Lisa:
>Joyce Rue...Abundantly Yours...(support obese people)..."my big break"
'BIG break?'
That, Lisa, is a very bad pun!

>When he heard
>my price, the man literally laughed in my face, said he could go pick up a
>bum from off the street for $3000.

Was it published? If so, how much did he end up paying? If so, is
the ghostwriter now reaping the benefits of giving away his/her work
for twiddly-winks?

(My guess - "NOT!!!!")

>And for some reason, such people have
>much less compunction about trying to take advantage of creative artists
>than they do of, say, an attorney, or a physician.

Part of this is that artists are easier to walk away from. Can you
imagine OJ walking away from Johnny Cochran? Or an automobile
accident victim from ER? We tend to go for these pros when the
need is immediate and unavoidable (or, the consequences of not
doing so loom in the future, i.e. ignoring that broken arm is
a long-term exercise in pain and disability, and ignoring
preventive lawyering can mean painful suits - though, actually,
to a large degree insurance is based on minimizing one's exposure
to other folk's lawyers!)

On the other hand, if you don't like Van Gogh's asking price, you
can always go to 39th and Division and buy a black velvet Elvis.

(An exaggeration, but this is exactly the argument used, as in the
"bum off the street for $3,000).

>I agree with Don and Russell: don't give away your work, unless it's to
>support a good cause. Like the Tweeters tee. ;-)

Which is only a good cause if it's a 100% cotton, long-sleeved
Beefy-T!!!!

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>