Links for writers

Writer Cristian Mihai on seeing his books in print and leaving a legacy.
•Natania Barron on your characters’ surroundings. And why she doesn’t give writing advice.
•Bottleworder on learning from failure.
•A lot of copyrights revert to the authors this year.
•Much as I love being a freelancer, I agree with this piece that an economy built around freelancing is less about freedom and more about cheap labor.
•Esquire argues that this is a golden age for writers. I’d say they may be right that quality is at a high point, but that doesn’t translate into comparable profits for the writers themselves.
•The Better Man suggests that realistic goals are a path to mediocrity.
•Writer Unboxed and Books and Such on promotion.
•Ashley Jillian suggests Harry Houdini’s guide for performers works well for improv artists. I think a lot of the rules (“An old trick well done is far better than a new trick with no effect”) also work for writers.
•Redbook unwittingly (it claims) copied one bloggers work. Unusually, when the magazine started taking flak for it, it gave her credit and offered their usual freelance rates. Kudos, Redbook!