But maybe that is part of the “problem.” Elit is well-known and practiced every place we look, but we can lay little claim to it. It is well beyond its adolescence, and within a few years (if not already), except for its stand-out practitioners, it will be so common as to not be worthy of any special note.

That is our tipping point, and the moment is now. We can lay claim to electronic literature, but we need to do it (as some of us have pointed out) in an all-inclusive and democratic way. It must be presented in our classrooms in all its forms, not just random-generated poetry or game narrative, but in every way we see it appearing online or off. Our students must know that elit is not all poetry but fiction, too, and drama, and every genre in between. They must know it is not just in the classroom, it is in front of them every day on the web, although they may not recognize it. We can show them where to look, and what to look for. We can tell them how the current elit community offers an aesthetic core around which the rest can adhere.

If we have any hope of encouraging our students to read electronic literature outside the classroom, or our young creative writers to try their hand at this kind of “writing,” they must see it has a broader audience, with both an aesthetic future and (for the writers) at least some potential for financial gain, either outright or through jobs in related industries. They can not see it primarily as an art practiced, and favored, by those of us in academia: for a new form struggling to gain its larger identity, readership, and practitioners, the academic world, while a necessary part of the overall strategy, is too small.

For the original source of this post, and the previous (and ongoing) conversation, visit http://www.newmediawritingforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=156

After a long hiatus, here are two new digital stories from webyarns.com…

“Pangram (The Quick Brown Fox)” plays with the concept of a pangram and provides a hypothetical back-story to the most widely-known example of the form.

The second story, the “ABCs of UFOs,” is the purported website of a UFO investigation team. I hope (at a time when laughs are sorely needed) that you find it humorous. Explore and enjoy.

You can find both these stories, and others, at webyarns.com

Good evening.

It is my great pleasure to accept this prize.  Because of competitions like this, and the generosity of its organizers, members, and sponsors, digital poetry appears more and more in the public eye. And it is a worthy cause. Electronic literature–and by this I mean not just digital poetry but digital fiction, as well–is an exciting and vibrant part of the literary arts today. It deserves to be encouraged and nurtured because embedded within its multimedia presentation and variety of forms is a vision. This vision is of a new type of literature that does not replace traditional print but works alongside it. This vision recognizes that soon, if not already, people will see poems and stories not simply as the sole domain of text, but the intersection of many disciplines and arts. And this vision opens our eyes to the infinite possibilities within literature itself, and the exciting future offered by technological change.

Again, thank you very much for this prize. It is my honor and pleasure to accept it.

Bonsoir.

C’est un grand plaisir d’accepter ce prix. Grâce aux concours comme celui-ci et grâce à la générosité des coordonnateurs, des membres et des mécènes, la poésie numérique devient de plus en plus accessible au grand public. Alors, c’est un métier valable. La littérature électronique, c’est-à-dire la poésie numérique et les romans numériques, est un genre captivant et émouvant dans les arts littéraires aujourd’hui. Elle mérite d’être encouragée et soutenue car intégrée dans la présentation multimédia et une variété de format est une vision. Cette vision est d’un nouveau type de littérature qui ne remplace pas les oeuvres imprimées, mais qui les accompagne. Cette vision reconnaît que bientôt, et peut-être déjà, le monde verra les poèmes et les histoires pas simplement comme le seul domaine du texte mais comme le mélange de plusieurs disciplines et arts. Aussi, cette vision nous fait ouvrir les yeux aux possibilités illimitées au coeur de la littérature elle-même et l’avenir passionnant offert par l’évolution de la téchnologie.

Enfin, merci beaucoup pour ce prix.  C’est un vrai honneur et un plaisir de l’accepter.

Alan Bigelow
20 Mai 2011

Some of us wonder, why isn’t my work appearing in more museums, galleries, and festivals around the world? I’ve worked long and hard, I’ve produced the works, so where are the publications? Where are the accolades? Where are the reviews?

For those of us who seek fame and glory, or residency in its suburbs, there are ten ways to make it as a digital writer (and then fade away):

(1) Ok, I’ll admit, you’ll need some skill to succeed as a digital writer. Note, I did not say “talent.” My belief is that talent is overrated. I don’t believe people are born with an innate talent in anything but learning how to do something well.

But whatever that thing is, whether digital writing, or teaching, or knitting sweaters, you need to practice. Creative work really is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, as most practicing writers will attest to. So if you want to succeed as a digital writer, you have to write. And write. And write. And write.

(2) The second way to make it as a digital writer is to submit your work to every possible venue you can think of. Where do you find calls for work such as ours? My personal favorites are Rhizome.org, NYFA.org, ChrisJoseph.org, and Artservis.org, but there are many other places online where you can find calls for New Media. And yes, make no mistake, digital literature falls into the category of New Media. Don’t be dismayed if the call does not specify New Media–often, I have emailed curators who are looking for “any media” and asked if they would consider my work, and many say yes. They are often ready to experience something new.

While you’re searching for calls, it’s also helpful to look for themes related to pieces you have produced, but even if the theme seems to exclude your work, there is usually a way to write up a description of your submission so it more or less matches what is being called for.

The point here is to submit widely and often. The worst a gallery, museum, or festival can say is no, and even though that might hurt your ego, you can find solace knowing you have a dozen other submissions out there where someone else might say yes.

And how hard is it to submit to these calls? If your work is online, it is not hard at all. Usually, a submission involves emailing a brief description of the work, a link to the work (plus, when required, a description of its display needs), a brief bio, and you’re done. If the submission process requires a CD of the work, you simply burn it and pack it off in the mails with the customary customs disclosure.

Do not worry about submitting the same piece to multiple venues. For offline exhibitions in galleries and museums, there is little chance that a curator is going to have a problem with your piece appearing in their gallery and also in some other gallery half a world away. For online festivals and galleries, it gets a bit more restricted, but it is rare that the time frame of one online venue will overlap with another. Online journals are the most restrictive of all: usually, they require the piece to be unpublished, but that does not necessarily mean the piece can not have appeared on your website, blog(s), or even an offline venue. When in doubt, check with the journal.

One last thing: use good etiquette. Follow the rules of engagement, and be pleasant. Most of these venues will be receiving hundreds, if not thousands of entries, and they like being treated with deference and respect. They may not be artists themselves (although some of them certainly are!), but since handing out rejections is part of their job description, sometimes they are berated for their choices and subjected to hatred and ridicule. So treat them nice.

(3) Do #2 again, and again, and again until you see how, if you kept it up, this could be a full-time job….

(4) If you have a website (and shame on you if you don’t!), add a subscription box that allows people to join your email list. If they do, have it set up to automatically send them an email thanking them for joining. Then create a master email list in Entourage or some other email program and blast a message whenever you have published a new work or have something important to share.

(5) Another handy strategy is linking with other sites. (I don’t do this nearly enough, so let me take this opportunity to say right now, if you want to trade links with me, please email me at eabigelow@yahoo.com.) Beware of websites that offer you high rankings on Google or other search engines–the best way to get traffic to your website is through dedicated links.

(6) Use a traffic statistic counter like sitemeter.com to monitor how much traffic you have and where it is coming from. This will give you a good idea as to who is visiting your site, what organization (if any) they are affiliated with, and what pieces of yours they are looking at. On a number of occasions, because of my statistic counter, I have discovered mentions of my work on the web, or have seen where a piece of mine might be appearing next. Sometimes, when I discover myself on a blog or a class syllabus, I have reached out to the instructors or writers, just to say hello and tell them how appreciative I am.

(7) Promote yourself. I know this is a dirty concept. It’s like the smelly, alcoholic aunt you keep locked in the attic, but it’s good to bring her out every once in a while to mingle with your guests. Throw a cocktail party and let your aunt pass the hors d’oeuvres. Let her romp around the room breathing sweet nothings into people’s ears and refilling their drinks. Let her praise YOU and describe in glorious detail what YOU have done that makes her so proud. Of course, you are your aunt, but it may make your self-promotion easier if it’s only a simple matter of cross-dressing.

But if you’re going to promote yourself, when you can, throw in a plug for your friends or for digital literature at large. If people think you’re just in it for yourself, they might figure you don’t play well with others.

(8) Get involved with organizations or causes which promote digital literature. It doesn’t have to be the Electronic Literature Organization or the Electronic Poetry Center. Try curating an exhibition of digital literature (online or off). Try emailing a journal or gallery or museum and asking them if they would like you to collect a few samples of elit to show on their site. Try reaching out to radio stations, magazines, newspapers, and local arts centers and cajoling them into looking at what digital writers have to offer. The worst they can do is say no. And if they say no, have their lack of interest merely strengthen your resolve to bring the avant-garde to the mainstream.

(9) Don’t wait to get your work in front of the public. Interest in digital literature is growing, and now is the time to get in on the action. Over time, with a growing pool of works, the competition will be stiffer, and there will be fewer opportunities to have your work accepted.

In other words, do #4 –¬¬ #8 again, and again, and again….

(10) Or don’t do any of the above. Don’t do anything at all. Wait for your fans to come to you. And wait. And wait. And wait.

If you wait long enough, I can almost guarantee you will fade away and never be heard of again.

Webyarns.com presents:

“HE SAID, SHE SAID” is a lover’s conversation in text, image, and sound. The dialogue is random: he says one thing, she says another–the truth (and music) is someplace in between…

URL of Story: http://www.webyarns.com/HESAIDSHESAID.html

This may take a little time to load, so please be patient!

For other stories, both new and old, please visit http://www.webyarns.com

If you know of a current student or recent graduate whose work you would recommend, could you either send a link to Alan Bigelow at eabigelow@gmail.com or encourage them to submit to The New River, also via the same email address? Also if you could pass the word on this, that would be terrific…

The deadline for first-round submissions is late February, 2011. For previous issues of the journal, please visit http://www.TheNewRiver.us

MythWatch.org, a new digital story, is at MythWatch.org

This one takes a little time to load, so please be patient!

Also, in case you missed it, “This Is Not A Poem,” released a few months ago, is available at This Is Not A Poem

For other stories, both new and old, please visit webyarns.com

Many thanks for your interest!

It has not been long since the last one, but there’s a new story at webyarns.com…

“This Is Not A Poem” is a toy, a game, a language engine, and a poem all at the same time….

The new plaything is at http://www.ThisIsNotAPoem.com

Also, in case you missed it, “My Nervous Breakdown,” released a few months ago, is available at
http://webyarns.com/MyNervousBreakdown.html

For other stories, both new and old, please visit http://www.webyarns.com

Many thanks for your interest!

yours,

alan
–
stories for the web
http://www.webyarns.com

To be a digital writer, it’s probably best if you like to write, or at least not hate it.  Then, if you can pull as many muses into your corner as you can, that might help: history, music, dance, astronomy, and art….

Patience is a virtue with digital writers, as you will have to explain what you do to a great many people who have never heard of it….

Having a thick skin and (again) more patience will help protect you from the slings and arrows of outrageous critics.  Critics love to criticize, and when it is something new and without precedent, they will laugh and grind it under their heels….

(2) Do I need to take a class in digital writing to be a digital writer?

Most of the digital writers working today teach courses they never took when they first started out.  A truism of the avant-garde: there are no teachers in your field, so you have to teach yourself, so you can become a teacher.

(3) Is it true that digital stories were on the web back in prehistoric times, when humans lived in caves?

This is totally true. Plato writes about it in his “Allegory of the Cave.”  Caves were a perfect place for projecting digital works, and cave dwellers were among the first to recognize this (before them, it was nomadic tribes, who used deer hide tents).

The web back then was less sophisticated than it is now–being constructed of stone, goat’s intestines, elk horns, and camel hair–but its reach was global, with fewer system outages and faster download times.

In the Middle Ages, this technology was lost, and only recently reconfigured through electronics.

(4) Are digital writers flesh and blood people, or are they virtual, like their stories?

It depends where you meet them.  If you meet them online, they are virtual, and their primary substance electrons and code…

If you meet them in the flesh, their virtuality plays second fiddle to the fact that, at any moment, they could bleed all over your favorite carpet.

(5) Is it easy to be a digital writer?

If answers were songs, try this (sung to the tune of “Yesterday,” by the Beatles):

Digital

All it takes is
lots of time

and what you make

may be fine
if going digital

is on your mind.

(And so on, with feeling…)

(6) Does it cost a lot of money to be a digital writer?

After you have made the initial investment in a good computer, some software, a sound recording device, and whatever other tools you need to make multimedia works of literature, the overhead is remarkable low.  It would be best (to build branding and reader loyalty) to have your own website, so add about $10 a year for the registration of a domain name.  Then add another $10 a month for server costs (provided you don’t go viral, in which case you’ll need a bit more than that).  Finally, if you use them, there’s the periodic cost for royalty-free images or audio files purchased online–most of the code you’ll need will be free–so tack on another $200 a year.  At these rates, your total for a year of publishing digital literature is approximately $330, which is cheap compared to most other businesses.

Since you won’t make much (or any) income, it’s money down the drain, but don’t worry: you can list it as a business expense on your income tax (I’d love to hear your conversation with the IRS agent).

(7) Can I make any money being a digital writer?

Let’s do the math:

Expenses a year (see #6 above):           $330
Income publications:                                 $0
Income readings:                                       $0
Income exhibitions:                                   $0
Work sold:                                                 $0
––––––
TOTAL:                                                 -$330

Your talent? Priceless.

(8) Is there a website where I can read some electronic literature, and learn about the authors who create it?

Do a Google search on “Electronic Literature” or “E-Lit” or “Hypermedia” or “Digital Literature,”  and here is some of what you get:

Born Magazine–http://www.bornmagazine.com

Chico.art.net–http://www.csuchico.edu/art/net/

CONT3XT.NET–http://www.cont3xt.net/

Digital Technology and Culture–http://digitaltechnologyculture.motime.com/

Drunken Boat–http://www.DrunkenBoat.com

Eastgate–http://www.eastgate.com

electronic book review–http://www.electronicbookreview.com/

Electronic Literature Directory–http://eld.eliterature.org

Electronic Literature Organization–http://www.eliterature.org

Electronic Literature Organization Conference 2008–http://vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/dtc/elo08/media.html

Electronic Literature Organization Library of Congress/Archive-It Project–http://www.eliterature.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Electronic Poetry Center–http://epc.buffalo.edu/e-poetry/

FILE (Electronic Language International Festival)–http://www.file.org

furtherfield.org–http://www.furtherfield.org/

Grand Text Auto–http://www.grandtextauto.org/

Hermeneia: Literary Studies and Digital Technologies Group–http://uoc.edu/in3/hermeneia/cat/

Hypercompendia–http://www.susangibb.net/blog2/

Hyperrhiz–http://www.hyperrhiz.net

The Iowa Review Web–http://research-intermedia.art.uiowa.edu/tirw/vol9n2/

Java Museum–http://www.JavaMuseum.org

netpoetic.com–http://www.netpoetic.com/

newmediaFIX–http://www.newmediafix.net/

New River Journal–http://www.TheNewRiver.us

nt2–http://www.labo-nt2.uqam.ca/

Rhizome.org–http://www.rhizome.org

trAce archive–http://tracearchive.ntu.ac.uk/

Turbulence.org–http://www.turbulence.org

Vispo–http://www.vispo.com

Word Circuits–http://www.wordcircuits.com/index.html

WRT: Writer Response Theory–http://www.writerresponsetheory.org/wordpress/

And the list goes on…

(9) Are digital writers happy people?

You can’t get much happier than a digital writer.  Because they practice in an emerging form, they have nothing to lose.  This makes them reckless, and beyond sadness.

(10) If I wanted to be a digital writer, how would I begin?

Read the FAQs above. If you have any questions, make up your answers.