Buy a book

Greetings fellow SL'ers. I am starting a publisher/seller of short stories and poems called Slazon Books, INC. My problem is that I have virtually no experience w/ textures, and my programming skills leave much to be desired. At this time, my store is just a cabin w/ two chairs, a couch, and a table. I also have some help w/ the coding and textures, but if anyone would like to help, they're more than welcome. Also, I am looking for new writing talent, hoping eventually to pay a premium for various work, plus royalties. Right now though, Royalities won't come till after the land and building tax, plus publishing tax, is paid, so don't expect much. I also hope to hold writing/poetry contests, and maybe publish a quarterly anthology of The Best Of... I'm also planning on setting up a small website so people can post their ideas there, in a bulk mail box. I hope to hear from you, especially if you've got something to put out! -Asher "Don Quixote" LeFay.

-"You provide the pictures, I'll provide the war," -William Randolph Hearst (Publishing Mogul) to a staff writer in Havana, shortly before the Spanish American War.

Oh God, it's like that SNL skit-commercial for virtual reality BOOKS. You're in a room, you sit down, and see a book infront of you. Then, with your special virtual reality gloves, you pick up the book, and turn page by page.

LOL ok so your idea is not AS bad as the one on SNL, actually, it's kinda good as long as you get really interesting stuff in stock.

Just felt like commenting on the SNL thing incase anyone else remembers it...

Great idea, Asher. I love the idea of a book store (I love them in r/l.) I can see myself relaxing by a fire inworld, reading a book, and looking up occasionally to watch a sunset (or watch Charlie crash a sim hehe).

If you'd like to build a section on my website, or to advertise on it, you're welcome to. Just give me a holler.


Kerstin

I have some good book textures, and I have a few volumes of the SL scripting reference sitting on my bookshelf in world, but I'm waiting for functionaliy to make a note pop up on an AVs client, so that I can click on the book and view the contents, instead of having to edit the object, go to the contents, and open the note manually. Let me know if you want the textures though.

-Pat Murphy

I know this is just a beta and it's very early, but please be very VERY careful "publishing" anything is SL especially something that is not your work (but was given to you to publish).

If you put some creative work in to the SL world, you are uploading it to Linden Labs servers and giving them implicit permission to allow other's to download it. By doing so, are you releasing this work to the public domain, or signing your rights to it over to Linden Labs, or reserving them for yourself, or something else?

Say 5 years down the road LL is publishing a print book "The Second Life Experience: How Linden Labs Came to Rule the Planet Earth", they include some elements of SL, pictures of houses, avatars, and some of your stories. At the same time you're negotiating a multi-million dollar deal to have some or your stories published. What happens? Who has the rights?

I don't know the answer to these questions, I suspect that the answer lies in the precise wording of whatever end user license thingy LL eventually settles on, but this is the sort of thing that ends in court.

I'm not saying don't do it, I think it's a great project. I'm just saying be careful.

Perhaps Legal Linden would comment on this?

Charile...... HEY!.... did charlie ever bring down 9 sims?

True, there is a possbility of piracy of work from people who work for months on end to turn out great works of writing. Or for me to become so become such a meglomaniac that I might start ripping off people's creativity and call it my own. Certainly valid fears.

Except that my father is a lawyer...

Certainly not a garuntee in and of itself, but I can assure, I've been exposed to more law (and even copyright law to a good extent) than I even care to think about. The mere mention "you'll be talking to my lawyer" or "I'll sue you for this" sends me practically crying to a therapist about my childhood (not literally, its more like quaking in fear). Any meglomania is pretty much quelled under a slew of nightmares and lawyerese. As for allowing others to publish copyrighted or "bad" (indecent, violation of EULA), again, lawyers scare me even more than the thought that we might all be plunged into nuclear war or another global great depression in an instant (maybe lawyers create this things, i guess i'll never know).

Conclusion: Nightmares are bad. I have nightmares. Lawyers cause these nightmares. I'd rather edit content then deal w/ these devilishly clever demons (aka, you guessed it, lawyers). If you have any other questions, or merely wish to tell me im nuts, e-mail me at "slb_inc@yahoo.com" or visit the website "www.geocities.com/slb_inc/homepage.html". Thanks! -Asher LeFay

PS: I believe Linden Labs would have exclusive rights over any material from the beta, because we all signed the NDA (or is it just the EULA?) which prohibits discussion of material in "said game for a duration not exceeding that in which Linden Labs decides to maintain free 'beta' software". I believe thats what the legalese of it is, but i'd have to rescan said documents to find out for sure, something I'm not very interested in doing (so i'll just try to play it safe, material wise)

hey Asher - its an intersting idea, indeed. I'm a sucker for a good bookstore - at least i was before i found virtual worlds.

Buzz me in world or e-mail me about setting up a poetry contest.
[email]jenn.linden@lindenlab.com[/email]
=)