And many thanks, also, to others who offered their
ideas.
About the title thing . . . Yeah, I agree it's bad form to
cop another
writer's title, even if there is no legal penalty involved.
It's like
saying, "Look, plagiarism doesn't extend to titles, even of
seminal books.
Go for it, boy!"
Like "The Way We Die Now?" Use it! (Someone has)
Like "Dead Low Tide?" Use it! (Someone has)
Like "Gone With the Wind?" Use it! (Someone will)
Publishing is a tough, product-driven industry these day, far
tougher than
when I was involved as a writer (not a publisher, which I was
later and
remain -- to a very limited extent -- today). The days of the
Maxwell
Perkinses are history. Look for an editor these days, you're
gonna find a
kid can't read sitting behind a desk big enuf to hide his
kneeling secretary
filing his nails while he figures out what it is he has to do
to to make it
out the door without being fired for something somebody ELSE
did.
Must be tough. Job like that. My piles bleed for 'em.
Every once in awhile, one of 'em must have a brainstorm,
scream out some
high-concept directive like, "Let's call it 'The Maltese
Falcon!'"
Nice to know they're earning their pay.
PB
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