Stephenie Meyer announced that she has quit work on her next book in the Twilight series, Midnight Sun, after a trusted reader leaked part of the book on the Internet. Meyer said that she knew who had released the partial draft, as she had only given out a few copies, each of them slightly different. "This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control," Meyer wrote, according to Reuters.

I understand why she's upset -- she should get to dictate exactly when her work is made public -- but is this fair to her fans? Is this like making the whole class skip recess because one person cheated on the test? What do writers owe their fans?

I was updating some of the small press profiles and came across a piece of advice that struck home in a way that it didn't when I posted it however many years ago:

Try writing all kinds of different works -- cultivate recognition by journalists. We are currently talking to a writer who has written three novels, one of which won the Somerset Maugham Prize, but the other two failed to sell and his large press dumped him unceremoniously. He then decided to write a TV play, two episodes of a murder TV show, is currently writing a screenplay for the BBC, and has a documentary lined up to accompany the non-fiction book we are talking to him about. Along the way, he has picked up recognition, a following from a regular radio slot, and a lot more writing skills. He is still not yet ready to write another novel, but his family has eaten for the past four years and he feels good about himself.

I like the emphasis on feeling good about himself...And her thoughts on agents are also worth checking out, especially if you've been turned down by the big presses and are thinking about going this direction.

This week I thought it might be helpful to provide a little inspiration for those who're getting back into the swing of things after summer. Start by choosing an image from these six options, or one of your own. Then see where freewriting takes you. Hopefully something from your freewrite will be worth developing into a story. But even if a story doesn't come of it, at least you're writing, which is the most important thing.

In the newsletter, and to a certain extent on this home page, we've been thinking all month about goals for the fall. Though we should all enjoy this last weekend of summer, next week it's time to start making those goals happen. If you haven't already, figure out when you have time to write, and then consider that time sacred every week for the next few months.

So happy Labor Day, everyone. Enjoy the long, (hopefully) labor-free weekend, and wake up on Tuesday knowing you'll have time that day for the work closest to your heart.