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Dear Lee

Dear Lee,

Blog, blog , blog, blog, blog, blog, blog. What the hell is wrong with these people who would rather spend every waking hour blogging with strangers in some make believe world than spending time with their family and friends in the real world? I’m asking because my best friend is about to lose his wife to the Vampire Bloggers. How can we save her?

-When a Stake in the Heart Won’t Work
Dear Stake in the Heart,

Get her some professional help. I’m not referring to a vampire slayer, but to a psychiatrist. Like gambling, blogging can be an addiction. When bloggers go bad, they hurt more than just themselves. Get yourself an S!BAN button today and wear it proudly. Stop! Blogging Addiction Now.

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Dear Lee,

I have money saved to begin my new career path in publishing. I just finished the last set of rewrites and was about to start marketing my work to agents and publishers. I was always wiling to pay my way because I know it takes money to make money. Now I’m worried that with all the financial problems we’re experiencing in the United States, that maybe I should just forget my dreams and go quietly into retirement. You have any words of encouragement?

-Torn Between Two Worlds
Dear Torn,

It has been my experience that life offers to us what we want the most and what we fear the most. Everything else passes by unnoticed. You are at a crossroads: Two questions:

What do you fear most? Going quietly or living your dream?
What do you want most? Living your dream or going quietly?

Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Let me know what you decided to do.

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Dear Lee,

I work for a large publishing company, and I find myself growing more and more unhappy with the industry. Granted, I’ve been around for a long time. I’d say I had more successes than failures. I’m pretty proud of both. There was a time that I was proud to be a part of the publishing and literary world. However, today there are far-reaching problems, that frankly, have me disgusted and worried about the future. In my day, the “new-guard” were honorable people, eager to make their mark. They were respectful of the “old-guard” and sought out their experience and wisdom. The old was always ready to pass the torch to the new. Today, there is a new breed of literary agents that prosper by attacking the established agents. Here’s an example: I was attending a writer’s retreat where I meet with a lot of agents who pitch their projects. I inquired why my old friend who is an agent was taken off the presenter’s list. I was told that several Internet sites and some agent reporting site listed my buddy as a scam. A scam! Furthermore, the organizers of the event were threatened that if they did not drop this agent from attending the retreat, that an Internet campaign would be launched to “expose” that event as a venue to help scammers scam new writers. Unbelievable. This event was sponsored by a very high profile and respected industry publication. How can they let themselves be bullied by these Internet thugs?

-Disappointed in New York
Dear Disappointed,

Many times a week I am asked the same question. The best I can figure is that the industry had a choice to put a quick end to the thuggery when it first began, but instead they allowed and even assisted the Internet thugs. Now the beast is out of control. If I had an answer for how to end this mess, I would make a fortune. Sadly, I once thought that the law would protect us people. Yes, people. Not websites. Websites are not to blame for this malignancy, people are. I suppose the only solution to stop the spread of this smelly waste is for people to stop visiting toxic websites.

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Submit Your Questions to: dearlee@writersnewsweekly.com.