Well, I haven't written that many articles so I don't know what my limited experience is worth but-
Crimson847 wrote:Are you notified of any changes or given any voice in the matter? Or do you just sign the contract and then find out what changes they decided to make when the article gets published?
You never know baby! For me it's always been you write the article up after it's been accepted, then you just gotta wait and see what happens. I have no idea how much of my original content they'll use or how much they'll add or cut, and how many of my entries will make it through. And quite frankly that's my favourite part!
I love seeing which of my jokes they used and which they changed, how similar or different it is to my original draft etc. In fact when then the article comes out I print out both versions so I can compare and contrast the two. So in a sense I get the fun of seeing something I "wrote" as well as reading something new.
Now don't get me wrong, I get it that the name of the game is to eventually get more in synch with Cracked's style over time to the point where you're finished work will be as close to what comes up on the front page as possible and that's what I'm aiming for. But at the moment, the whole having to wait and see and being surprised bit is what I like the most.
LegionofShrooms wrote:How much, precisely, does Cracked try to steer you towards certain tonal shifts, and how much have you had to deal with
If I'm understanding you correctly (and I may not, I am of course quite drunk at present) then yeah sometimes in the pitching process the Moderat-Administ-Editorial people will request alterations to the premise, like narrowing or expanding the focus of your idea, course they don’t always do that. It's all about what they reckon is best for the pitch. Either way is good with me.
Marcuse wrote:I think the importance of an author keeping control of their own work is worth the effort spent to consult them. I guess I can't override a professional business saying that's not the case, but I still feel it's unfair to authors who work on pieces to rewrite their work with no notice of such, then post the rewritten text under that author's name. It's not really their work at that point, because it's been edited too heavily.
Well this is interesting because I think the Marc-ster and I are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum on this one. You see in my long and varied life I've always held hard and fast to the 'Green Hat At The Party' principal. Basically the idea of- You're welcome to come to my house-party, but if you want to come, you have to wear a green hat. If don't wanna wear the hat, you're not allowed in.
I apply this principal to all my endevours, be it romance or blood vendettas or pitching pieces of writing to inter-net magazines, and it's never let me down. As such the way I see it, if you're cool with Cracked's way o' doin' bid-ness, that's great, off you go. If you don't like it, that's cool too. The way they do things is made clear in the workshop and as such everybody knows how it works and if they wanna go ahead away they go, if not then not, as such everybody wins.
Now that's not to say there's anything wrong with you not liking the system. Of course not, it's no different than if you didn't like strawberry icecream and I did, I'm not gonna have a go at you for ... wait ... does that work? Would it make more sense if I said, I was working in a strawberry icecream factory? Ugh analogies are the lowest form of conversation tools! Anyway, you get my point. It's cool that you're not into it, and it's cool that others are. You see at the end of the day, it's our ability to not only acknowledge and accept our differences, but to celebrate them, that separates us from THE COMMUNISTS!!!!
Paradox wrote:How much did you charge for your soul?
Half a rasher sandwich and a kick in the bollocks. And believe you me, that was a lot more than the wretched thing was worth!
Not just yet, I'm still tender from before.