free agent model, and basic rights. This coalition does not collect dues, and does not form a collectivized, centralized agenda other than promoting independence. Oh, but we can’t have that because that’d be in support of free market competition/capitalism, and those things are evil. Not to mention most people suck at them.
• Individual writers and/or showrunners negotiate royalty rates individually with the networks they work for. I’m not sure if/why this doesn’t happen already. Probably because individuals aren’t allowed to negotiate their contracts, because the union does it for them?

  Maybe if the union didn’t only do it once every 20 or 30 years, and left it up to the individual, more writers would be compensated better on an individual level? Ya know, maybe there hasn’t been progress since 1988 because the union didn’t do anything other than collect dues? In this entire time, I’m sure writers could have negotiated better salaries and royalties with the networks — IF they were allowed. I know if I wanted more, I’d ask for more. If I didn’t get it, I’d seriously think about changing jobs. That’s how most everything else works, right?

I don’t expect anyone to make any attempts whatsoever towards any of these alternatives. It’s far easier to trust in the Big Brothers & Sisters of the world. I think deep down we all want to be mindless drones, subjected to the agendas of oppressive collectives. We must want it, or we wouldn’t let the collectives — governments, corporations, and organizations (unions) do all the heavy lifting for us.

And yet… we hand them the keys to the city because we simply don’t care. We can’t be bothered with hassles like starting businesses, organizing productions, having books printed and shipped, nor negotiating our own contracts. That’s asking far too much of feeble-minded creative types, isn’t it?

Ok, I’ll curb the sarcasm for a moment. Actually, I don’t think that it is too much to ask for us to do these things. But… and this is a BIG BUT — apparently the world disagrees with me.

I say if you want more, do more. And I’m not just talking about writing. I’m talking about looking after your own interests with some amount of assertiveness, instead of letting others do it for you and rip you off in the process.

Very interesting…

“it is important for you to report to the Guild the name of any non member whom you believe has performed any writing services for a struck company and as much information as possible about the non member’s services.”

So, if a person is not a WGA member, and that person writes during the strike, they can be reported to the WGA, but on a blacklist by WGA members, and barred from joining in the future? You mean, a career can be potentially damaged by writing right now, even though a person is not a member?

Mafia anyone?

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