Dark Writing Humor

Casting about for today's humorous post, I happened on this dark exchange of emails with a supposed PR person. First he sent me a badly-composed, way-too-casual release about a client's new site feature aimed at writers. It was titled: publishers harvest formerly fallow writers. Can you spot at least two problems with this phrase? Would you want to be harvested? Are you an unplanted field, anyway? Or unproductive?

In the body of the release, he referred to those utilizing his client's site as "part-time writers" and "part-time talent". That's akin to, "I'll be your waitress tonight." I always ask, "And what will you be tomorrow morning?" I really bristled at the "part-time talent" and said so in my return email asking to be removed from this agency's mailing list.

I was surprised when the rep fired right back, asking, "What would you call a stay at home mom that writes part time to make some extra cash?"

I responded, "Writers are "writers". They are usually writers all the time, no matter what other tasks they may be performing. Writers often don't end their careers until they are brain dead. Even then, who knows?" I was thinking of Arthur C. Clarke, no doubt concocting great stories in the great beyond.

O.K. Maybe not so silly.

We writers are such a sensitive bunch.