Your Contract Has Horns: Grappling with the Law, for Writers

ARISE, LORD BUSINESS!

=Where an introduction is made, and we tackle some whys and wherefores=

I'm not the greatest at giving advice. By "not the greatest", I mean I'm the type of person who'd respond to a heartbroken friend's three hour long, blow-by-blow account of her boyfriend cheating on her with a "then break up with him, geez." It's not bad advice per se, just maybe not what the person actually needs to hear at the moment.

There was also that one time I was giving a talk about writing to Ateneo High School students. They found out I was a lawyer, and asked why I left active practice, which triggered a fifteen minute monologue on the soul-sucking nature of aspects of the legal profession which then prompted the teacher to quickly jump in for some damage control.

"What Mr. Chikiamco means to say is that, if you really want to be a lawyer, go for it, but it's not for everyone."

Which is true. The problem is, many people are unaware of what one has to do before one can truly evaluate whether or not the law is for you -- you can't assess your suitability from how much you enjoy Suits, or Phoenix Wright, or even how badly you want to serve the cause of justice. You need to experience the grind of a firm or a public assistance office, or sit through a few day's worth of court hearings and/or boardroom meetings. At the very least, you need to have access to someone else's experience and analysis of those things, because a lawyer in your mind and a lawyer in reality are likely to be two very different things. The problem is, there aren't a lot of testimonials in the Philippines about what it's like being a lawyer, or at least not many from people interested in accuracy as opposed to buffing their egos or client list.

It's the same with being a writer, except even more so. With the exception of Mina Esguerra's "Publishing and Self-publishing: Advice for Writers" -- which is what prompted me to write these articles (thanks for giving me more to do Mina! >_<) -- I haven't seen any other books that focus on the practical side of writing. Sure you'll find memoirs and CNF essays about inspiration and immersion and the role of a writer in society, and whatever. Don't get me wrong, those have their uses. But they don't prepare you for the business of writing.

And make no mistake, writing is a business, even if you have no intention of selling any of your work to the public. This is a world where media, entertainment and publishing entities are starving for content, and to some, your innocent piece of non-commercial whimsy may be the proverbial candy in the hands of a baby. Just because you don't want to make money from your writing, doesn't mean that others won't want to do it for you… or rather, for themselves, at your expense.

Mind you, I'm not surprised that writers don't focus on the business aspect of writing. It can be tedious, it can be confusing, but more importantly, engaging with business matters uses a different part of your brain than the part you use to write creatively. It requires a different attitude. In writing, creativity is one of your biggest assets. In business -- or, rather, the legal aspects of it -- not so much. Try arguing against copyright infringement with an RTC judge by crafting an intricate metaphor where your fair use rights are symbolized by a blind gryphon, and see how far that'll get you. (Or, rather, please don't.)

That's where I can help, or so I think, which I guess segues into a discussion of just who I am exactly. I'm a writer that's been published in the Philippines, the United States, and Singapore. I've written short fiction, comics, and interactive fiction. I've given talks here and abroad, eked out a 3rd place in the Palanca Awards once upon a time, and judged the Graphic Literature category in the National Book Awards. I run rocketkapre.com and am the Managing Editor of Studio Salimbal (salimbalcomics.com).

I am also a lawyer and I worked in a law firm for almost three years. During that time much of my creative output was shuttered, so I have a personal understanding of the shift that is needed to go from a creative mindset to a legal-business one.

But it's a shift that is important and necessary to writers, and it's not as daunting as it initially may seem. We've all got a little bit of Lord Business inside us, and it's time to let him out.