TCDW Stole My Article Idea!

The Bebe in Fluff

Wow. This is a first for me. Remember how I told you that a diaper blog asked me to write a post about how to cloth diaper for half price, because I suggested the topic in a comment on their blog? I wrote it pro bono, then they rejected it because the post promoted sites other than theirs. Well, it just got uglier. I wasn’t even naming names, because they’re well within their rights to reject any article, despite what it may say about their blog supposedly having customers’ best interests in mind….

The Cloth Diaper Whisperer just stole my idea, and did a lousy job of it to boot. The article repeatedly links to their own store’s products (which don’t have the best prices or I would have linked to them myself), and they barely touch on the subject of how to really save money.

Why am I surprised? Because I’m naive, I guess. I love cloth diapering and have so far only met wonderful people doing so. I didn’t think my first article to get sniped would be by a mommy blogger, for Chrissake. This isn’t plagiarism, I know, but it’s still a stolen idea. As a copy editor I have been responsible for finding and reporting plagiarism on several occasions, and it always leaves me with a sick feeling in my stomach to know that I may be ruining someone’s career just by doing the right thing. I never thought too much about how authors must feel to see their words stolen when it isn’t caught, though. Now I know. It sucks, and this is a tiny unpaid article that isn’t even in my usual subject area!

Oh well. I’m sure this happens all the time, but it  never leads to success. I’m experienced enough to know that. And I’ll get over it soon enough. Here is the site that published the real post: The Cloth Diaper Report. This blogger is truly working with her readers’ best interests at heart. She is unpaid and posts diapering tips as a labor of love, which is why I sent the article her way.

Here is the real article. Please show her (and me) your support by checking out her blog. Thanks for listening! /rant

Am I Nuts?

My writing and editing background is diverse, shall we say: Christian book publishers, independent book co-publishers, automotive magazines, how-to e-content. Now, I seem to have added mommy blogging to the list, rather unintentionally.

I love cloth diapering my baby girl, and am always looking for ways to save even more money on the super-cute modern kind of cloth diapers. I happened to comment on a cloth diaper blog post about how I’d love to see a post on the subject of saving money, because so many cloth diapering moms spend loads of money on their fluff habits.

They asked me to write it! I did write it… they didn’t want the post after all because it promoted so many sites other than theirs (they are associated with a cloth diaper shop). So, I gave it to another cloth diaper blog not associated with a shop, and she happily posted the info so it wouldn’t go to waste.

Anyway, the question is this: am I nuts? Not about diapers; that’s rather obvious, but about further diversifying the already wide range of subjects I work with? Sure, I enjoy writing practically anything, but is this spreading myself too thin? Failing to brand my skills properly? Or, is this the kind of ability (do anything! do it yesterday!) that is necessary in this economy? It’s bugging me, even though I’m super-excited to see more of my stuff in print. (My latest article in Automobile Quarterly is coming out next issue, too, lol. Car collections and diapers… like I said, kind of weird, but I love it all!) What do you think?

“You’re Not One of Those Editors Who Is a Frustrated Writer, Are You?”

“I have to ask you a question,” my former managing editor said.

“Sure,” I replied, a little nervous that she would preface any question that way.

“You’re not just one of those editors who is really a frustrated writer, are you?”

I could appreciate the question, since frustrated writers make the most miserable editors to work with. I told her no, because even though I feel I’m a writer by nature as well as an editor, I have never known what it was I wanted to write. What do I want to write? I’ve danced around the subject for years. I’ve written car magazine articles, how-to e-content, blog posts, journals, and poetry, and I’ve edited all sorts of books. I’ve loved it all, and I’m just getting started. But there has always been something in me waiting to be written, like the tune of a song I can’t quite remember. For years I’ve quietly tried to find my way back to a place where I can write it well: a children’s fantasy story. Well, there’s more in me than just one story–by a long shot–and I really do enjoy writing nearly anything, but that’s at the center of the dream, and I really need to do it.

Recently, I’ve been coming back to the path that leads to writing this story: I worked at a magazine for two years and gained confidence that I could write at least as well as most of the authors I was editing. A friend lent me a book on recovering your creativity, and I felt emotionally able to write creatively again. My schedule was rearranged in a way that made it physically possible for me to write. But I still wasn’t sure what to write, or where to begin. Well, now I’ve found my inspiration.

People say write what you know. What do I know? And what do I know that relates to children’s fantasy stories? I want it to be creative and vivid and an experience that helps children delve into their own imaginations. The answer was right in front of me: I know all sorts of things about vivid, crazy, symbolic dreams. I dream them, I study them, I talk about them to anyone who will listen. And my inspiration is napping in a baby swing at my feet. I’m going to write a fantasy story about dreams for my baby girl–a story just for her, inspired by her sweet, inquisitive, and fearless nature. The best part is, I know this really is a book I’m meant to write, because no one could write this book but me. “They” say that if you keep looking for a book that hasn’t been written, you need to write it. I’ve looked all over for this book, so I know it hasn’t been written.

It may take me a while, but I’m really going to do this. Even if the book achieves no material success, I will have the satisfaction of having written a bedtime story for my little girl and having fulfilled a dream that keeps bubbling up to the surface of my consciousness. Wish me luck, and may you also find your way to living your dreams. Better yet, tell me about them in comments or via Twitter (@a2editor). Check back later for updates on how things are going. I may need some encouragement.

The Way Forward?

Do you know anyone who is getting creative in their job hunt because of the economy? My dad just volunteered to work as an engineer for a local biomedical start-up in order to get biomedical on his resume: I think he’s pretty tired of the instability of the auto industry. I also recently heard of a media executive in New York volunteering for a blog in order to get some new media skills while she looked for a new job. Slim pickings in that industry as well. (Yes, I work in the cross-section of automotive AND media. Brilliant.) Obviously no one wants to work for free, but with the job market as stagnant as it is, it seems like a good idea to get some new experience and skills while job hunting. Do you know anyone who is getting creative in their search for a way forward into a new job or industry? Anyone who is starting or funding a new company in a creative way? Please let me know in comments. I can’t wait to see all the innovation that will come out of these hard times.

Drunk Uncle Industries

Wow, over two months since I posted last! Our beautiful daughter was born in late May, and I haven’t had a chance to write more than an email since. It’s funny to me that after following GM’s decline for years, I had to hear they went into bankruptcy from my husband’s grandmother, because I hadn’t been listening to the news while recovering from childbirth. What a crazy few months it has been for everyone.

Now I hear that GM is being allowed to put all its viable parts in a “new GM,” while getting rid of the “old GM” and all its liabilities. What a deal! Can I get the same arrangement? Do you think the government, now that it is a majority stakeholder, realizes this is the only way to make GM profitable again? What about the consequences of promising the moon to the unions for so many years, or of building shoddy cars or not thinking long-term about consumer demand? Companies who behaved like this used to fail, and that was a good and fair thing–painful but better for everyone in the long run.

The bailouts of Wall Street and the auto industry have served a purpose–to keep the world from sliding into a Depression as a result of America’s greed–but it’s all starting to look a lot like that family you know who enables their drunk uncle to continue his bad behavior so he won’t embarrass the family or have to face his inner pain. I am acutely aware of the consequences a failed auto industry would have for Michigan and the country, but I’m starting to worry that if the government keeps using magic tricks to avoid the consequences of deregulation and excess, we are going to have a much bigger price to pay down the road… or my daughter will.

When It Rains

In the last week we had a fabulous baby shower (this time nearly 50 people showed up!), many appointments, and I’ve been finishing up a few work projects and scrambling to get some last-minute baby items together (such as, um, a crib). Unfortunately, my grandma is also dying, just four weeks before baby is due, which is sad because she was so excited to meet her.

I feel like I’m trying to take a final exam while drugged–I can’t even figure out the right pair of scissors to use to open a box–and my husband seems a little mystified at my inability to make a decision, as I normally know exactly what I want.   Pregnancy brain at its finest, and at the most opportune time.

Anyway, I will be back with more blog posts, but right now I can’t think in a straight line, so please stick with me, comrades. I will be back, hopefully with a few more brain cells to rub together for our mutual benefit. It’s always great to hear your comments, here or on Twitter, and discuss with you publishing, freelancing, the auto industry, the economy, and life in general. If you have any suggestions for topics you’d like to see covered here, please let me know! We’re now at the top of the new mommy roller coaster. Hands in the air. Here we go…

Shake Hands with the Elephant

Photo by Whipped Bakeshop, Flickr

You know that team-building exercise where you stand on a table with your arms crossed mummy style, then fall backwards into the waiting arms of your co-workers? …or maybe you hit the floor with a foundation-shaking bang.

Yesterday I attended a baby shower that was kind of like the latter scenario, only I didn’t spew milk out my nose like I do watching office retreats gone wrong. It was a lovely party, but the only guest besides the wonderful girls who planned it was the elephant in the room: the fact that there were no guests. It was awkward for all of us, particularly for me as the shower was for my baby…. Was everyone who RSVPed that they were coming passed out in a ditch from eating an excess of Cadbury creme eggs?

This isn’t supposed to be a pity post, though it is rapidly heading in that direction. This unfortunate party just reminded me of how lots of people are trying to be optimistic right now–about the economy, their job prospects, finances, retirement–but how far should we take that optimism? When is it time to shake hands with the elephant? I suspected that the turnout for this party might be low, but I kept telling myself to have more faith in people. Is that what we’re all doing still living in Michigan when GM is days away from bankruptcy? Setting our expectations a wee bit too high?

I don’t like reaching out and finding there is no hand there to take mine, and Michiganders don’t like thinking about the fact that most of us really are stuck and unsure of what to do. Do we wait it out?

There is another baby shower next week. I’m trying to beat my expectations down, but it kind of has to be better than the last one. Right?

We Will Party Hard

Photo by A fun house, Flickr

I just had to listen to some Andrew W. K. the other day and tell myself to lighten the frick up. I’m tired of worrying, tired of the economic doom and gloom, tired of the bad news coverage of Michigan. Have we hit bottom? Probably not, but why wait? It’s time to take a break and throw a party, for no other reason than the fact that we’re all still here. Turn off the Fox Fear Channel and do a little victory dance with me.

I present you with some positive news from my neck of the woods:

1) I don’t live in a war zone.

2) I haven’t lost any family or friends to disease or accidents lately.

3) The birds are singing straight through the April snowstorm outside. The air is clean, and the crocuses are blooming.

4) My first baby is due next month.

5) My pregnancy nausea has lifted enough in the last 2 weeks that I can enjoy food again! I’ve missed our special times together, food.

6) My husband is truly wonderful and only gets better with time.

7) I haven’t had a migraine in so long I can barely remember how awful it was. What an unspeakable blessing!

Okay, can I get churchy on you for just one second? The Bible advocates partying in a crisis. Oh, yes it does! Psalm 23:5 says: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” That’s Israel’s King David celebrating the fact that in the middle of a war, God says “Time out!” and throws out a banquet spread. Awesome! Go find that bottle of wine you were saving for a special occasion.

Times are really hard, but is it ever as bad as we fear it will be? (I’m preaching to myself here.) What are you celebrating today?

On GM Management

Rick Wagoner is stepping down. Chrysler is trying to merge with Fiat. Ford is laying low and putting on a brave face. My friends and family working at GM are on edge. It’s tough to watch this unfold when you know so many people who could be devastated by the likely outcome (hmm, including myself I suppose). I’m not looking to make any big preachy statements on the situation. I just find myself thinking again today about management problems. GM’s still got ‘em, big-time.

The company has had bloated management ranks for years, and when a company is tasked with laying off a certain number of workers, it’s simply not common for the dud manager in charge of making cuts to lay himself off. So, even if Dudley the manager makes good decisions about which employees under him to let go, the company is still stuck with Dudley. Dudley has kids to feed and no job prospects, and he’s not going anywhere.

I know, Dudley has a manager who can decide to lay him off, but in a crisis, Dudley’s manager is not going to remove the person taking care of the next layer of people below her. Someone’s got to manage the department and keep track of the projects in progress. Dudley stays. Dudley’s employees who had job prospects left several years ago when they saw the oncoming train. Everyone else is too stressed to do their work properly. Anyone know how to fix this? GM would like to hear from you. Please call the Renaissance Center, and ask to speak with Dudley’s manager’s manager’s manager’s manager.

RIP, Ann Arbor News

Photo: The Ann Arbor News, by Eridony, Flickr

Yesterday Mlive.com broke the news that The Ann Arbor News, my hometown newspaper, would be closing in July, to be replaced by AnnArbor.com. The paper has long been called “The Ann Arbor Snooze” and has shrunk to near ad circular size, as reduced advertising revenues required the paper to cut back on reporting and printing costs. The article on Mlive.com also reported that a handful of other Booth newspapers in Michigan would be reducing employee wages or cutting back to several days a week to survive.

It’s sad that Ann Arbor, the city in Michigan with the lowest unemployment rate (7.3% in January), would lose its paper first, but that is probably because Ann Arbor is also best able to convert to an online news format. The new AnnArbor.com claims that “92% of the Ann Arbor community has the skills and technology set-up to receive and engage with online news.” Yes, what will the other 8% do, and whose responsibility is that?

I admit I never read more than the headlines on the front page of The Ann Arbor News, the weather forecast, and the cartoons–and that was years ago. I got community events news from The Observer (the print edition is still far superior to their web presence: they’re going to need to do something about that soon), and national news online. My mother prefers the print format of the news but admits she was planning to cancel her subscription in the near future anyway, after decades of receiving the daily paper, because there was no longer any content in the paper she couldn’t get elsewhere….

Could this have been avoided? I’m tired of asking the question. People have been advising The News for well over a decade on how to adapt to the times, and they either botched the attempt or it simply wasn’t a feasible business model. The fact is that the community will adjust, trees will be saved (let’s be honest: printing newspapers is no longer sustainable or responsible), and more people will be out of work. Someone I know in the printing department hasn’t been able to find a new job, despite already having searched for months. She woke yesterday to hear the news of her impending layoff on the radio. That makes me feel sick to my stomach for her. But what to do?

I want to find an economically viable alternative to The News and take advantage of this vacuum to meet the needs of the community while employing some good people, but I don’t know how to get people to pay for news when it’s not crucial to them, and advertising revenue only covers the most basic (in this economy maybe uselessly so) of reporting. AnnArbor.com might just be the best option. I’m eager to see how they handle the transition. Maybe local news is just one more thing that needs to contract when times are tough. RIP, Ann Arbor News.