Elmore Leonard's 10 tips for writers after the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Corbett | August 8, 2007 1:37 PM

I got back after a long China trip, and was going through my 6-inch stack of bills, and found a letter addressed to me from HarperCollins Publishers.

This is interesting I thought. Could they possibly want to publish one of the two books I've released here? Do they need some business development in China? Do they have some magazine they want me to buy?

So I opened the letter (below) which referred to a post I made 3 years ago sharing an interview on Elmore Leonard where he outlines his 10 tips for writers.

Apparently, I am accused of publishing his Book (capital B) "in it's entirety". If that's a Book, then this the first 1048 word Book I've ever read.

Nonetheless, the offending 1048 words of text from 2/29/04 have been taken off of my site.

Please contact Beth Neelman Silfin, Associate General Counsel of HarperCollins Publishers, who now apparently own these 10 tips. (beth.silfin@harpercollins.com)

Here's a sample letter you can use if you're such a bad writer that you can't write the letter to request the 10 tips.

Dear Ms. Silfin,

I really really want to become a better writer, and I really really like the way Elmore Leonard writes, especially his three sentence sex scenes, and I know he would want me to be influenced by him in some way, as all authors are vain, but I've heard that you now own the ten tips for becoming a better writer, so this is why I am contacting you instead.

Can you tell me which tip will help get me published at HarperCollins?

Regards,
Your name here

Category: Ramble

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